'Flight Plan' Analysis

In the extract 'Flight Plan', there are many examples of media language and conventions of the thriller conventions used to create effect for the target audience all of which I will be discussing in this analysis.

Firstly, cinematography is used in the extract to create suspense and create questions for the audience. This is seen when there is a long shot of two men in black suits looking at the woman. The angle of the shot is quite low also. The creates tension and suspense as the audience don't know who the two men are, arising the sense that the woman is being watched. Also, the low angle of the shot connotes that the two men are more powerful that the woman. Moreover, this is a convention of the thriller genre as they are silhouettes, connoting the unknown. the point of the woman being watched is also backed up by a tracking shot of the woman walking through the home, later on through the scene. The tracking shot itself connotes that she is being watched as it is following her around the house which is a convention of the thriller genre as well.

Moreover, there is also use of mise-en-scene, in particular, costume, in order to create effect. This is seen when the two men in the window are wearing black suits. This creates effect because black suits usually connote funerals and death which makes the audience feel like they are antagonists. This is also reinforced with the low key lighting of the shot. as low-key lighting connotes unknown and danger as it is similar to night. Consequently, this makes the audience feel like the woman is in danger which is also a convention of the thriller genre.

On top of that, there is also editing showcased in the extract in order to create effect. an example of this is where the woman has flash backs throughout the extract. An example of this is where the woman keeps having flashbacks to her husband. You can presume that these are flashbacks as the shot composition is different to other shots. For example, when the woman is waiting for the train, it is very remote and unusual creating the effect that it is a flash back. This editing technique is used create the effect that the woman is mourning her husbands death, hence the flash backs to her husband when he was alive. This part in the extract also showcases themes of death so show that the plot of the film will be about her husbands death. Moreover, CGI is also demonstrated in the extract when there is an overlay of silhouettes of planes on top of another shot. This is a reference to how her husband dies, also creating a theme of death.

Examples of sound is also used in the extract in order to create effect. One example of this is when the mortuary directer is german and speaks with german dialogue. This creates the effect for the audience that he could be the antagonist as, stereotypically, the antagonist is usually foreign. There is also examples of abrupt sound being used when the trains go by. This connotes that the film will have plot twist and unexpected turns as trains passing by connote discourteous themes.