Title Conventions

Sherlock Holmes - Guy Ritchie

This opening sequence possesses clear conventions associated with thriller films. Such as:


Lighting/colour: The lighting and colour used in this particular title sequence is made up of low-key

lighting and grey scale colouring. These particular elements are reminiscent of thriller films, as they promote a sense of danger and ambiguity.

Key Characters: The key characters in this opening (Sherlock Holmes and John Watson) and introduced as a pair, not much is given away about their characters, but almost immediately a clear connection can be made between the two.

Music: The orchestral music present throughout the opening title sequence is a representation of the era that the film is set in, when it plays in scenes throughout the production it reinforces this setting.

Action and era suggestions: The action shown throughout the progression of the title sequence reinforces the conventions of a thriller film, their are violent images and the element of violence is a key aspect in the production of Thriller films.

I,Robot - Alex Proyas

This opening sequence possesses clear conventions associated with thriller films. Such as:

Foreshadowing: There is foreshadowing used in this particular title sequence, which highlights what is going to happen in the rest of the film. The sound of water is prominent, and is also prominent throughout the film. The foreshadowing of events that are vital to they key characters in the film, is a vital element of a Thriller films title sequence.

Music: The music selected for this opening sequence is tense and unnerving, sharp tones play as the text appears on the screen, this suspense music is typical of thriller films, and in this particular case it suggests to the audience that there is going to be an element of threat.

Lighting: The low-key lighting used in this thriller opening sequence is also typical of Thriller films, as it also promotes a sense of danger and almost foreshadows upcoming dark events. It immediately sets a sort of tension for the audience.

Characters: The fact that the music finishes and cuts straight to a close up of one of the characters, it immediately implies that this is a main character and will be an essential element regarding the progression of the production. The intense close up also presents an intensity amongst the audience, and again this creates tension which is typical to Thriller films.

The narrative plan for our opening

Restricted - restricted narrative refers to when the audience is surprised by an event they haven't predicted or one that they are unaware would happen. For example, a common use of restricted narrative is the incorporation of a gun shot or a bomb explosion into a particular scene of a film.
Unrestricted - unrestricted narrative refers to when the audience is aware of a presence or an upcoming event, and the characters are not. This element is significant when it comes to creating suspense within a film, it also creates a sense of dramatic irony. It could make the audience feel a sense of frustration, as they are unable to inform the characters of the danger that they are in.


When selecting a narrative for our own opening, we decided to select a 'restricted narrative'. We decided to go down this route as it creates an optimum amount of tension and ambiguity for the audience, as well as fitting into the classic psychological thriller conventions. This encouraged the audience to fill in the missing elements of the plot, such as who took Olivia or just where she has gone. Seeing as our plot is extremely ambiguous anyway, the incorporation of the restricted narrative manipulates the audience's mind to the maximum as they have no idea of what is going to happen, or of who to trust.
The tense scene incorporated into end of the opening, 'The Police scene', further enhances the effects of a restricted narrative. For example, it allows the audience to produce a clearer perception of the parental characters, and they're non-verbal communication (exchange of looks/facial expressions) in this final scene promotes a sense of guilt and anxiety. This suggests that these young, irresponsible parents, may in fact have had something to do with the disappearance of their young child, leaving the audience confused and craving more information on what has actually happened.

Influential Thriller directors

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan was born in London, UK on July 30th 1970. Best known for his cerebral and often non-linear story telling, Nolan has produced a range of different films over the course of a 15 year career ranging from low budget films to the largest block buster Thrillers of this generation ('The Dark Knight Rises'). Nolan began his career by making short films in his spare time, until progressively he has formed into a multimillionaire Hollywood director.

Quentin Tarantino

 

Quentin Tarantino is an American director, writer and actor. Much like Nolan, Tarantino's films are recognisable by his use of non-linear story lines. Other recognisable works of Tarantino are: aestheticization of violence, extended scenes of dialogue, satirical subject matter, and more.  Tarantino is a well esteemed director, recognised for huge blockbuster productions such as 'Pulp Fiction' (which he acted in as well as directed) and 'Kill Bill'.

David Fincher

 

David Fincher is an American director and producer, recognised for his work on film, television programmes and music videos. Fincher's most successful films are the ones he has created that fit under the 'psychological thriller genre', such as 'Gone Girl', 'Fight Club', and 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. His work is very iconic to himself, creating twisty plots and similar sort of characters within his films.

Conventions of a Thriller film

There are particular conventions that are customary in the production of Thriller films:

• Low key lighting - Low key lighting is used in Thriller films to promote a sense of tension, seeing as things are never usually quite as they seem regarding the content, this hazy and misleading use of lighting reflects the way that the content of Thriller films can mislead its audiences.
• Quick cuts - Quick cuts are usually a prominent use of editing in Thriller films, seeing as quick cuts promote a tense atmosphere. They never really give the audience enough time to focus on what's happening in the current scene, which encourages a flustered sort of effect.
• Shadows - Shadows are incorporated into Thriller films as they foreshadow elements of danger. As danger and threat is a recurring aspect of Thriller films, it is important to incorporate visual elements that add to this.  
• Tension music - Music is one of the most significant methods when it comes to creating tension and atmosphere in any genre of film. Seeing as Thriller films aim to create the most extreme feelings of terror and exhilaration, it is vital that the selected music is of the right sound and balance to achieve these goals.
• Changes in the angle of shots - A use of many different angles of shots creates feelings of disorientation and confusion, the alterations can make the audience feel sensations of stress and paranoia, which contributes to the typical feelings and conventions associated with Thriller films.
• Diegetic sound of breathing - This particular use of diegetic sound is iconic to Thriller productions, the sound can be very stressful to listen to and can foreshadow or illuminate elements of danger with in a particular scene. Therefore creating stress and anxiety for the audiences, also filling them with exhilaration.
• Protagonist is in the mercy of the Antagonist - In Thriller films, there is nearly always a villain and a victim, the antagonist villain is always presenting some sort of distress or danger to the protagonist victim. This is also an element iconic to Thriller films.

When producing our own Thriller film, we focused vary carefully on the different conventions associated with Thriller films. For example, tense music is present in our production, it promotes the eerie and unnerving ambience that we were aiming to achieve with our production. We also focused on using important sound affects, such as the repetition of the sound of a beating heart. Much like the sound of heavy breathing, the heart beat sound in 'Vanished' created a sense of danger and anxiety, it leaves the audience waiting for something extreme to happen. As well as the music and sound affects, we also focused on the different shot angles, we did this to created a disorientated sort of feel for the audience, leaving them almost confused and adding to the ambiguity.

Analysis of three Thriller films

'Girl on the Train' - Tate Taylor

Setting: A major criticism of this production was the setting, as it was set in New York which seemed to cause a significant uproar amongst critics, seeing as Paula Hawkin's original book was set in London which was a huge part of the novel. When analysing the various different settings within the production, it is clear to see that they contribute to typical Thriller film conventions. Although there is one major location, which is the suburban town (similar location to that of 'Gone Girl'), the smaller and less recognisable locations are what promote Thriller film conventions. For example:

The bridge setting: In the production, there is a recurring location used as a major aspect of the scenes. This bridge is where one of the most prominent and Thrilling events of the film takes place, however it is ambiguous. This particular location and setting selected by Taylor succumbs to typical conventions of a Thriller film, seeing as it is secluded and has an eerie sort of ambience.

The forest setting: Similarly to the bridge setting, the scenes located in the forest are also prominent, this is specifically where the murder of 'Megan' takes place. It is also a very secluded location , and a very typical one for Thriller and Horror films, many Thrilling events tend to take place in forests. For example, in 'The Hole' - Nick Hamm, all four protagonist characters of the film end up trapped in a forest location, resulting in the death of three of them.


Plot: The plot for 'Girl on the Train' fits the regular plot of a Thriller film well, it consists of ambiguity and subtlety, always leaving the audience questioning what is going on. It follows the course of a restricted narrative, meaning the audience have no idea of events that are going to take place and they are also unaware of what the truth behind past events are. It is all left completely to their own interpretations. When comparing 'Girl on the train' to 'Gone Girl', you can recognise that they both follow opposite narratives, seeing as the characters in 'Gone Girl', specifically 'Nick' (Ben Affleck) are initially unaware of what is going on with the disappearance of his wife, however, the audience are - this creates a sense of dramatic irony.

Characters: The characters created for 'Girl on the Train' fit the typical characters associated with a Thriller film, for example, there is a Male character that results in being the villain, whilst oppressing and disrespecting the female characters, which fits into the stereotypical depiction of male characters in Thriller films, being more dominant and intimidating characters. As well as this, there are three female characters in the production, two of which are custom with blonde hair. Both of these characters end up being victims in the production, and if you were to analyse the film with Hitchcock in mind, he would suggest that the selection of two blonde victims would be ideal, as he believed that blonde's tend to make better victims over brunettes due to the stereotype of them being more fragile and possibly less intelligent, however, there is also a brunette female victim in this production.

Visual style: The visual style of the film also contributes to typical Thriller film conventions. There is often little lighting in most of the scenes, and this is used to promote eeriness and tension. The haziness of the lighting and the screenplay, encourages the audience to feel unnerved and increases the Thrilling aspects of the film. When analysing other Thriller films, such as 'The Shining', it is clear to see that the majority of Thriller films follow this same visual sort of styling, therefore this production successfully matches these conventions.

'The Shining' - Stanley Kubrick

Setting: The setting in this particular production is considerably different but also considerably similar when analysing it in comparison to other Thriller films and when considering the typical conventions associated with a Thriller film. It is located in the high mountains of Oregon, although it doesn't follow the typical location of a forest or a suburban town, this location is particularly successful in achieving the 'thrilling' aspects of this particular genre. The location is very secluded from other people, and so it immediately creates tension as the audience would expect something to go wrong, as there is no way that they could get help quickly in a difficult situation.

Plot: The plot of this production fits amazingly well into the typical conventions associated with a typical Thriller film plot. It involves chase scenes, a villain and two victims both in peril and faced with terrifying experiences; the terror shown through the characters is what enables the audience to feel emotions of a thrilling nature and encourages the 'edge of the seat' sensation, as the plot is relatively unique and positively chilling. The film follows no particular narrative style, seeing as both the audience and the characters in the production seem aware of what is going on, both the audience and the characters seem to be made aware of the dark situations taking place at the same time, therefore making it difficult to decipher a particular narrative style.



 Characters: The characters created for this film hugely expand on the thrilling nature. Seeing as the characters consist of a family made up of a father, mother and a young son just makes the film so much more unnerving and uncomfortable to watch. As fitting to the stereotype, the male character in the production is the villain and is the one that manages to cause the peril throughout the film. However, where the audience would expect the mother and son to come to a sticky end it is in fact the father that dies from his reckless and uncontrollable nature, it is this twist that challenges the typical stereotype that associates with characters in a Thriller film.

Visual Style: The visual styling of this production also contributes to executing typical conventions considered to be associated with a Thriller production, the monotone hotel accompanied by the desolate outdoor landscape, entitles the film to a sense of isolation and danger. Much like 'Girl on the Train', bleak colours are used throughout the production, possibly to reflect the inner state of the main villainous character. The colours incorporated in each scene automatically promotes danger and confinement, seeing as red is a recurring colour used and the harshness of the artificial lighting is often visible when the young male character is on scene, and it is this character that is usually subject to danger.

 

'Silence of the Lambs' - Jonathan Demme

Setting: The setting for this production is also relatively stereotypical, the majority of the scenes are located in country side sort of areas, which like the other two films promotes a sense of dislocation and isolation. The immediate danger is recognisable from the scene, as it reflects the loss of the villain and the challenge to find and uncover him.

Plot: The plot of this particular production is tantalisingly horrific, with mature themes being represented. Again, like the majority of Thriller films, there is a sense of ambiguity, and the thrill comes from the search for the villain and stopping his horrific works. This film is custom to an unrestricted narrative, seeing as we as the audience are unaware of what is going on 100% of the time. This feeling of the unknown is what creates the tension for the audience, and its what allows the production to be labelled as a Thriller film as it possesses aspects associated with that of the Thriller film conventions.
Characters: Like all regular Thriller films, in this production the 'villain' is played by a male character, this factor allows the production to be labelled as a Thriller film as it fits the conventions associated with others. However, typical gender roles within Thriller films are challenged in this particular production. Where the female character usually plays the damsel in distress, this female character acts as a brave F.B.I agent who needs to confide in a mass killer in order to get information on another mass killer. This brave and heroic behaviour pursued by  a female character is not usually witnessed in a Thriller film, it is this that allows the production to challenge gender roles within thriller films.

Visual Style: The visual style adopted by Demme in this film associates to that of a style typically associated with a thriller film. There is often little lighting, which adds to the ambiguity and strengthens the tension felt by the audience. It encourages the audience to think harder about the content of the production, and enables the film to fit into the 'thriller' genre as it isn't all light and happy, much like a Comedy or a Romance film would be.

 

Psycho - shower scene

The iconic shower scene present in Hitchcock's Oscar nominated  'Psycho', presents key examples of Hitchcock's theories and ideas in action. The scene involves a rather dramatic shower, upon which actress Janet Leigh, has a very distressing experience which eventually ends in her gory death.


For example, he incorporates his idea of suspense vs. surprise, that's key in this particular scene.

For the audience, the fact that the female character in the scene is unaware of the approaching danger, it creates significant tension as the viewers know that something awful is going to happen, in this particular scene, the tense music incorporated also adds to the ever growing tension. Hitchcock also believes that "music can not stand apart from the movie", meaning that the function is to set the mood in the scene; in this case, the function is to create significant tension. The distortion of the figure behind the shower curtain, also contributes to the rising tension for the audience, as it promotes confusion and unawareness off who the mysterious character is and of what exactly is going to happen next. This relates to the unrestricted narrative adopted by Hitchcock, upon which the audience are aware of approaching events and the characters themselves aren't.

The 'Ticking Time Bomb' theory explored and developed by Hitchcock, is also apparent in this

particular scene. Upon the arrival of the mysterious character into the bathroom, and the fact the Leigh's character is so oblivious adds to the tension amongst the viewers as it means that they are left wondering what is going to happen next, its the threat of the danger that is more suspenseful than the danger itself.

Alfred Hitchcock's ideas and theories

Hitchcock had various different ideas and theories that he incorporated into his productions that enabled defining elements to be created for the 'Thriller' genre.

The 'Ticking Time Bomb' theory

Alfred Hitchcock believed that within every good thriller production, there has to be elements of the audience being left in the dark. He believed that, in terms of film, it wasn't the explosion that created the optimum amount of tension for the audience, but it was the threat of an explosion that made the viewing unnerving. He also quoted himself that: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it". When an audience is viewing a thriller production, if they are unaware of what is happening within the plot, they tend to fill in the gaps with the use of their own imagination. From doing this, what they invent themselves is usually far more horrific than what the director actually has in store. It is this that enables Hitchcock's theory to be favourable, and it also enables the allocation of 'thriller's' tense and electrifying stereotype.

In our own production, we incorporated Hitchcock's theory to promote a sense of confusion for the audience, as it is initially very hazy when considering what has happened to the young girl, and the audience would tend to jump to the worst possible conclusion when weighing up the possibilities, at least this is what we were aiming for.

Suspense vs. Surprise

Within Hitchcock's productions, it is clear to see that he prefers using the element of suspense over the element of surprise. The element of surprise derives from the director assaulting the viewer with thrilling/frightening events, this method of production is usually recognised in Horror films rather than Thriller films, where there are 'jumpy' and unexpected events. However, the element of suspense is one easily favoured by Hitchcock. This particular element derives from the director informing the audience of aspects of the production that the characters are not aware of, it promotes a sense of dramatic irony. Once the audience are custom with knowledge on upcoming events, the director artfully creates tension about what will happen when the characters within the production eventually learn the truth. This particular element of suspense is used eloquently by Hitchcock in the iconic 'shower scene' in his world class production 'Psycho', where the character 'Marion Crane' played by elegant Janet Leigh, is unaware of the mysterious figure approaching her from behind the shower curtain.

Blondes make the best victims

Hitchcock believes that within film productions, blonde females or males always make the best victim. He believes that "they're virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints". When analysing his work it is clear to see that he follows this theory when allocating the victim roles within his productions, for example, Janet Leigh playing the part of the damsel in distress in 'Psycho'. We followed this notion of Hitchcock's when directing our own thriller film, we purposefully chose a young girl with blonde hair, to add to the innocence and to create a vulnerable sort of image.

Narrative style

Hitchcock usually used unrestricted narrative within his productions; where the characters don't know what is going to happen to them but the audience do, it creates dramatic irony. However, with this particular element we chose not to follow in the footsteps of Hitchcock, we chose to use a restricted narrative, as we wanted to production to be really ambiguous so the audiences would have to use their own imagination to attempt to derive what happens, this is how we were aiming to gain our 'thrilling aspects' as it is the fear of the unknown that is promoted.

Final story board for 'Vanished'

Before starting the filming process for our production, it was vital that as a group we produced a 'storyboard' in order to give direction to our day dedicated to filming. We had to change a few aspects of the film in relation to the storyboard, purely because it was difficult to get the final product exactly the same as the initial planning. However, as the filming progressed, it was clear that the order of our chosen shots could stay relatively similar to the way we envisaged them in planning.
Close to the end of the day of filming, we decided to add in another scene which we label as 'The Police Scene'. This particular scene is not highlighted on the initial storyboard, but as we finished filming we realised that something was missing. In order to set the scene and allow the plot to be as understandable as possible, we incorporated the Police scene so that we could emphasise the flashbacks experienced by the older female character, Phoebe, in the productions. Without this particular scene, the production wouldn't have flowed as well and the plot would have been left almost to ambiguous.

Final Film link - 'Vanished'

Inserted below is the YouTube link for the final cut of our final production: 'Vanished'.

Final film script

Scripting

In our production, our actors didn't have a strict script to follow. However, in order to gain desired effects, they were given a set of guidelines to follow regarding what sorts of dialect they should incorporate.

• For example, due to the given location, it was necessary for our actors to communicate with a typical 'Norfolk' accent. This allowed them to fit into their surroundings well and only made the production more believable.
• It would've been difficult to use a script considering the age of Olivia, seeing as she is only four years old. For this reason her parts in the film were entirely improvised, which again made the film seem very real and even more so relatable.
• Due to Olivia's spontaneity, Phoebe and Ben had to base their responses entirely on what she said. Therefore contributing to the reason why no script was created for our film. Both Phoebe and Ben had to speak in almost infantile tones, in order to act as if they truly were parents and the parents of Olivia.
• In the final scene (the police scene) where Olivia wasn't included, a minor script was created. This was to make the scene seem completely realistic and encourage the audience to believe that our actors were based in a Police Station.

Filming Schedule/Day of Filming

Our trip to The Picture House - 'A Touch of Evil'

Norwich Picture House - Monday 31st October

On Monday the 31st of October, our media class endeavoured on a trip to The Norwich Picture House to view a screening of Welles's classic - 'A Touch of Evil'. We went to view this classic hit thriller, to give us (as a class) an insight first hand into Orson Welles's work, and the way in which he conducts it. It was a helpful trip regarding creating our own productions, as it meant that we were given ideas on methods of filming and the way in which we should conduct our own screening techniques.

Summary of 'A Touch of Evil'

Mexican officer Ramon Miguel 'Mike' Vargas has an interrupted honeymoon when an American is killed after someone places a bomb in his car. He's killed on the US side of the border but it's clear that the bomb was planted on the Mexican side.Vargas then delays his return to Mexico City where he has been working on a case against the Grandi family crime and narcotics syndicate. Police Captain Hank Quinlan is in charge on the US side and he soon has a suspect, a Mexican named Manolo Sanchez. Vargas is soon onto Quinlan and his Sergeant, Pete Menzies, when he catches them planting evidence to convict Sanchez. With his new American wife, Susie, safely tucked away in a hotel on the US side of the border - or so he thinks - he starts to review Quinlan's earlier cases. While concentrating on the corrupt policeman however, the Grandis have their own plans for Vargas and they start with his wife Susie.

Thriller genres/subgenres

Thriller films

A 'Thriller' is a broad spectrum of either literature, film, or television used to describe a production that enables the audience/reader to feel certain emotions, all be it fear, exhilaration, excitement or confusion. Thriller films in particular are known for giving audiences heightened feelings of suspense, seeing as they incorporate qualities of ambiguity and often terror.  

Horror

Horror films possess unsettling qualities, and aim to horrify the reader, which explains the allocated name. They often unlock an audiences deepest fears, and creates self-conflict and paranoia within an individual. Horrors can range from being grotesquely gory, to hauntingly spiritual, all genres of which generally achieve the desired effect amongst the audience.

Sci-fi Thriller

Sci-fi movies are created on a basis of

speculative fiction, based on traditional human depictions of phenomena. The reason these films possess such a successful thrilling quality, is down to the fact that the audience can never really comprehend the content. Due to the fact they're never based on 'true' events, means that no one can really determine whether the content of these fictional films can eventually become non-fictional content.

Crime Thriller

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalises crimes. Crime Thrillers traditionally include: detection, criminals, and their motives. Crime films are generically ambiguous, leaving the audience questioning motives and which characters are in the right and which are in the wrong. An example of a particularly ambiguous, mind boggling film would be David Hitchcock's - 'The Departed'.

Action Thriller

'Action' is a film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists end up in a series of challenges that typically include violence, extended fighting, physical feats, and frantic chases. These particular films usually consist of heavy machinery, all be it cars or guns, and tends to appeal to male audiences more so than  female audiences. Action films are usually full of suspense, and encourage audiences to lunge to the edge of their seats.

Psychological Thriller

This specific sub-genre, is one that puts an audience under just as much stress as the protagonist characters always seem to be under. It emphasises the unstable psychological states of the characters and enables the audience to connect with them and enables them to understand their stresses... to a certain extent. Although horror films can offer a sense of gore and terror, psychological thrillers can promote a much deeper, psychological, reaction.

Equipment and props for Final Film

For our final film, 'Vanished', few props were necessary. However, in order to make certain scenes more believable, props were required. For example:

Police station

In order to make the police station scene legitimate, we incorporated official posters found in police stations into our set. Seeing as we were unable to shoot in an actual police station, we had to make do and create the scene to be as realistic as possible. Although these posters are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of the film, subconsciously an audience would notice them, and therefore not feel urged to question the specific location of the scene.

Bibliography for Music/Soundtrack

Bibliography for Music

Choosing music to fit our final cut was a difficult task, seeing as the ambience of a film is portrayed hugely through the style and genre of the music. Seeing the opening of our film is ambiguous, it was important for the tone of music to be subtle and twisted; not loud and dramatic like music that traditionally appears in horror/thriller films. It was a case of trial and error, with each piece of music being carefully analysed with consideration of the production, before finally settling with: 'Come Play with Me' - Kevin Macleod.

1. Ossuary 1 - A Beginning Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

2. Come Play with Me Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 3. Lost Frontier Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 

Research on Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and film historian, whose career spans more than 50 years. Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighbourhood of Little Italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films.

Scorsese's Work

• The Departed
• The Wolf Of Wall Street
• The Departed
• Shutter Island
• Hugo

 ... And many more.
Scorsese predominantly focuses on Thriller films, and the majority of his recognisable works are Thriller productions. Within his work, Scorsese usually focuses on themes of Sicilian-American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guild and redemption, faith, machismo, modern crime, and gang conflict. The majority of his films contain large amounts of violence and are recognised for this by his audiences.

Famous Scorsese Quotes

"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out"

"It seems to me that any sensible person must see that violence does not change the world and if it does, then only temporarily"

"And as I've gotten older, I've had more of a tendency to look for people who live by kindness, tolerance, compassion, a gentler way of looking at things"

First cut of Final Film (Vanished)

Setting research

Opening title sequence film analyses

In order to create our own film opening, we researched and began to analyse the opening title sequences of 3 films which we believe to have iconic opening title sequences. We used the website https://prezi.com/ to present our ideas. Below are the links to our 3 film analyses:

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: https://prezi.com/zdlv6sjjvh_3/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-opening-title-sequence/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Napoleon Dynamite: https://prezi.com/r3epwhk3hw_x/napoleon-dynamite-opening-title-sequence/

Se7en: Opening title sequence analysis

David Fincher: Se7en





Se7en (1995) is a neo-noir crime thriller directed by David Fincher following the story of two detectives (Pitt & Freeman) hunting for a serial killer whose murders are based around the seven deadly sins.

Camera shots and angles

- High angle shot of old, veiny hands on a book. Conventionally, a high angle shot is used to emphasise the power of a subject. The only part of the subject that is revealed in this frame is his hands which depicts his anonymity. The camera angle is slanted which gives a disorientating feel to the image and forces the audience to reciprocate the feelings of the detectives in that they feel confused about who the subject is.

The opening title sequence features many close ups put together with fast pace editing. Due to the speed of editing and how zoomed in the shot is, it is sometimes difficult to make out what some of the images are showing. This links to the film's crime thriller genre as the audience doesn't know everything that's going on, similarly to how the detectives don't know everything that's going on. Just as the detectives have to undergo a process to unveil what is happening, the viewer has to watch the film to learn about these happenings - both parties are looking for answers. The fact that we cannot fully make out every item that is in each shot highlights the purpose of a title sequence: to reveal  enough information about the film to entice the audience to watch more, whilst not giving away too much of the film's plot. The use of low-key lighting adds to the difficulty of interpreting each item, especially the unconventional ones, and creates the chiaroscuro effect. This title sequence outlines the key themes explored within the film.

-Medium Shot of a young boy whose eyes have been crossed out
The crossing out of the boys eyes shows he must maintain a hidden identity. The assumption is, considering the film's plotline, that this boy has been murdered. The fact that this is clearly a young boy plays on the audience's emotional investment - tragedies tend to be even sadder when young children are involved due to their innocence. This also reveals that the killer must be especially heartless as to be able to take the life of an infant. The black fading surrounding the images creates a smooth background in which for the casting titles to be written across, and also leaves the image with dark undertones, the colour black insinuating that not all is well.

Titles

- Kyle Cooper: “Fincher and I decided to use hand-drawn [type] mixed with Helvetica, and he was very excited by it. He knew that he wanted it to be drawn by hand, because it was from the mind of the killer, and I was taking that further, wanting it to be like the killer did the film opticals himself.”
The fonts used in the titles are appropriate to the film genre. White titles on a black background are easier to read than black titles on a white background and the inversion of colours makes it stand out more. The black background also gives the feeling of not being able to see everything, which reflects both where the detectives stand at the beginning of the film and how the victims of the killer would feel - they do not foresee their upcoming murder.

The writing appears fuzzed-up with glitchy graphics, almost leaving the screen in total blackness, adding to the intensively suspenseful feeling of this title sequence and making the audience feel uncomfortable - a feeling desired by those who watch horror films.

Mise en Scène
The colour scheme for this title sequence is almost entirely black and white, giving the film a sinister feel, but also features hints of the colour red, connoting danger, violence and blood spill(which there is a lot of in this film).
The opening sequence is full of unsettling images such as blood dripping onto a piece of paper, victims faces crossed out by marker pen and various lethal weapons such as a gun and a razor blade.This immediately highlights the kind of film the viewer is about to watch, full of death and other dark motifs.
Many of the shots making up this title sequence consist of papers and writing on pages. This could be to show the amount of paperwork involved in the detectives findings through attempting to follow the killers complicated tracks and twisted mindset, or possibly could be to demonstrate the in-depth calculation that goes into each one of the killer's murders, adding to the viewers feelings of suspicion and making them ponder the killer's motives. The fact that many of the journals/books appear old and torn makes the sequence seem more distressing and perhaps figuratively present the killer's fragmented and disturbed mind.
The Mis-en-Scéne of the title sequence is used to portray the amount of precision that goes into the film's killings, represented through symbols such as sewing, multiple shots focused on hands and threading the eye of a needle - fiddly and precise tasks, as would be calculating murders without being found responsible.

Music/Sound

The mood is set through the use of an eerie remix of the instrumental to 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails (1994) playing throughout the title sequence, with the only lyrics not removed being "you bring me closer to God" at the end. These lyrics link to the biblical theme that runs throughout the film with the killer seeming to act upon to 7 deadly sins.
As the title sequence goes on, the pace of the music quickens, creating a build up of tension. Harsh, ambient noises appear throughout as an attempt to unsettle the viewer, and the sounding of random screeches are used to shock, preparing the audience to be shocked later on in the film by its dark content.

Editing
This is an extremely action packed title sequence, as is demonstrated through fast-paced editing, with no shot lasting longer than 4 seconds. The editing is carefully timed, with the image changing to the beat of the music. Some transitions are straight cuts, and some fade to black or cross fade. Fading to black embodies the sinister and dark feel to the whole film, and cross-fading shows a relationship between the images, demonstrating that they are all the workings of one person.
Shot lengths vary in this sequence, with the more taboo/dangerous items staying on screen for a shorter amount of time. For example, 3 images flicker very quickly of somebody filling a gun. This makes the actions seen seem more suspenseful and secretive.
As the sequence plays out, the editing quickens, creating tension and putting the audience more and more on edge.This suggests the whole film will have this same tense feel.

Our Preliminary Task

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

 

Phoebe

Our aim when directing and producing the opening to our psychological thriller was to find a teenage girl who looked older, like a mother would. She is meant to appear as this perfect mother, paying close attention to her relationship with Olivia.

We had a decision between two girls to play the part of Phoebe, the unpredictable mother, with a sense of ambiguity about her:

Bella Thompson - our first auditionee was Bella, suggested due to her knowledge about acting and drama. Bella also offered confidence when it came to acting and was keen to be a part of the opening. The only problem was her appearance, being fair haired and owning a pale complexion displays youth and innocence. Also her physique doesn't match the one of a mothers, and so we decided not to give her the part.

Phoebe Symington - We liked Phoebe due to her past experience in both media and drama studies; this was an attractive quality because she had the confidence when acting, which was necessary in the major role of the opening. Phoebe also looked older than Bella, more mature and capable of damage. So we chose Phoebe as she fitted both the categories that Bella didn't.

Ben

For the male protagonist, the father of Olivia we were looking for a weaker character. They had to look old enough and manly enough to be married and to have children but ultimately the character of Ben had to be a weaker and less significant figure in comparison to the mother, so that there would be a sense of her holding the control.

Ben Gage - our first auditionee impressed us with his acting skills despite his lack of experience. It was an advantage, in act, that he was shy because his character was supposed to slightly shadow the relationship shared between Phoebe and Olivia. Ben also looked older than the other boys we auditioned, but although he had the physique of a man, there was something endearing and kind about his face so we decided he fit the cut perfectly in comparison to the others.

Luke Potts - Luke also had the physique we were looking for, but somewhat  lacked the acting skills we were looking for. His character seemed slightly too dominant over Phoebe's therefore we decided to go with Ben. Also look was at a lower availability then Ben for filming time.

Moodboard for the Final Film