Dom Michau "Joyride" Research and Planning.

• Thriller : Uses dark colours all the way through lots of greys and blacks are used to create a sinister feel to the piece. Iconography such as it being night time, the man smoking a cigarette and the eventually fatal electrical sparks. The sparks are used as an icon of danger and eventually become a very ironic tool in the end of the film. The props and costumes are very realistic as it is made clear from the beginning that the protagonist is a electrician and therefore the audience would not find it odd if he was to have a Stanley knife in the back of his car, etc.The contrast between the colour of the clothes of the characters with the protagonist in the traditional white shirt and antagonist in black clothes shows the distinction between the good and evil in the characters. The non diegetic music in the piece was used to create suspense and gave a very uneasy feel to the initial car journey.

• The film uses irony as a unique convention used in the thriller genre. It shows the struggle and escape of a victim of a random attack only to find that the thing that he was meant to be doing instead of driving home, when he was attacked ( aka fixing the fault electrical pole) was consequently the reason for his death. This is strengthen by the policeman saying 'You won't be wanting the cigarette I was going to offer you then' and then the spark hitting him causing his death. I enjoyed the way that the film used a very basic kidnap theme and made it ironic and well rounded in the end.

• The advantage of the short narrative in joyride is that the characters in the film are developed enough for use to sympathise with the protagonist and dislike the antagonist without a lot of dialogue. The characters actions speak a lot louder than their words in this film which means that more action is packed into the film. This makes it very quick paced which is very stereotypical of a thriller. the short narrative also helps us with realising the irony of the thing that could have saved him from the whole ordeal ended up killing him. This use of irony in the film has inspired me into thinking about other ironic situations and seeing if they could be made into a short film.

• The use of sound in joyride is very good and deals with issues of having a small budget. A lot of the action, when the police officers are killed and when he catches fire after a spark jumps from the electricity pole. This is a very clever way of making a typically expensive scene and through the use of editing and putting in the sound of what is happening with a different shot, saves them lots of money and is effective and convincing of what is happening in off screen.

• The films seems to be a ironic representation of how a man's laziness in the long run causes him to suffer. The protagonist seems to be a working class character that is working as a council electrician or pylon maintenance worker. Joyride at the end position the audience to sympathise for the protagonist but also to see that being lazy and avoiding work will get you no where. Stereotypes were not blatantly evident in the film but may be to a Scottish or different audience that knows the accents of the antagonists.

Dominic Michau