Initial Shot Ideas

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Thriller Sounds for our Opening Sequence

In our discusions in our groups we have brought together some initial ideas for the type of music (non-diegetic)in which we have consiered using in our own thriller opening seqeunce. To do this we used copywright free websites and even thought about creating our very own music to relate to the genre and this is important because the sound sets the atmosphere at the very beginning of an opening sequence.

http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/58962/

The sound above i found on freesound.org. I chose this particular piece because it can link well with our synopsis and the way the character may be feeling. We would probably use this type when something mysterious is about to happen to make the audience feel immediately in the mood in which we want them to feel. (above)

http://www.freesound.org/people/suonho/sounds/58960/


My second sound which i found i think can relate to thrillers because the high pitched screech which is heard somewhat scares the audience and relates to a womans scream, also the pace is fast and upbeat which could be used in our piece when he is walking rather quickly to get to his friends house, it keeps the mood constantly but also speeds up the rythm so the audince get a feeling of excitement.(above)

http://www.freesound.org/people/imaginaryband/sounds/79421/

My third sound which i have chosen creates a sad, sympathetic mood when it begins to connote sadness or distress but then quickens up to represent that someone is on a mission or their emotions are overwhelming. This could be used in our opening sequence when the man finds his dead friens (the slow sad part of the music) and then when he gets the daugher (upbeat part). (above)

http://www.freesound.org/people/fonogeno/sounds/19425/

Lastly i found an eary telephone ring which creates a ghosly feel and fits in well when one of our shots incudes just the telephone and the constant sound of it ringing in the background to connote the feeling of silence, lonliness or even panic that no one has answered it.(above)

Audience Research 2

Audience Research Analysis on Prezi

Synopsis of our Thriller

A man goes to visit his friend at his house. He rings his friend as he walks there to make use everything is still good. There is no answer. The man assumes everything is okay and carries on his journey to his friends house. When he arrives the door is open, he still knocks but there is no answer. He opens the door to see if everything and shouts out his mates name. Still no answer, so he goes inside only to find his mate and his wife dead. He immediately goes into shock and panics desperately trying to bring his mate back to life without realising that he is contaminating the crime scene with his fingerprints. He eventually notices that their daughter is not there and then starts to look for her. He finds her upstairs under the bed, alive.

The man and the daughter then take part in a journey to avoid the people trying to kill her family and the police who believe that he was the one who killed the family and kidnapped their daughter.

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas for our Thriller Opening Sequence on Prezi

Thriller Genre Questionnaire

Location Ideas for Thriller Genre

I chose to take this image of this particular location (field opposite St Helier Hospital) because i feel that it would relate well to a thriller genre by the features in the frame. The darkness represents a scary, creepy and somewhat ghostly feel to an image which can immediately leave an effect on the audience. The trees are in clear focus with the faded out into black behind which i feel is thriller-like because the trees look dead and you cant see anything behind them. The 'dead' look can connote death in any way relating to thriller and can give a spooky feel to a setting.

This location is down a wide alley way with gates either side, based just next to Sutton High Street. This relates to a thriller genre because looking at the white walls they are dirty and connote an abandoned or deserted feeling by the way its been treated or could also look as if it has rotted away through passing of time. Again, i took this picture in the dark because i feel darkness makes a location have more emphasis and meaning behind it to make it feel more spooky and realistic.

My final image relating to thriller i took in a deserted playground by Sutton Arena. The playground i believe, represents a feeling of coldness and can create a ghostly feel when for example, an empty swing is shown swinging by itself. The darkness makes it look deserted and creepy with the way the colours of the climbing frame stands out and the rest of it blends in with the blackness, i feel this would be a good location for a thriller because of the connotations of the mood this would set the audience in.

Conventions of a thriller opening sequence

Seven Thriller Opening Analysis

Job roles in an opening sequence

examples:

What are the conventions of a title sequence?

Bridget Jones Diary Analysis

Similarities and differences between 'Bridget Jones Diary' opening sequence and a thriller opening sequence.

In 'Bridget Jones Diary' and a traditional thriller opening sequence, many differences are used to resemble the different genres. For example, they both have different shot types and angles to represent a certain character feautured in the film. This may also include not as many close ups which give us less clues in the rom-com and the characters would be completely different to target their certain genre audiences. Also the duration of the clips and changs to the pace of editing can in certain thriller opening sequences build tension whereas in 'BJD' the clips are shorter and possibly more humourous.

There are only a few similarities between 'Bridget Jones Diary' and a thriller opening because the target audiences and genres contrast. The music in both is used to create the mood when the film first begins and helps the audience understand what genre it is. Also both of them establish the setting in a single shot which gives more clues away to the audience.

Spiderwick Chronicles Analysis

Spiderwick Chronicles Analysis on Prezi

Similarities and Differences between 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' and 'Bridget Jones Diary'

The differences between the two opening sequences of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' and 'Bridget Jones Diary' focusing on Mise en Scene, Editing, Sound and Cinematography are that the editing in 'Spiderwick' was more quicker paced when changing from shot to shot and didnt have long durations on a certain character or item unlike in the opening sequence of 'Bridget Jones' the editing was quite slow paced so the audience could see more of what her life is like and represents her as the main character. The music was different because in 'Spiderwick' it was orchestral music but with an upbeat to it whereas in 'BJD' the music were songs which represented her and her life. Another final difference were that 'BJD' was more lighthearted when it came to genre and it was more of a romantic comedy whereas 'Spiderwick' had dark connotations to it and was seen more of an Action Adventure film.

There were only a few similarities because of how completeley different they were in terms of editing, sound and genre. However, they both seemed to have cleverly used differences in time to show something changing or representing their own life. Also they both have an element of mystery, even though 'BJD' has a completely different genre there is somewhat a sort of mystery about her life and who she is, this is also shown in 'Spiderwick' when there are certain parts when there are moments of quick silence or panic demonstrating the mystery throughout the film.

Wallander (Firewall, 7/12/08, BBC1) Analysis

The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999, US)

Brick (Johnson, 2005, US)

When the beginning of the opening sequence appears the company 'focus features' is the first thing that the audience see's when the film begins. In the background the music has a country beat to it which gives off quite a mysterious effect to the audience. The western sound gradually increases its volume so the audience only hear the sound while the company name dissapears and a black screen is shown. Cowbells are mixed in the background with a guitar and a water sound effect, this sad, depressing music makes the audience feel emotion before they even see any of the characters or setting etc. The slow dreary guitar noise could represent the character himself and how links with how he feels, we later learn during the sequence that the water noice relates to the river in the main shot.

At the beginning of the sequence the first shot which is noticed by the audience is an extreme close up on the feet of the character as it crabs down to them.

The audience can see from this shot by the look of the shoes and the position that the character is a male and is positioned as if he is leaning against something. Just like in 'Memento' the audience dont see the main character straight away as if the director doesnt want us to see him fully, an extreme close up is used on his eyes and glasses,

by this point the audience dont recieve many detailed clues about the male but an eyeline match is used then later on in a master shot the audience is shown that he is staring at a young girl who is opposite him, preferably dead. This long shot makes the audience ask questions such as who is he? did he do this? is she dead? are they related? etc. Later on the camera tracks towards the girls feet which is also an eyeline match from an earlier shot, the camera tracks into her shoes and then into his and her face to make the audience see that they have a relationship between them. On the girls arm when the camera tracks onto her wrist the bracelets are in the centre of the frame which gives off to the audience that they are important and should be noticeable later on in other scenes, the director still doesnt want the audience to see his face and know who he is so there is an extreme long shot of him leaning against the wall with his hands covering his face, the audience are unsure of who he is and are still asking questions.

Editing throughout the opening sequence is quite slow paced and doesnt really quicken while the sequence continues. After the titles there is a fade cut to white and a slow dissolve to mix in with the music and fade to the next shot. While he stares at the girl the editing keeps cutting back to his face to show the audience his facial expression, this makes the audience think, how is he feeling? what is he thinking? etc. Memento has simliar editing techniques by using the end of the film in the opening sequence. The title 'brick' appears against a black screen after we learn the genre of the film and the basic idea of the storyline from the first minute of the opening sequence, the title moves away and fades into the blackness which may represent something that is lost or we are losing.

Mise en scene is important in this opening sequence because the smallest of clues on a character or prop or set etc could let the audience think about questions to fill the blank sections in their minds. For example, when the camera tracks onto the girls shoes, you notice the mud on her shoes and when the extreme long shot appears, above her there is grass which could imply that she fell or she was pushed by the male character. The main characters clothing blends in with the background and creates dark imagery however the female is wearing bright coloured clothes so she stands out from the gloomy setting and makes her seem innocent and vulnerable. As well as not being able to see his face, we also cant see her face because she is laying flat down onto the ground, the audience only see her hair which is zoomed into so the audience know she isnt a woman but a young girl or student.

Memento (Nolan, 2000, US) analysis with annotations.