In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Split, our short film is based on the psychological effects of the mind
in which we think "do we really know ourselves?" We wanted to portray
a range of visuals which play with the viewers psych in the way they
question what is reality and what is fantasy. The meaning of the short
was not necessarily to make full sense for the audience but rather to
display how the character is shown in a complete state of unaware to
their own actions and behaviour. We wanted the finished product to
leave the viewer confused; having an ambiguous ending allowed us to
leave it open for audience interpretation; being unsure of what to
make of a product is seen as a positive in our eyes as it leaves the
viewer to think about what they have seen and make their own decision
on what they think the meaning of the product is trying to present to
them.

While piecing together the film, we had to decide on the edit, tone and sound of the overall product. We decided to stray away from generic conventional horror film and play our film in reverse narrative. This not only adds to the confusion of the film but also adds mystery and keeps the viewer guessing until the last frames. The viewer is brought directly into the action, gripping their attention from the get go and does not hold up until the second act of the film. The first act contains a series of rapid cuts, fast camera movement and loud generic “chase” music to excite the viewer and draw them into the film. Act two follows a different pace of editing, with smoother camera movement and longer cuts between edits allow the viewer to immerse themselves in the complete change of setting from where they previously were. The music is now replaced with calmer, eerier sounds to coincide with the creepiness of the surroundings. One way in which we tried to challenge the forms and conventions of real media products was to include flash cuts; with the involvement of monochrome to throw off the viewer; the use of monochrome was to signify that it is a flashback and/or a memory of the character. It is also used as a POV from the characters mind. The final act of the film is still set in the woods, yet changes in tone completely from mysterious and dark to loud, brash and relentless acquiring a heavy rock soundtrack to stimulate the violence on screen. Another way we wanted to stray away from mainstream horror was not to include excessive amounts of blood and gore; instead we went for a “more is less” approach, this works well as during the two acts of the film, the viewer does not know who or what is chasing the protagonist. Ultimately the unknown and what you don't see proves more horrifying then actually having a “monster” on-screen. Colour balance was used on all shots to give the illusion of night, however this proved in some cases difficult to achieve as we filmed during the day time where the sky is clearly visible.

Overall Split uses many cliché horror elements but when combined with it's reverse narrative, unconventional rock influence and ambiguity of meaning, I feel it peels away from most generic mainstream horror where there sole purpose is to throw blood at the screen and frighten the viewer with cheap “jump scares”.