I have seen three opening sequences to three separate
thriller movies which all have different elements and techniques which create
tension and suspense within the audience. From camera angles to lighting
effects, each technique applied by the director is purposely placed to produce
the thrilling theme.
Firstly, Sorority Row is a horror/thriller which revolves
around a group of teenage girls who try to plot a wicked prank against a
drunken boy. The sequence begins very ordinary as the first camera shot seen is
the panning (then zoom) of a large house, which from the outside looks quite
ordinary with a garden and a drive. However, on the inside, the house is far
from sane as it is over run by drunken teenagers, reflecting their stereotype;
as they are always seem causing trouble or drinking alcohol. The costume is a
stereotype too, as the males are seen in jeans and t-shirts, whilst the girls
are wearing short skirts. Consequently,
this classic costume of teenagers and normal house conveys that what the future
offers could happen to anyone. Thus makes the film more thrilling. Another
stereotype mixed in is the fact the classic protagonist being female, and the
murderer an antagonist.
The lighting initially is soft lighting, implying happiness
which is also reflected via the extreme-close-ups showing smiles and laughter. Tracking is then used to follow one of the
main characters into a bedroom, where another extreme-close-up is used as an
omen for their soon mischievous behaviour.
The prank begins with a close-up of the ‘ill’ girl. Another
extreme-close-up is on the boy, reflecting his sheer panic and horror to what
he is seeing. We then skip a scene into
a car, with the use of P.O.V to give the audience an idea of where they are
going. The weather plays a vital role as an enigma code in the form of pathetic
fallacy, portraying what is going to happen. As the group exit the car, a long
shot is used to show the group’s vulnerability and hard lighting immediately
produces shadows creating an eerie atmosphere and again implying sinister
activity is in the offering. Another enigma code is revealed as a silver sword
(prop) is left in the boot of the car, thus giving the audience the idea of
what is going to happen to the ‘dead’ girl. This causes the audience to think
‘what is going to happen next?’ therefore keeping them guessing and thrilled.
Swords, associated with death convey to the audience that the girl’s fate could
be settled by the sword, as the girls joke around by ‘looking for rocks to cut
her up with’. This chilling quote
alongside the sword does begin to create an enigma, as by putting the two and
two together, a haunting image is put into the mind of the audience. In
addition, the hard lighting implies jeopardy thus further implying the girl’s
life is in danger. The soundtrack edited in is very sinister and cold which
picks up tempo as the horror begins, ergo producing tension and suspense, as
the audience expect something bad to occur.
As the audience, I could immediately foresee the potential
dangers of such a bold prank upon a drunk, panicked boy. The pathetic fallacy
immediately acts as an omen for the future (darkness and sadness) and reflects
the boy’s emotion; distress, which is then conveyed into me (the audience).The
sword is a sinister object, and one which you do not normally have in the boot
of your car, thus I was very suspicious to see such an object there.
Subsequently, I was nervous and anxious for what was coming next. Furthermore
to add to the eeriness, the long shot portrayed vulnerability, and the location
was very remote further implying how vulnerable they were. This made me worried
for their safety, and kept me very thrilled.
Secondly, I watched ‘The Sixth Sense’, a thriller film about
a young boy who sees the dead. The film begins with haunting music playing over
the titles of actors and directors. The font is written in white block capital on
a black background. The soundtrack which
is very haunting immediately gives the audience a valid insight into what the
film is about.
The first part of filming we see is a lady in a dress
walking down some old wooden steps into a cellar. The angle used for this is a
low angle shot which is employed to hide her identity, ergo creating tension
within the audience as we cannot see who is approaching in the gloomy cellar.
The hard lighting of the cellar contributes to the eerie suspense as a figure
walks down the stairs. However, as the lady comes into the shot, we see soft
lighting upon her face. This could highlight her importance in the film, but it
also could indicate she is a good character within the film as the soft
lighting produces a white light. White, often referred to as the colour purity
and goodness. The mise-en-scene
contributes to the atmosphere too as the dark, gloomy cellar is often a place
associated with spooky coincidences. The costume is very formal with the men
wearing a suit and the woman a dress.
This quite grand costume is reflected in the house which appears to be
large and luxurious. It is also what you would expect people of that age to
wear if they were to dress formally.
A change of scene brings a change of lighting into a soft
lighting, as both the man and woman appear happy with extreme-close-ups on
their face. Subsequently, this causes
the audience to relax as the character’s emotions appear to be relaxed and the
lighting implies nothing suspicious is going on. However, a discovery of an
enigma code in the form of a broken window with an object on the floor creates
an omen. A shadow of a scattering figure
is seen via the employment of hard lighting, this immediately causes surprise
in both the characters and audience as it is such a sudden movement. Suspense
is created via the beginning of this enigma code which also acts as a trigger
event for other suspicious behaviour. We
then see a less stereotypical element as a naked intruder (who broke in) almost
possessed by shooting the male owner of the house. This is a swap of
stereotypes as normally the protagonist is a female, however it is the male in
this film. Consequently, this makes the whole audience feel more vulnerable, as
men, often seen more brave and less susceptible to such incidents has been a
victim in the first scene.
Another edit alongside the titles is that the first scene is
in fact a flashback. This flashback is
very disguised, therefore after the opening sequence, the audience are confused
to what has happened and why. Thus, this makes it more thrilling as the
audience have to decode the story. This creates an element of thrill as it
keeps the audience guessing.
Overall, the opening sequence creates great bewilderment
within me, as the flashback eliminates clarity and makes the whole sequence
seem much more thrilling. The hard lighting creates tension and kept me
guessing ‘what could it be?’ and ‘who is it?’. I believe that the lighting
played a key role into the thrill element as it highlighted characters as good,
whilst it made others seem much more mysterious at times.
Lastly, I watched ‘Shutter Island’, a film which is a drama
thriller. To begin with we see edits such as the paramount and the setting of a
scene via a gold bold font, illustrating ‘pearl harbour 1954’. This gives a
clue to what the film may revolve around. This then links in with the first
shot we see is a long shot of a military boat upon a rough sea surrounded by
fog. This immediately projects the vulnerability and exposure of the crew upon
the warship. The first character we meet is via an extreme-close-up in a mirror
which gives two effects. First of all, it gives us an insight into the
characters emotion which seems to be anguish and illness, as he seems very weak
and sweaty. By looking in the mirror for an extreme-close-up, we can also see
how he sees himself, thus the director immediately puts us on the side of the
character. Furthermore, upon his face we can gain an idea of what sort of
character he is. The character has a plaster upon his forehead, signifying he
has been injured recently (which links in well with the thought that he is on a
warship). However, more deeply, this could imply he is trying to cover up
something, indicating he has done some wrong doing recently. One could infer that the plaster is also an
enigma code as it could symbolise potential pain.
The boat inside and out has hard lighting on it, implying it
is a place of bad events. Inside the walls are very plain and dull, which could
reflect how the war has impacted the workers upon the boat, which would link in
with the main character’s anger and sadness in the opening sequence. The boat seems due to the hard lighting as
quite a pessimistic place to be situated upon. However, we see the male main
character as good as the soft lighting makes him stand out from the gloom in
the background. This again makes the audience take the side of the character.
Another edit put into the scene is flashbacks of the main
character’s wife which gives us an insight into his previous life. Flashbacks
can give us vital details into who this character is, and his characteristics.
In the flashback, the scene is in soft lighting which makes his wife stand out
and seem pure and happy. Whilst this
creates happiness, an element of sadness is also introduced as we are again
sympathetic to the character as he revealed his wife died.
However, the main character is not your classic stereotype
of one in the Navy as he is seasick and is constantly thinking about his wife,
suggesting homesickness. To be in the Navy you have to be ready to leave your
family, however he seems to struggle.
In conclusion, I believe that the opening sequence is very
affective as it gives me a quick insight into the character thus informing me
about how he may react to certain thrilling experiences. The enigma code of a
plaster indicates what the future of the film may unveil and keeps me guessing
how he got the injury. This creates an eerie element to a character, who
previously is depicted as very good by the director. Camera angles also create
an eerie atmosphere with the long shot portraying vulnerability, and the
extreme-close-up showing his pain and anguish.
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