Grace Suiter - AS Media Studies
Research & Planning
I would define the thriller genre as suspenseful and a genre which makes the audience tense and wonder what's going to happen next. Events happen unexpectedly even though subconciously we think they are going to happen. The audience often feelsanxious and even though there is an aspect of suspense, this adds to the element of excitement because we know it is not real.
Alfred Hitchcock created the first thriller film named "The Lodger" in 1926 which was based on Jack the Ripper murder cases. The film was a silent film and so there was no sound which meant that sound would often be substituted with mime and title cards. Throughout the years it has just grown and Hitchcock continued to produce thriller films until the 1960's and from this stage on there were many different producers such as Michael Powell and J.Lee Thompson.
Thriller films are mostly aimed at teenagers and young adults because their rating is normally 12A or above because they contain explicit content which may scare younger viewers. Some stereotypical events which occur in thrillers; such as gunfire, violence and blood & gore would be unsuitable for a young audience and that is the reason why they are normally rated at 12 or above. For instance, The Call is a 15 because it contains strong language and violence and The Purge is also a 15 which contains strong language, violence and mature themes. Die Hard is also a 15 and is again rated this due to strong language and violence. Also, violence shouldn't be encouraged and so that is another reason why younger children shouldn't watch them. Older people aged 40 and above wouldn't be so inclined to watch thriller films because it wouln't necessarily meet their demographics.
The thriller genre's aim is to scare its audience and continually keep their audience on the edge of their seat by using cliff hangers. The genre is intended to scare and frighten its viewers by using events (which we hope would never happen in real life) to make viewers feel anxious and fear the unexpected. Thriller films are intended to scare viewers and often succeed in this intention.
The Call's production budget was $13 million and was directed by Brad Anderson in 2013 and its opening weekend in the USA was 15th March 2013 and made $17,118,745 and its overall gross profit in the USA was $51,872,378. On IMBD there were hundreds of reviews and they ranged from "Loved it - intense and interesting" to "Do yourself a favour and don't waste your money."
Divergent was released in 2014 and was directed by Neil Burger and had a production budget of $85,000,000 and its opening weekend on the 23rd March in the USA made $54,607,747 and its overall gross as of 4th July 2014 was $150,832,203. On IMBD there were hundreds of reviews and they didn't present a very good film.
Reviews stated "Most predictable movie ever - very disappointed" as well as "An idiotic book...made into a pretty stupid film."
Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and very successful at it too as he was said to be England's best director. He was well known for silent films such as Shadow of a doubt (1943) and Psycho (1960). Steven Spielberg is well known for the thriller film Jaws (1975) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and had a career which lasted over 40 years. He is seen as very influentual towards many modern day film directors because Jaws is such an iconic thriller film and has had many variations of it made.
Film Research
The Call
The opening of 'The Call' contains lots of information which leads the viewer to conclude many different ideas as to what the rest of the film will be about. The titles are the first element to appear on screen and the way it was written looked as though it was being typed on a police computer. Non diegetic sound is the first form used and is the sound of a telephone being dialled (beeping noise) and an unknown police officer saying "911 what's your emergency." This immediately indicates that the film is going to be a crime film involving a protagonist and an antagonist. Whilst the titles are first being shown, there is mysterious non diegetic music being played to increase intensity and make the audience anxious and on the edge of their seats. After some of the blue coloured titles have rolled along on a black background, it cuts to a high angle shot of the City of Las Angeles. This makes the city look vulnerable and in danger because all of the cars and buildings which consume a number of the American population, have no idea about the amount of crime which is happening all around them. It shows that any one of them could be the victim of crime in the cities. It also indicates that whilst crime is happening, the rest of the City is carrying on regardless without any thought of what is happening all around them.
Whilst the high angle shot is happening, the titles continue to appear on the screen. The blue colour stands out amongst the city life background of LA. This then cuts to an extreme long shot of LA, showing a horizontal shot of the City, representing its ginormous scale. Whilst the high angle shot and the extreme long shot are being used, there is diegetic sound being used as there are ambulance and police sirens being sounded, this is diegetic because the sirens are coming from somewhere down below. However, non diegetic sound is also used because there are numerous fast paced '911' conversations going on; cross cutting from one to the other. At the end of this cut, the title "The call" comes up and stands out amongst the city life backdrop and gradually gets bigger with a 911 conversation going on and also gradually getting louder; this intensifies the situation. Once the 911 call had finished, the words are then deleted as though each letter is being 'backspaced' like on a computer.
Once the establishing shots of LA had been shown, it cuts to a call room where 911 calls are answered and responded to. This is where Mise en Scene is generally shown because all of the police officers are in uniform with headsets where they can easily hear and respond to emergency calls from the public. All of the high-tech computers highlight the intensity of the room and crime because they can locate where victims are and identify an easy route for police officers. All of this equipment therefore allows the police to do their job quickly and efficiently. The mise en scene makes the setting seem realistic and make the film seem as true to life as possible. The first shot in the call centre was an extreme close up of one of the woman's lips; this showed the audience that she was responding to an emergency call. Whilst the filming was in the call centre, there was a lot of fast paced editing which indicated the intensity, concentration and power which these people have because they have to complete the job quickly to give victims a chance of survival. There is also a thudding noise in the background which gets a little bit faster and a little bit louder as the opening progresses. "911, what's your emergency" is a typical line which all of the call operators have to use as routine and this is diegetic sound because we can see the character saying this. During the fast paced editing, close ups and mid shots are often used to show the characters reactions as well as their body language (NVC). This gives the audience an indication as to what the individual's personalities are like. One of the final cuts in the opening two minutes shows a long shot to the show the atmosphere of the office as well as the scale of the work which is being completed. It acts as an establishing shot because the audience will learn to recognise this setting.
The characters being presented in the clip are presented in two different ways. The police call operators are presented as calming and understanding whereas the public calling up are presented as hysterical and confused. There are many different emotions which are represented during the calls and the call operators are continually professional. The events and themes are not particularly presented in the opening scenes however when the calls come through to the call centre, they are normally dealing with shootings, kidnaps and car accidents which is general police crime. Throughout the opening two minutes, the staff are presented as professional and calming whereas the victims and witnesses are generally scared and not very clear. One of the main characters is Halle Berry and she is one of the call centre recievers and is presented as quite relaxed and calm and this is relevant to all of the recievers. Stereotypically, women are presented as weak and emotional, however in the opening scene, this stereotype is abolished and presents her as a strong and independent woman. The antagonist and protagonists are not presented in the opening scene and similarly there are no car chases or kidnaps in the opening credits. However, once the credits have passed, that is the point when the kidnap story begins. It is quite implicit because the opening doesn't allow us to establish whether it is going to be a murder, kidnap or violent attack. This makes the film more intriguing because we are interested to discover what happens next.
Black Swan
The Black Swan was released on the 21st January 2011 in the UK and was directed by Darren Aronofsky. The initial shot was of a black screen with white writing saying "Fox Searchlight Pictures Presents" which was in bold capitals which looked quite simple however it did stand out against the black background due to the white font colour. This then cut to a close up of an anonymous person drawing with a black crayon onto a white material and non diegetic music is playing in the form of a piano. This is quite diminuendo to begin with and halfway through, it turns crescendo; getting louder, lower and faster. This was co-ordinated with the fast paced editing of the cuts of different drawing angles. Before this occurs, the editing is slow paced and co-ordinates with the slow diminuendo sound of the piano. The cuts were broadcasting different angles of the drawing and generally faded in and out of each other with titles and credits on the blank white space of the background. All of the camerawork was close-ups as we only ever saw the hand, black crayon and background and nothing else; this was quite mysterious and makes the viewer confused and apprehensive. The drawing started off quite delicate and the artist seemed to be taking care in the work, however once the music got louder and crescendo and the
fast paced editing occurred, the drawing began to start looking scruffy, rushed and forceful. This wasn't scary but again made the viewer confused as to what was going to happen later on in the film. There wasn't particularly much mise en scene to comment on, apart from for the characters hand and fingernails. Her fingernails looked quite dirty and unkempt however they were not scruffy because they weren't bitten and this gives a tiny snippet as to what the characters personality is like. After all of the necessary credits had been shown, there was a loud crashing sound like a broken plate which makes the viewer jump and feel nervous as they are unaware as to what is happening because the sound is non diegetic. Once this has taken place, 'Black Swan' appears on screen and then fades away and leaves the shot of a crayon and a small section of the artwork which has been produced. This then fades away to a black screen which is when the opening credits finish. Overall, the Black Swan opening credits are quite bland and mysterious compared to 'The Call' which was action packed from
the beginning. I prefer The Call opening because it contains more action and grips you from the beginning whereas this is quite dull and wouldn't affect the storyline if you missed it. On the otherhand, I can understand what the directors intentions were because he was trying to make it mysterious for the audience.
27th October 2014
4th November 2014
Shutter Island
5th November 2014
Camerawork
The first shot to be used was an establishing shot and this was to infrom the viewer of where the film will be set and allows us to build a picture as to what the film may be about and it indicated that the film may be set in a prison. Establishing shots are used throughout the film, for instance another example of an establishing shot was when it was showing the outside of the prison which made it look a lot less scary and chilling. This shot also included tracking because it showed the camera going inwards towards and through the gate. There is also an aerial view used at the top of a spiral staircase looking downwards and this has then been edited to make it look as though the camera is spinning around the staircase. This is quite disorientating for the viewer and makes the audience quite confused. A close up is also used of a hand struggling to prise up a floor board and it looks as though the character is struggling. This creates enigma because the audience wants to know why he is doing it and what he may be hiding or planning. There was also an extreme close up of a chair which is focused and a roaring fire which is not in focus. We cannot see whether anybody is sitting in the chair and so this is quite implicit and is hiding information from the character. This is quite mysterious and I think this works well because the audience wants to see who is sat there; if anybody at all. There is also an extreme close up of a gun and this is also ninplicit because we cannot see anybody else in the scene, except a foot on the gun. This makes the audience keen to know who the antagonist and
protagonist are. This again creates enigma and this is a common theme within the trailer because it is quite mysterious and inplicit. This is quite effective and I would definitely consider using this technique within my opening scene to create enigma. The majority of the opening scene uses establishing shots and another example of this would be the establishing shot of Shutter Island which makes it look quite deserted and lonesome, again quite enigmatic. Furthermore, there are also establishing shots of caged doors which look quite suspicious and unfriendly and there is also one of a cell with handcuffs hanging from the wall and a bed on chains too. These images are quite dark and makes the audience assume that at some point, somebody will be occupying this cell. In the opening there are no main characters shown and this also creates enigma and suspicion as to who the main character is and why he is going to Shutter Island. The final camera movement to be used is a zoom when it zooms in on the title "Shutter Island." This gives the audience the impression that they are getting closer to the film and what is about to happen.
Editing
In the opening credits to Shutter Island, there is a small but varied use of editing. For example, the first 50 seconds of the opening uses a lot of fades in and fades out between different cuts and this all quite slow paced. This allows the viewer to take in the setting and familiarise themselves with it too. However, once it gets to about 50 seconds in, jump cuts start to appear and this is fast paced editing and increases tension and enigma because the viewer realises the film will be starting soon. Continuity is ensured throughout because all of the settings fit with each other and all of the props and costumes fit the same niche.
Sound
Throughout the opening, non-diegetic sound is used because it is a soundtrack and isn't sound within the scene and this adds tension because we don't know who the characters are in the scene. However, asynchronous sound is used as the floorboard is being lifted because the creaking noise coincides with the movement. This also goes from diminuendo to crescendo because the bass sound gets louder and louder. The sound throughout is ostinato, however when it gets to 49 seconds, it is much more noticeable due to the jump cuts of the shots. This builds tension and the effects of the two techniques work extremely well together. At the outset of the opening, the sound is quite dimminuendo and as the opening continues, it gradually goes crescendo and this also builds enigma. The sound and the editing work well together to make the two elements coincide with each other.
Mise en Scene
The setting of Shutter Island is quite deserted and inside it looks quite cold and sparse creating a foreboding image. However, the outside looks clean and professional which gives it a look of double standards. The establishing shot made the Island look quite lonesome and singular as though there is nothing surrounding it except sea; this creates an element of fear and claustrophobia. The costumes of the gate attendents looks as though they are wearing prison warden outfits which implies that Shutter Island is a prison in the middle of nowhere, but this is not confirmed and so it is inplicit. The blocking of the officers is also like there is a pack of them, one is marking each corner of the inside of the gates, as though they need back up incase an arrival gets out of hand. Low key lighting is used throughout and creates an image of darkness. For instance, in the cells, the only light coming through is from a tiny air vent at the top of the room. This is also quite claustrophobic and gives an impression of somebody being trapped inside it. The props within the opening also add to the obscurity of the opening because there is a gun and we wonder whether there will be a murder. There are also handcuffs chained to the wall in the cell, giving the feeling of somebody being captured.
Titles and Credits
The titles and credits are all in sans serif and in the colour red which connotes danger. All of the words are in upper case and the use of Sans Serif makes it look more formal and less childlike. The credits look as though they are going round in a square; appearing in opposite corners and going round however this changes and they appear alternatively anywhere there is a clear space. So the credits are not the main element in the opening however the opening setting is. 57 seconds in, the title "Shutter Island" appears on screen is bold, upper case, sans serif font and the red colour stands out against the black backdrop. It is static for approximately 1 second and then zooms in and goes through the hole in the letter "R." I do like the use of the colour red because it is different to the two other openings I analysed which were mostly black and white.
Events, themes and characters
There are not particularly events or main characters shown within the opening because of it being quite inplicit. However we can infer what events and themes will be in the film and these include murder, gunfire, male antagonist and violence. We can assume these themes, events and characters because it's what they stereotypically are. Due to the fact we are assuming that Shutter Island is a prison or hospital, we can assume that the people inside are either serious convicts or ill people. Overall, there is not much gunfire or violence within the first 1 minute or so because it is mostly establishing shots to show the audience where the film is set and also to get the viewer to create different storylines for themselves.
Memento
9th November 2014
Snatch
This contains denotation and connotations on Mise en Scene, Camera Work, Editing, Sound, Typography and Representation.
This contains denotation and connotations on Mise en Scene, Camera Work, Editing, Sound, Typography and Representation.
12th November 2014
Camerawork
The first visible piece of useful camerawork is at the beginning when the title 'Snatch" comes up on the screen with a close up of a diamond which then zooms into the diamond and cuts into another cut. This looks very professionally done and I would like to look at whether this would be achievable on our thriller opening. However, it doesn't exactly promote thriller films, it looks more like an action film which may be crossed with some aspects of thriller. There is also a reverse zoom as the camera zooms out from the diamond and this then cuts to 'Cousin Avi.' This technique looks very precise and I would love to somehow encorporate this into my opening scene. There are also lots of mid shots of all the different characters doing different jobs, such as loading a gun or playing poker; this then zooms into the character and becomes a close up. This gives us a good chance to see the characters body structure as well as their facial expressions and features. It gives the audience an oppurtunity to familiarise themselves with the characters and so they can establish who they are and what role they think they may play within the movie. There is a mid shot as a man approcahes a pool table and we can see a setting which looks like an abandoned pub. We can also see three men holding down a man against his will and this allows the viewer to presume what they think may happen next. An extreme close up is used as a man is getting hit round the head with a hammer whilst laying on a pool table. This shows the victims
facial expression which is obviously fear and worry and then this zooms in through his mouth and fades into an extreme close up of a man holding the same diamond. Overall, the use of camerawork in this opening does notparticularly make me scared or feel on the edge of my seat. Concluding this, it makes me positive that I would like my thriller opening to be much more jumpy and allow the audience to feel scared.
Editing
Cross cutting is used throughout the opening to show all the different characters which appear in seperate sets to each other. This is all extremely fast paced and jump cuts are also used to increase the speed and ensure that the opening is precise. The jump cut allows the clip to be cut down so it is quicker and adds to the fast paced editing. The use of fast paced editing increases intensity and creates a sense of urgency; as though they are running out of time and so they have to be quick. It is quite effective and I would like to use fast paced editing in my groups opening, purely because I believe it is an effective but precise way of creating enigma. Superimposition is also used when the diamond appears as though it is in the victims mouth (1.08 minutes in). It looks as though the mans mouth is fading out and the diamond is fading in. Eventhough this technique looks effective, it doesn't really create tension which is an element we want to ensure occurs in our opening scene.
Mise en Scene
The lighting throughout the opening is low key and stays consistant throughout and this makes the opening look quite dark and dingey. This therefore creates mystery because it looks implicit due to the fact that it is restricitng the view of the audience and we cannot see what is surrounding the characters clearly. Low key lighting makes everything quite dull and dark and so we definitely want to use it in our opening. All of the characters also wear quite dark and dull coloured clothes including; black white, brown and maroon and this shows that they are secretive and quite reserved about themselves. However Mickey (one of the main characters) wears a blue shirt and he is the only character to be seen in this colour. Connotations to the colour blue include purity and truth and so we wonder whether this character is different to the others and what his connection is with them. The locations are all quite abandoned and there isn't any unknown or unexplained characters within the shot, leading to the conclusion that the setting is quite secluded and deserted. None of the settings look very formal or expensive, they consist of offices, back room casino and the back of a van. None of these settings look particularly scary or frightening apart from when a character gets pulled into the back of car. Even still, this doesn't worry the audience because the sound in the background isn't mysterious or alarming. Mickey also wears a lot of expensive looking jewellery and we wonder where he got it from because he doesn't look as though he has a job compared to some of the other characters.
Sound
There is non-diegetic sound throughout the opening and this is in the form of soundtrack which consists of chimes and bells which makes the opening sound quite alarming and as though the characters are in a situation where they are running against the clock. 50 seconds into the opening, the soundtrack intensifies slightly and crescendo, but then returns back to normal; making it sound consistant and continual. Asynchronous sound is also apparent in the opening, there is the sound of ambulance or police sirens which makes the audience wonder whether the men in the back of the van have any connection with the sirens. This allows the audience to make a judgement as to whether the men are dangerous and violent or whether is just a coincidence. Synchronous sound is also in the opening; when the man is shouting it is not a noise which can me made by a human however the sound is added and mixed with the soundtrack to create the sound which makes the opening seem continual throughout.
Titles/Credits
The first title to appear is "SNATCH." which is in uppercase and bold lettering which makes it stand out against the diamond background and it is completely in the centre of the screen which means it is unmissable. It is also punctuated with a full stop which indicates that it is a definite article and that it is the most important thing on the screen. The colour of the sans serif font is white which also stands out amongst the low key lighting and diamond background. Generally, out of the five opening I have currently analysed, white and black are the two most common colours used and so I think these would be reliable colours to use for our opening; seeing as professionals do it too. A distinct difference about this opening is that instead of the characters birth names appearing on the screen, they have their on-screen names projected instead. The names are also presented in uppercase, bold, sans serif font and normally appears on the left or right of the character being presented. This allows the audience to clearly see the character and their name; so they can easily familiarise themselves with the character and understand who the other characters are talking about.
Events, themes and characters
The characters in the opening are stereotypical because the males are antagonists and this is a characteristic we expect from the male characters. However, we cannot see a female damsel or male protagonist but this doesn't mean that one doesn't appear later on in the film. The characters also dress quite stereotypically because they are wearing dull characters compared to colours such as yellow which connotes happiness. There was also a theme of violence within the opening because some of the characters hit a man over the head with a hammer and others where just violent in their manorisms and the way they were acting with themselves. We do not see any gunfire however we do see a gun which means that at somepoint in the film gunfire may appear.
Psycho
13th November 2014
Here is a powerpoint I produced containing information about camerawork, editing, sound, mise en scene, events & themes & characters and titles and credits.
Cape Fear 1962
16th November 2014me.
Camerawork
The first shot to be used is an establishing shot and this shot gives the audience an idea as to the location where the film is being set. We saw what looks like a park and tall buildings which indicated it was set in a big city. Panning is also used and this allows the audience to follow the character and this technique was used to show the whole route the character took in order to end up at court. This did not build tension and made it unclear as to what genre the film was. Whilst panning is be used, a long shot is being used and this shows the viewer the structure of the character; what he is wearing, how tall he is and what impression he shows. From a distance the character looked quite professional, however as the character entered the court and approached the stairs, a mid shot was used and this then developed into a close up. These shots enabled the viewer to see the characters facial expressions and he looked quite mysterious and questionable. This makes the viewer wonder what he was doing at the court and make presumptions as a result of this. He looked quite enigmatic and this does build slight tension.
Editing
Slow paced editing was used throughout and this enabled the audience to take in the setting and familiarise themselves with it because we presume it is a setting which we will be seeing a lot of. Cross cutting is also used to cut down the necessary sections of the shot to make it look as precise and professional as possible. It also shows the audience the route which the character is taking and this
Sound
The sound used in the opening is non-diegetic and is a soundtrack which sounds like trumpets and trumbones mixed with violins. It is consistant throughout and this abolishes any worry of continuity mistakes. There are parts where the non-diegetic sound is diminuendo and then rises to crescendo, this creates enigma and mystery because it alerts the viewer and makes them wonder whether something frightening will happen soon. The crescendo sound is quite dramatic and alerting and when the title "Cape Fear" appears on screen, the sound is crescendo which highlights the importance of the film. This is also asynchronous because it isn't related to a certain movement but it relates to the title and places emphasis on it.
makes the audience feel as though they are walking with the character on screen, as though they are actually in the film.
Mise en Scene
The lighting throughout the opening is high key lighting and eventhough the film is in black and white, it is quite easy to distinguish because the sky is an off white colour which indicates its brightness. If the sky was a black/grey, this would indicate that it was dark and this would be low key lighting. The character looks very smart from a distance; as though he is wearing a suit and a hat which makes him look very professional. However, once we see the character close up, we can easily identify that he is wearing a shirt which is too big for him and this makes him look slightly unkempt and so the long shot was quite deceiving. This gives the impression that he is quite a careless and casual character. Even though he looks unkempt, he looks clean and facially pristine which highlights that he can't be homeless because he can shower and shave. The setting is a park and buildings which implies that the film is set in a city and this backed up with the amount of people there are just wandering around; giving it quite a relaxed feel.
Titles and Credits
The titles are all in serif, upper case, bold, white writing and this makes it stand out and look noticeable to the audience. The serif font makes it look quite casual, however when "CAPE FEAR" appears on screen, it then has 'based on novel' in much smaller writing at the bottom of the screen and this is in a sans serif font. This looks very professional and as though the producers want the audience to realise it is based on somebody elses idea. Before 'CAPE FEAR' appears, the actors and actresses names appear on screen and this highlights the importance of them and they consume the majority of the screen. This is the same for all of the titles and credits which appear on screen and this makes it quite difficult for the audience to see what is happening in the scene. This may be a reason for why the opening doesn't have much action taking place; because it wouldn't be seen by the viewer. When 'CAPE FEAR' did apper on the screen, the sound turned crescendo and this created enigma and emphasised the importance of the title. The co-stars were also all placed on the same screen, however the main characters had their name shown individually which shows the priority which is shown to the main characters.
Events, Themes and Characters
The character is walking towards a building which we later discover is court rooms and this shows that the character has obviously done something illegal or wrong. We therefore presume that the character will turn out to be the antagonist and he will obviously try and commit a crime against another person (victim or damsel). The character also acts quite childlike and ignorant because he walks past a woman who drops her papers and doesn't help her, whereas a gentleman would stop and help. This indicates that he is quite a rude and selfish character which backs up our presumption that he will be the antagonist. The events which take place in the opening are nothing which would class the film as a thriller and so this leads me to presume that this is quite light hearted t compared to what will happen later on in the film. The opening isn't very scary and I therefore wouldn't like mine to be like this one because I want my audience to be intrigued from the outset and I was not for this particular film.
Final Destination 3
19th November 2014
Camerawork
The first shot is of a blank screen with a title on it and this then gradually starts panning downwards from the dark sky and we then see that the film is set at a theme park or a funfair. We first see a ferris wheel and this then fades into an extreme close up of a word which is brightly coloured and the lights are shining which makes it noticeable. However it is quite difficult to understand because it is an extreme close up and we only see a few words. Following this is an establishing shot of the funfair and we can clearly see a scary ride and this shows that the funfair is quite a scary setting; especially at night. This makes us feel fearful because we want to know what will happen because funfair's are supposed to be fun, not scary! After the establishing shot, there is a mid shot of a female doll in a booth and this then fades into to a close up of her finger pointing at a fortune card; reading "Death." This automatically worries the audience because we then think there will be a death at the funfair and the audience conclude all sorts of evaluations as to what will happen. This is a good technique because it gets the audience thinking what will happen and I would definitely like to include this in my thriller film opening. There is also an extreme close up of different dolls faces in different cuts; dolls are known for being a stereotypical feature in a thriller/horror film and so this has already fit the
stereotype. The dolls faces add enigma because they have the same facial expression and even though they are fictional and do not have a personality, it still scares or worries viewers because they cannot change their facial expression. There is also a two shot of two spinning rides which are either symmetrical or identical and this is quite disorientating for the viewer because they are spinning so fast and look exactly the same. Following this is a establishing shot of a pinball machine with a ball being played in it and it suddenly gets closer to the audience, turning it into a close up. Because it looks as though it is approaching the audience, the audience feel worried it will hit them, but suddenly realise it is on the TV screen. This shot then turns into an aerial shot going downwards which again makes the audience feel as though they are in the film because the camera is following the pin ball. This is really creative but would be extremely difficult for us to recreate because we would not have the camera experience or equipment to be able to execute it professionally.
Editing
A montage is used at the beginning to fade the ferris wheel out and fade the lights in and this looked very professional because they over-lapped each other, however they didn't look messy. This is quite a clean way to edit cuts together because they fade in and out really slowly and so it isn't really noticeable. Cross cutting is also used because when the woman points at the 'Death' card, it then cuts to some shots of the carousel and it then cuts back to the woman pointing at the cards. This shows that more than one thing is happening once and the 'Death' card must be a major clue as to what the film may be about; perhaps a near death experience. There is also a visual effect whereby the pin ball drops through the hole and then it quickly cuts to a rollercoaster ride where you go up and it then drops you. This is very professional and I really like this visual effect, however it would be extremely difficult to recreate. There is another visual effect when the carousel is going round slow paced and then a reflection in a mirror shows the carousel going round extremely fast. This looks really impressive and supernatural because the two different pictures just don't add up. There is also a spinning wheel which is slow paced and then it suddenly starts spinning fast paced and thos adds to the tension because it happens so suddenly. The jump from slow paced to fast paced is quite a simple but effective technique and I would like to encorporate it into my thriller opening. Throughout the opening, the cuts fade in and out and this is quite a subtle transition because it slowly brings the new cut into the opening.
Sound
Throughout the opening there is a mysterious non-diegetic soundtrack playing and this cooperated with the editing and camerawork, creates a spooky and thrilling opening scene. It sounds like a mixture of violins and a horn which sounds quite dramatic and there is diminuendo and crescendo throughout the opening; creating tense times as well as less nervous times. The directors have calculated a perfect balance because there is enough fright, but not too much and so it gives everything away. When there is a close up of the carousel, there is synchronous sound of a horse neighing and this creates the illusion that there is a real horse present, when they are actually fake horses. This is quite effective because the audience knows that there isn't actually a horse and so this creates confusion. Following this, as well as the soundtrack, there is the non-diegetic sound of a clock ticking in the background and this is quite a minor sound and doesn't particularly stand out. This indicates that either time is running out and so this is also enigmatic and creates stress and pressure in the opening. Finally, there is the non-diegetic sound of screaming children and this is quite loud and stands out; this shows fear and anxiety amongst the unknown characters. The addition of sound creates tension and depending on our storyline, I would like to encorporate this into my opening because it alerts the audience because it is a shocking sound.
Titles & Credits
Upper case, bold, sans serif writing is used throughout the opening and is in a black font colour. However, behind the titles there is a visual effect which looks like coloured air and gives the illusion of coloured air. This looks really effective and fits the setting of the opening because it is a Fun Fair and they are never dull and so the titles couldn't be boring either. It also makes the titles stand out because the opening is quite dark even though there are bright coloured lights featured in the opening. The titles fade in and out and with the visual effect of the coloured air, it looks like the air is appearing and disappearing which is really effective. When "Final Destination 3" appears on screen, it looks like fire which has the connotations of power and destruction and so this makes the viewer wonder what will be destructed. The font style looks like Cowboy style writing which is quite confusing for the audience because it is set at a Fun Fair and doesn't indicate any link to country and western. The production company are the first to be mentioned, then the title of the film and then the actors and actresses and finally all the music and costume producers. This seems quite a stereotypical order for titles to appear according to the eight openings I have analysed. Therefore, this would probably be a good order to abide by because the successful films do it in this order.
Mise en Scene
Low key lighting was used throughout the opening because it was quite dark, however the bright lights from the funfair contrasted with this and made it a little bit brighter. The low key lighting made the cuts look quite mysterious and implicit because we could not see everything in the shots and there were a few blank spaces where potentially scary characters could be hiding; therefore creating tension. The lighting was mainly focused on the important parts of the cuts and this was done for a reason; so the director could control what we could see and keep the audience guessing. As well as to make it easier for the audience to establish what the important factor is in the cut. The setting is a Fun Fair and this is a place of fun and games however it is quite simple for the viewer to establish that this theme is not apparent in the film. This is quite contrasting because it isn't the general mood portrayed by funfair's. If the settingwas in daylight, it wouldn't look as scary however because it is in darkness, this adds to the enigmatic nature of the opening.
Events, Themes and Characters
The events happening within the opening is the funfair and there are no characters present until the last second, but that is only to witness them screaming on a rollercoaster. Therefore, I cannot comment on the characters because they are not influentual throughout the opening. The theme of mystery is portrayed throughout the whole opening because the individual events which take place create enigma because there is no reason for what is happening. Why would the doll be pointing at a death card? Why would the carousel be going faster in the reflection? They are all unanswered questions which keep the viewer guessing and this is a theme which my group and I should consider using in our opening because it keeps the viewer interested and intrigued.