Conventions of your chosen genre

I picked a series of shots from well known thriller films and used them as a contact sheet to discuss why I think that these shots are effective, and why I might use something similar to these imaginative shots when creating my own thriller opening sequence. The first shot is taken from the film 'Sweeney Todd.' It's a mid shot of a photo of the Queen placed upon a wall. The picture and the frame are the only props evident, however it is not in the direct of the shot, but is on the right hand side. I think this is because also in the frame there is a title of the main actors name- Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is incredibly famous and so the director has not made the only prop in the image as the main focus as he wants the audience's attention also on the actors etc. The use of low-key lighting has connotations of a dark and dangerous theme within the film. The picture of the Queen is drenched in blood, this suggests that the role of society and power is reversed in this film, allowing the audience to feel intrigued and anxious.

The second frame is taken from the thriller movie 'Number 23.' It is a close up shot of typed letters on what appears to be an old fashioned writing letter paper. The only props used for this frame is the fake blood used on the top left hand side. However, what I believe is predominate in this frame is what the typed word says. It reads 'Hitler-Kil' as it sort of trails off, as if not allowing the audience to see the sentence finished. This suggests that there are a lot of things left open in the movie for the audience to intepret differently. The word 'Hitler; represents something evil in itself, which could also suggest corruption or self-destruction. The connotations of the word 'Hiter' and the use of blood suggests that there is a powerful force that is going to cause pain and death for the people in the movie, just like Hitler did during the Second World War. Also, it also suggests the fact that anything can happen at any moment, and it doesn't neccessarily have to be good or bad. However, this could also be a representation of how the human mind can physically cause self-destruction or the destruction, as your mentality is a very powerful thing and can cloud your thought between what is wrong and right. There is no location used and the colour choices are pretty bland, except for the connotations of red used to represent blood or anger.

The third image is taken from another thriller movie called 'Panic Room.' I really like this shot as it is a contrast to the actual genre of the movie.An extreme long shot is used, however you could argue that this could be a point of view shot. The shot has been located in a busy park, with varied architecture in the background. Every person in this shot looks really happy and the whole setting looks quite family orientated. The whole frame and the use of the high-key lighting are what are most impressive about this shot, as it represents the unexpectancy of life. One minute a an area could be happy and enjoying their day out, and the next thing they know they might be fighting for their lives. I think that this would be an excellent idea for me and my groups thriller as I suppose it's different to what everybody else might do. However, with minimal time it's a risk as we might not be able to pull it off correctly, and it might appear as if me and my group don't really understand the connotations of a thriller genre.

The last of my four shots I find to be the most interesting, as it interprets the idea of danger in our world differently. This is an extreme long shot of muslims praying in mosk, but what makes this shot so interesting is that there aren't a couple dozen, but there are thousands. This has connotations of desperation, but also of unity aswell. It could suggest that sometimes bad things may benefit us as mankind, as we only seem to come and work together when unnatural forces occur (or so this is portrayed in many thriller/horror movies.) Also, as this shot is taken from 'Dawn of the Dead' which is an American film is could suggest that they want to show what it's like for people who live a different religion and a complete opposite lives as to some americans. Everyone in this shot appears to be almost symmetrical, suggesting that if your strip down our looks and beliefs then we are pretty much all the same, however we only realise this when something bad occurs. The colour choices are quite gloom and dreary, representing the theme of the movie to be negative, demonstrating the unexistent compassion for one another, that there is no life about anyone in this shot, as something bad is taking place.

Conventions of an opening sequence

Here are some of the conventions of an opening sequence that the viewer will most likely always expect:

* It must be exciting
* Be able to draw the viewer in
* Must make the viewer want to see more
* Have good titles
* Establish the setting
* Do not give anything away
* Should be a good amount of time
* Create an atmosphere
* Have a soundtrack that can set the tone
* Make the viewer be curious and have questions
* Let the viewer be able to see the characters visually
* Lead the viewer into the story

Here are some contact sheets
to show the conventions of an opening sequence:
What does a title sequence look like?

I think that 'Dexter' is a very successful opening sequence as it's quite quirky but exciting at the same time. It still uses all the connotations needed for the thriller genre, but adds everyday life activities to engage an audience and keep them interested. Red is a very prominate colour used as it has connotations of pain and death, a message that is trying to be portrayed by the television programme. The main character also looks like an ordinary man living his everyday life, however the use of the camera shots suggest otherwise. In all nine of the shots you are never given and long shot of his entire body, which suggests that he might have something to hide.


This contact sheet is from the film 'The Usual Suspects'. All nine framed shots are pretty similar, with the colour black dominating the background, with a refelection being made onto the river that is also in the foreground. This could suggest that people are leading a double life as they're staring into a reflection that they do not recognise. The use of low key lighting also foreshadows that something bad is about to happen, as dark colours have connotations of negative imagery.

Sound

Very successful soundtracks used for thriller films or programmes.
I used these four links from cinema's most successful thriller films and television programmes. Each one of these films or television programmes uses a dramatic appeal by using suspenseful music. However, some of this music that I have incorporated is quite quirky, connoting that certain things happen to people everyday of the week, and that it is just ordinary. (Hence the ordinary, everyday music.)
Knowing pretty much the types of shots and scenes that we're going to use in our opening sequence, all of the below would compliment and flow well with our opening sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imamcajBEJs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QjuEWsdgEc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpJQ-HX3F8g


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fE7WtWcT64


Music that I think would compliment our thriller opening sequence.
My group researched artists on youtube that we think produce music that would go well with our opening sequence. All the music posted below has an eerie, effective sound to it, and gradually builds tension to produce a dramatic climax. However, some of the music is quite quirky, to represent the normal, everyday life and how people face different dangers everyday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYIAfiVGluk&ob=av2nm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEgX64n3T7g&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxVuUoy7Ns4&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn3-1kvv6u4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdK9OlOzayE&ob=av2nm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaVE4WVlsDQ&ob=av2el

During the process of editing our film me and my group went on to a website called:
http://www.freesound.org/
Here we were able to type in any word in the search engine, and all sounds in relation to the word would be downloadable, you'd also be able to test these sounds out to see which one would suit your thriller opening sequence best. This website was extremely useful for my group as we were unsure of what particular style of sound we were looking for. However, having used this website as a tester for music samples we were able to identify what sort of music we might use, deciding on whether it would be fast-paced or slow, and what sort of atmosphere would it create.
Here are some links to the sounds we liked:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=6057

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=9695

Titles

When the titles appear in our opening sequence, we have chosen for thw characters names to appear first, and then we will include job roles such as camera men, director and so on after in a bold white font. For the title of our film, we have decided that it will appear slowly using a fading effect, once it has fully appeared it will be in large white font, with capital letters on a black background. We have chose this because it represents the theme of a thriller well and creates quite an uneasy atmosphere. These titles will appear in the bottom centre of the frame so that the audience can still see what is happening to the characters.
The five different fonts that have been chosen all connote to the genre of our film, which is a thriller. All five fonts are quite eerie, and one of them even has a pulse beat running through the font, which would be perfect for our title in the opening sequence. Others seem to appear as if they have been scratched into, connoting the theme of danger and suggesting that sharp objects or tools might be used throughout the film. In one of the other fonts, there are little black dots placed everywhere around the font. This could suggest that these dots are splutters of blood which once again connotes the theme of danger and death. This causes suspicion within the audience, as they're wondering what might happen to cause such violent or thrilling scenes. The last font looks as though there are distorted words all crammed behind it. Perhaps then the role of this film has a lot of mystery to it, hence the reason as to why it leaves the audience feeling puzzled.
Lastly, I think that the font with the pulse running through it is our most likely option to use in our opening sequence. However, the other four are each great potential fonts for our opening sequence.

Casting

For our thriller opening sequence we have chosen two actors and a dog to construct the opening sequence. One of the actors chosen is Becca, we have considered her for the reasons that she is a confident and flexible student who is willing to be co-operative and work hard. A person with these decent qualities will not only commit to what she has been asked to do, but she will be able to discuss and assist with any problems with her staging or if she feels uncomfortable. Becca is also an efficient and organised person who likes to try out new challenges therefore we should not have any complications with her during filming schedules. Becca has experienced numerous performances as she has achieved a grade B in her Dance GCSE. Her experience is not so much from a drama prospective however having a Dance qualification she would have had to be able to work in a team also solo so getting her to do duets would not be difficult. Involving the thriller questionnaire, a large 54% the volunteers who completed the questionnaire said that they would prefer a pretty girl character therefore we believe Becca is a perfect candidate for this.


Additionally, the next actor we have selected is Jamal, he is a reliable person and he always has bags of enthusiasm and energy. These abilities will help our group perform to a high standard, as Jamal is very enthusiastic has key acting attributes, which determines that Jamal will be performing to his full poetential. He is most certainly a keen, positive and friendly natured person who does not find it hard to interact with people. Besides, I believe he has a genuine passion for working with people and he has achieved a grade B in GCSE Drama. He has given countless presentations in school and has also performed in various school productions. He is a very c confident person, who is also very good friends with me and Rebecca (our grou) and is well educated in creating a good performance for an audience and knowing what they would like. He is most definately a trustworthy individual as he has excellent attendance and punctuality record at school (100% in Year 11) so there should be no trouble in him being late or letting us down during shooting. Because of his Drama GCSE he has been taught how to select the most effective course of action so if there is any problems with the shooting he will be able to step in and try to solve it.


Lastly we have chosen a dog named Ruby, it is a Pug. Pugs have been featured in television and film, including Frank the Pug in the film Men in Black. Pugs are small in size and have enormous personalities. Ruby is intelligent, affectionate and loves to be the center of attention. She has been trained therefore it should not be a problem whilst getting her to perform in our opening sequence. Since Pugs are small, and cute. It almost breaks the general stereotype of all dogs have to be of a medium size and slightly aggressive. Besides, Ruby should be able to win over peoples hearts as she is well behaved and enjoys attention. Our third group member will be filming our opening sequence.

Character descriptions

Becca Lake as Brooke Morgan

Brooke Morgan is the popular, pretty girl at school. She has longish (dyed) blonde hair that she often backcombs and uses a hairspray to support it. She cares about her appearance a great deal, but doesn't consider herself to be better than others. She is tallish, and always wears heels to make herself look taller and older. She has bright blue eyes, and well moisturised skin. You will never see Brooke without make up on, as she is girly and well groomed. She dresses slutty as she likes attention from the male gender, and loves to flaunt her curves and other assests. She also likes to drink alot and doesn't always consider the dangers of the affects that this might have on her in the future and at this present time. She also does a lot of drugs, which could lead to her being very vulnerable and having a great risk of being in danger. We have chosen this this type of character to be the main character as we thought that this stereotypical portrayal of a party girl would leave her to be more vulnerable, and the audience would be able to understand and relate to this character more.

Merlin

Merlin is a selfless, sensible character who is almost a contrast to the other main character Brooke. He is a tall black male, with brown eyes and a high top. He dresses very smart and casual, and loves his fashion. He mostly wears black as he doesn't really like to stand out in a crowd, and likes to keep himself to himself. We have chosen him to be the character who discovers the body as he is very self-aware and extremely sensible. He lacks a sense of fun and therefore he never seems to find himself in trouble. He often stays home on the weekends and works continuously throughout them. He is very devoted to his work and education, and therefore can lack social skills and friends. He is a complete opposite to Brooke Morgan, so that's the reason as to why we decided to cast this character as our other main character.

Shooting schedule

Shooting Schedule is a timetable of dates in which everybody in our group is available to film. This is essential so that everybody is aware of when they have to film, as well as being able to allow enough time to plan, film and edit our opening sequence. We have chosen these specific dates as they work around our school timetables and give us enough tine to get our opening sequence completed. For all of our filming we have selected parks such as Gillian and Nonsuch Park. Here are a few photo's of our choosen locations.
This photo shows one of our main characters (Jamal) running towards the camera. The foreground has high key lighting, whereas the background uses washed out colours. This could suggest that Jamal is running into the light, as bright lighting does not have any negative connotations.
This is another key location in our shooting schedule, as the majority if not pratically everything is shot in these woods. This adds suspension and creates intensity within our opening sequence, as has key connotations.

Script

There is going to be no dialogue used in our opening sequence as we as a group think that by using dialogue, not as much tension and suspense is created. Also, the premises of our storyline didn't really need to feature any dialogue anyway, as our opening sequence is really simple. However, even though our storyline is simple we're going to try and create an idyllic image for every frame that we capture. A range of emotions are going to be drawn from our characters, adding suspense and audience involvement.

List of props, locations and costumes

Costumes and Props

Costumes for Characters

Brooke Morgan.

On the evening of Brooke Morgan’s death, she was preparing for a night out. This means that Brooke’s costume consists of bright colored heels, a short dress with a handbag. She is also wearing a distinctive silver, spikey braclet in which is a main clue in solving her murder. This costume represents Brooke’s character well as she is quite an outgoing young girl, and at times is not sensible.


Jamal.

Jamal is the character that is walking his dog through his local park like most mornings when he comes across his bead friend, Brooke’s dead body. He is wearing tracksuit bottoms, a jumper and trainers to portray that he has just got out of bed and has not made an effort. This costume shows Jamal’s personality as it shows a typical teenage man well.

Props

-Dog: this will show the audience that Jamal is in the park as he is taking his dog for a walk.


-Fake Blood: this will be used on Brooke’s body to emphasise that she is dead, as well as on the gate at the front of the park to show that she has been running and tried to escape from somewhere.



-Lipstick: Jamal steps on the lipstick that belongs to Brooke, this is where he realizes that she is dead.



-Braclet: the braclet will be on Brooke’s wrist, which is later a clue to her murder.

-Water for leaf: one of the shots we have included in our opening sequence is a close up of rain dripping from a leaf, we will need to bring a bottle of water during filming to put on the leaf incase it doesn’t rain.

-Make up: we will need to use make up on Brooke to show that she has been beaten up.

-Note: the note used in Brookes hand is also another clue to solving her murder.


Locations

We have chosen to locate our thriller opening sequence in two seperate parks. We have chosen two completely different parks such as Nonsuch Park and Gillian Park. We have chosen Nonsuch Park as it is a huge park, and each section of the park has a completely different setting. In one area there is a massive woods, which adds suspense as it is quite isolated from the rest of the park. Another area has a massively beautiful river, with dead weeds surrounding it making it appear creepy and dangerous. Overall, it is a fantastic park to use as in it's surroundings there are many different textures in the scenary. We also chose Gillian Park as it is also quite secluded, but is in contrast to Nonsuch Park. Where Nonsuch is full of nature nd woods, Gillian Park is surrounded by a lot of pathways and abandoned buildings, which would be ideal for scenes where one of our main characters Jamal is walking his dog alone. Here are some photo's of our chosen locations and the characters in them.

Here are a few clips of me and my group talking about the key props of our thriller opening sequence, and why we have decided to use them. This first video is of me (Brittany) talking about one of our definate key props which was our fake blood. We used fake blood in a numerous of our scenes. The second clip is of one our main characters in our opening sequence (Jamal) and why he suggested to our group that we used a dog as one of our key characters in our opening sequence. The last video clip is of our main character (Becca) and she discusses why we chose Nonsuch Park as our main location to film our opening sequence. I hope you enojoy....

Storyboards

For our thriller opening sequence me and my group had to create a list of potential shots in our storyboard. As well as drawing what would be in the frame of our shots, we also used colour to specify what connotations that we would be using to represent our thriller genre. We also had to write down basic information as to what type of shot this might be, which would help us decide what props or setting that would be used in our shot. We also had to include what type of sound would be needed, whether we would use digetic sound, non diegetic sound or if there would be any sound at all. This would give us some idea of if the particular shot was to be fast or slow-paced, and if this type of music would fit in to our shot. Lastly, we had to write a few sentences (if that) on what exactly would be happening in this shot and if any effects were to be used to emphasise what was happening.
Personally I found the storyboards to be extremely useful as they really brought our idea's together, and allowed us to improve or change the shots when we started filming. They were almost like a step my step guide as what to do and how it would work, so therefore I think that not only were they useful for our blogs but for us as a group aswell.

Sound

Very successful soundtracks used for thriller films or programmes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imamcajBEJs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QjuEWsdgEc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpJQ-HX3F8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fE7WtWcT64

Music that I think would compliment our thriller opening sequence.
The following pieces of music are songs that my group have researched online. We have decided to use these songs as suggestions for our opening sequence as firstly none of this music is mainstream, and therefore no one would be able to recognise and identify it. Secondly, I think that all of the below would fit perfectly with what we are doing, and gives us as a group different idea's and inspiration when making our own piece of non diegetic sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYIAfiVGluk&ob=av2nm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEgX64n3T7g&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxVuUoy7Ns4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn3-1kvv6u4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdK9OlOzayE&ob=av2nm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaVE4WVlsDQ&ob=av2el

Shot lists

When filming our opening sequence a number of different shot types will be used. These are described below:

Shot 1: Establishing Shot/Panning: This is a shot that has a wide field of view and serves the audience with the surroundings of the situation they are about to see. We are using this shot when showing the location of the opening sequence, which is a park.

Shot 2: Extreme/Close Ups: This is intimate view shot in which the subject is tightly framed and shown at a relatively large scale. We have used this shot to show water dripping from a leaf, this creates an atmosphere.

Shot 3: Mid Shot: This a shot of an individual which will take in the body from the knees or waist up. A mid-shot will be used when the character Jamal is walking along the park.

Shot 4: Close Up: This close up will be used to show Jamal stepping into a puddle, this gives the audience an understanding of the gloomy weather.

Shot 5: Long Shot: A Long Shot typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings. We use a long shot for this particular scene ro show that Jamal is walking in the park and is alone, this adds to the eerieness of the scene.

Shot 6: Long Shot: This shot again shows Jamal walking through the park.

Shot 7: Point of View: A point of view shot is a shot that shows what the character is looking at. We use this to show Jamal looking at the pathway is walking along.

Shot 8: Point of View: This is used again when Jamal is looking down at a lipstick that he stood on, on the floor.

Shot 9: Extreme Close Up:These have been included when seeing shots of Jamals eyes to show his expressions and emotions.

Shot 10: Focus Pull: A focus pull is when either the object in the foreground of the frame is blurred and the object in the background is focused, or the other way around. This was used to ensure the audience were focused on the dead body and not what was in the background.

Shot 11: Focus Pull: This is another shot showing Brooke's dead body.

Shot 12: Extreme Close up: These are used again when showing Brooke Morgans body parts to give the audience an understanding of how she died.

Shot 13: Mid-Shot: We we use this when the camera zooms out to reveal Brooke's body.

Shot 14: High-Angle Shot: A high-angle shot is when the camera is high up looking down towards the scene. This is used in our opening sequence when Jamal is looking at the victims hand and picking up a note from her.

Shot 15: Point of View: This is used when Jamal is reading the note he found in Brooke's hand.

Shot 16: Tracking: This means that the camera follows the character either from behind or from the side. We use this when Brooke has a flashback of her running away from her murderer.

Shot 17: Mid Shot: This is a carry on shot which shows Brooke's bleeding hand whilst running.

Shot 18: Extreme Close up: We again show Jamals horrified facial expressions through a Extreme Close up.

Shot 19: Low Angle Shot: This is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline, looking up. We have included this when Jamal dropes the note on the floor which then blows away in the wind.

Shot 20: High-Angle Shot: A high-angle shot is when the camera is high up looking down towards the scene. This is used in our opening sequence when Jamal is reading the note he found in his own pocket.






Point of View Shot:

Mid-Shot:

Extreme Close Up:

Close up:

Film synopsis

After being out for the night at the local Bar “Abbey Girls”, Brook Morgan is highly intoxicated in alcohol and her mind is almost absent. She has been parted from her friends as she lives in the opposite direction of her friend’s houses. Brook is found looking greasy and gummy in a lonely walk way besides the bar. The two bouncers at the bar stumble across her and take her back to their shared penthouse.
Brook has been setup up by her Fathers clients who struck a deal with him to place an order on selected heavy goods items. Yet the deal has not been successfully met. The items agreed on were not exactly as planned so there has been a disagreement.

After being raped by the two bouncers, she has been departed in the park surrounded by woodland where she normally hangs about. Her best friend comes across her in the park and is mortified. The police investigate the scene and believe the unnamed best friend has committed the rape and murder and he is then arrested.

Inital idea's

When noting our idea's for our thriller opening sequence, we made a spider diagram of our basic idea's and then bullet pointed them. We decided that our main character Jamal would be walking through a park and comes across a friends dead body.
We then said that he would then pick up note left in the victims hand that said something creepy and bizzarre like 'your next.'
We would then see Jamal becoming panicked as he would then have a note similar to the victims.
Groups of people dressed in all white would then appear around the park, seen as distant and creepy (just like the note.)
However we decided to then scrap that idea when we had spoken to our teacher, as it was a bit random and didn't really have any relevance to our actual story.
We also decided on getting a lot of location shots to create a really eerie atmopshere, seeming as though Jamal was alone and deserted in this park.
Our group also talked about using some flashbacks in our opening sequence, to set up the first few minutes of our story better.
These will possibly include a few seconds of the victim getting ready the night before, to try and build up tension as to how she died and why.
We were also told beforehand that we were not aloud to shoot in alleyways, and our actors were not allowed to wear hoodies.
In our spider diagram we also addressed what props we would be using, and where we would purchase these props etc.

My Genre 2-Kill Your Friends Opening Sequence analysis

Cinematography:
The shots used in the opening sequence of 'Kill Your Friends' generally varies from close ups to low angle shots. The shots that are used for close ups are used specifically to identify the clever use of mise en scene in the props that i'll talk about in the next section. You also have mid shots, quite are used to establish the setting of the opening sequence, as images of a trashed, dirty house appear on the screen. This suggests that there as been a party the night before, enabling the viewers to question why there has been, and what went on during that party. Drugs and drink are also connotations to a party, with could entice a viewer to continue to watch as both drugs and drink are related to danger and trouble.
Mise-en-scene:
The props for this opening sequence are used extremely well. Everyone involved in the film have their names displayed on various objects. However, what makes this opening sequence so interesting is that the objects relate to their involvement in the film. For example, the person who wrote the script, their name would be placed upon a book. The music producers name would be on a stereo etc. It's clever because all the objects used are also things that you would find around your house. But what creates tension in this opening sequence is that most things are broken. This could either suggest that someone just got really drunk and trashed a few things, or something bad occured that made this mess. Their is high key lighting used throughout, which I find interesting as it contrasts with the dark and quirky non diegetic sound in the background.
Sound:
At the very beginning of the opening sequence, there is diegetic sound of what sounds like a shower running. This could be misleading for an audience as everyday routines are being used. If something bad was to of happened, then you would immediately panick about the situation, not leave your house as a mess with cocaine all over the wooden table, and go and have a shower. Well, even if that is the case it's a bit ironic. Secondly, and the opening sequence progresses a soundtrack is played throughout the rest of the opening sequence. The pace of the soundtrack doesn't really change, but stays at the same speed throughout. However, the music is sort of rock/indie, but does appear to have connotations of slighty dark humour about it. Even though the soundtrack doesn't really build up suspense for me, I still find it very successful as it fits in with the quirkyness of the whole opening sequence.
Editing:
What is very interesting when it comes to the editing is that it uses flashbacks throughout the opening sequence to vividly give a basic story of what happened the night before. When a flashback is used, fast-paced shots are used to excite viewers and for them to become anxious as to what might happen next. A couple of the flashbacks are used in slow motion as I think that the director wants viewers to notice the subtle things in the scene that might create a big impact further along into the film. The flashbacks also appeared blurred, as they could be flashbacks from a specific persons memory, and they're blury because this person cannot remember much as they were drunk.
Overall I think that this is a very clever opening sequence as it really engages the viewer to proceed to watching the entire film. It uses very clever props when promoting the people involved with the film, and uses almost cool, quirky music to connote with the dark humour that I think it is trying to forsee.

Kiss Me Deadly- Opening sequence analysis

Cinematography
During the opening sequence of 'Kiss Me Deadly' there is a close up scene of bare feet running across the road. This could connote the vulnerabilty or perhaps the weakness of the character, as she is envitably causing herself a high risk of danger by having nothing to cover her feet. This approach during the scene of the opening sequence could perhaps leave the audience rooting for this character, even though they don't know why she's running, or who she's running from. The opening sequence also is narrated from a third person perspective, allowing the audience to review both sides of the character. When films are in the 1st person narrative, a view could be perhaps bias, and you are only seeing it through one persons perspective. However, by using the third person narrative the audience are given both sides of the story, making things more interesting and intense.
The rule of thirds and the golden rule can be used throughout the entire opening sequence. This allows us as an audience to connect or relate with this movie, as the great use of cinematography captures the mood or atmosphere from a range of angles and heights.

Mise-en-scene
Throughout the opening sequence there is low key lighting, due to the fact that it's set at night time. The dark setting sets the mood of suspense, resulting in the atmosphere becoming more intense, and in films a dark has connotations of dangers and deaths. The fear of the unknown or what could lie ahead in the darkness frightens the audience, and possibly waiting on the edge of their seats expecting something to happen at any moment. There is a girl seen running down the long dark road; the road appears to be abandoned, suggesting to it's audience that there is no safety or help around. All these little connotations, (although simple) are very effective as they all compliment eachother when in trying to create an intense thriller.

Editing
The background has high-key lighting, whereas the foreground has low-key lighting. The contrasts of lighting are being made so the main focus of the frame is established. The main focus in this particular scene are of the faces of the two main characters. As the genre for this film is a thriller, the director has focused on the facial expressions to try and capture whatever sense or mood that they're feeling. As by capturing a main characters expression, you capture their mood; this can sometimes lead to the atmosphere of the entire setting, as whatever the characters feel generally rub off on the audience. For example, if a character looks worried or frightened, then the audience will feel worried and frightened with and for them. Interestingly, the film credicts are shown backwards; this instantly grabs the readers attention. Although this could also suggest that the story may be being told backgwards, and the film is starting at the end instead of finishing at the beginning. What is also recognised is that the comparison of the font used in the opening credicts is due to their status or their role in the film, in order to keep an audience's attention, or draw them in.

Sound
There is digetic sound used throughout the opening sequence of the main female role panting. This could suggest that she might have been running from someone or something, which have connotations of suspense and mystery. Usually when someone is out of breath they have been running with as much effort as possible, and are a rush to get somewhere. The audience will then sub consciously be asking themselves 'why has she been running so fast, and where is she trying to get to?' 'Does she have a motive?'

Lastly, 'Kiss Me Deadly' was a FilmNoir.
FilmNoir's are normally fiction and involve some sort of investigation. They also use black and white to set the mood, and are set in the 1940's. They're pretty influential and femfactile, and generally have packed dialogue.

Wallander- Opening sequence analysis

Cinematography
During the opening sequence of Wallandar there is an extreme close up of the movement of hands. This is significant to the opening sequence as the audience are led early on to believe that man was dead. However, by the clever use of cinematography, the director has allowed the audience to see the slight movement of the mans hand, which could only be done through the use of an extreme close up. There is also an extreme long shot used, to allow us to see that in this frame that it is completely deserted. This could cause an intense atmosphere as it's kind of ironic that something so tragic and horrifying (such as the mans death) could of taken place in a succluded, quiet setting. This then yet again adds mystery to the opening sequence, as it causes suspicion and questions will immediately start being asked.

Mise-en-scene
The murder that has taken place has been set in the daytime, which could suggest that the killers motive was that this person did'nt want to disguise their identity, and the mystery isn't who killed the person, but why! In the car where the bloodied body is there is a taxi badge hanging up. However, the badge is shown in a negative, shadowed light. This suggests that their might have been more to the killers motive then the director is letting on, as the shadowed badge could suggest that the taxi driver was corrupt, and that their attack wasn't random.

Editing
The low key lighting used throughout the first few minutes of the opening sequence is purposely used to create a tense atmosphere. For example, if something magical or happy was happening, bright and vibrant colours would be used to represent the joy of what might of happened. However, the dreary, washed out colours are used for the representation that nothing in this scene is worth happening. They want their audience to be able to relate to their characters in their film, and therefore by using specific colours it could help prevent an audience from feeling a certain way, instead they feel involved in the scene and feel the downfall that everyone else in the scene seems to be experiencing. There is also a panning shot of two girls walking away from the car where the body has been found. This allows the audience to suggest that these girls were involved, which enables an eerie atmosphere to settle.

Sound
When the body that is believed to be dead is in the car, digetic music is played in the background. I don't think that this piece of music really fits into a category, but sounds like something that would be played everyday on the radio. This scene is ironic in someway, as when a body is found there is generally always sad and depressing music. However, because there is music that you'd hear everyday, there is a realisation that things like this happen everyday, and that the world is becoming self-desrtuctable. There is also a scene where the girl drops the knife. The non-digetic sound used is an over-exaggeration as to what it would sound like in real life, as it's connoting the danger that may still lay ahead.

Overall, this is an excellent opening sequence as it really engages the audience with it's suspense and continuous use of a tense atmosphere. Every frame captured is beautiful, and looks like a photo on it's own.

Location research x9

Even though this potential location has high key lighting, it still manages to capture the vulnerability of the person in the photo. There are big branches and tree's over-powering this person, resulting in them having to look up, as if they're almost addressing them. This connotes the power and authority the location may have over the person, and therefore would be an ideal location to use. It also allows the image to become kind of distorted, leaving an audience in suspense when trying to figure out what is happening. It also makes it more difficult for the person to escape, as they are surrounded by objects that are in their way. I really like this picture and location as I think it has a supernatural feel about it.

Location research x8

This is another potential location as it is creating a tense atmosphere. It sets the scene of being dark and mysterious, unravelling the unknown. Normally lakes are represented as beautiful and idyllic, whereas this lake is represented as if it is about to swallow this person whole. All the weeds and twigs in the lake only add to dangerous atmosphere that has already been created. The lake also looks on-going, which could connote the pain the character may feel or the suspense that an audience might be led to believe is never-ending. Once again this leaves the character to become vulnerable, as if the location is in control and decides what happens and when. By giving the location a god-like status, the character doesn't lead us to the location, but the location leads us to the character.

Location research x7

These are photo's that I have taken in Nonsuch Park, I think that Nonsuch Park would be an ideal place to film my groups thriller opening sequence. The model that I used for this image is Demi, and I edited this on photoshop, like I have continued to do so in all of my location research pictures.

I think that this would be a good thriller location to use as the imagery in this location are quite negative and haunting. I took this picture in nonsuch park and asked my friend to walk down the pathway as we are going to use a similar shot in our thriller opening sequence. The location appears to be very still and silent, which allows the person in this photo to become very reliable. The person in this photo appears lost, but unaware of where to turn to for help as everything is pretty much deserted. Therefore this would be an ideal location as it helps create a creepy and eerie atmosphere, it also allows the character in the shot/picture to be vulnerable, and appear weak. Moreover, the direction of the frame is slightly tilted, this therefore creates a low status for this person, again connoting with the vulnerability for this character.

Double Indemnity analysis

Film title:
The film title is presented in a very effective way as it immediately captivates the audience’s attention, which enviably causes immediate curiosity. The whole frame is filled, with white, bold capital letters filling the majority of it, apart from the dark, contrasting background. Curiosity is also created within the viewer as a silhouetted man appears to be walking in the background with crutches. How did this man end up on crutches? Who IS this man? How is he relevant to this film? This combination sub-consciously intrigues an audience to ask questions, which leaves them wanting more out of this film- to challenge their own instincts to see if they were right.

Setting/Location:
The opening sequence is located in Los Angeles, which was a very successful and famous country during the time the film was released. This connotes that perhaps the main characters from this film are wealthy; suggesting that the silhouetted mans injury was due to some involvement in money that had gone wrong. This also places stereotypes on the characters before they're fully introduced, already giving the audience a concept of what the film or characters may be about. Another part of the opening sequence is filmed in an office in a building, where the audience is led to believe that the man is going to an insurance office. Yet again the location gives the audience a subtle clue as to what may be the theme of the movie, which you are inclined to believe is money. The main character also arrives during the night time, and as night is a connotation of danger and negative imagery, it makes the audience suspicious of him. This continues to draw the viewers in, my indirectly asking those questions and so on.
Costumes/Props:
Near the beginning of the opening sequence, a car is shown to be driven extremely eratically and fast. This adds suspense during the scene as this fast-paced dynamic movement could add panic among the viewers. Yet again this leaves the audience question as to what is going on, leaving them intrigued. Why are they they driving so fast? Have they got an emergency? Where are they going? The questions asked keep the audience inquisitive and wanting to find out more, therefore they're most likely to continue to watch the movie. It could also be linked to the reason the silhouette was injured at the very beginning, as the audience are led to believe that he is driving the car, and therefore crashes. The driver then continues to go through a red light, arousing suspicion and isolation within the audience, as they're intrigued as to what might happen next. The character that was driving the car is seen to be wearing a trench coat and a top hat, which is similar clothing to the silhouetted man on crutches at the very beginning of the opening sequence, showing the character's status in the film, and of him importance and power.
Editing/Camera Work:
The first shot used in the opening sequence is of an establishing shot, framing a main road with a sign post that reads 'Los Angeles Railway Cor.' This immediately sets the scene and informs the audience that the opening sequence will be located in one of America's most famous cities. Moreover, in this shot there are many lights among both sides of the street, informing the viewer that it is currently night, and these lamps are the little amount of peace and quiet the streets have left. There is another effective shot used during the opening sequence. As the man enters the office late at night, a long shot is used to emphasise the use of space in this frame, as everything in the room seems to be empty. This connotes that this man is suspicious, and causes tension amongst the viewers. Also, there is a level mid-shot of two men in the lift together. This level shot emphasises the man’s height and stature, displaying signs of power and authority. Both men’s statuses may cause tension for the readers, as their patriarchal may take over, and they might find that they're competing with one another. Lastly, there is a high angled mid shot of man sitting down with what appears to be a gunshot wound. The man is then shown to be lighting a cigarette which could connote stress and anxiety. Smoking also has connotations of addiction, which could be metaphorically used to suggest that whatever this man has become involved in has become an addiction, something difficult to just quit. The high angled mid shot allow the man to appear vulnerable and defenceless.

Audience research 2

In our thriller groups we were asked to construct a questionnaire targeted at a suitable age group for them to complete. This process allowed me and my group to identify what our target audience would prefer in a thriller movie, with the questions ranging from locations; characters and various endings. The results are as follows;

Our results show that our target audiences ideal location for a thriller would an abandoned builing at 46%. 47% said that their favourite type of thriller genre was psychological, with 54% saying that their ideal main character would be a pretty girl. A staggering 74% of our target audience agreed or strongely agreed that thrillers should contain gore, whilst 13% were unsure, and another 13% disagreed. The results from me and my groups questionnaire was very successful as it really helped expand our idea's, allowing us to get honest opinions of what conventions our target audience would want to see in the opening sequence of a thriller.

Brick-Opening Sequence

Brick had a very interesting opening sequence, as it built up enough suspension to really engage it's target audience.
The first image shown has the main image centered in the middle of the frame. There is no mise-en scene used, but uses contrasting, basic colours so that the title of the movie really stands out. The colours connote with the font of the title, as bold, capital letters are used to grab the audiences attention. The style of the font appears to be quite sharp and dangerous around it's edges, which could also connote the danger that may lie ahead during the rest of the film.

The second image shows a hand opening a locker; the high key lighting could be a representation of the positivity during the course of this part of the film. Positive imagery could be used to throw an audience off track, mis-leading them to perhaps believeing that things could turn out ok. However, in the opening sequence of Brick it is clear from the very beginning that this movie isn't going to end well, as it opens with the ending of the film. This also engages the reader as it's sort of like a race against time to figure out what happened, before the story unfolds itself. This image not only shows some of the girls skin, but her clothing aswell. I believe that the colour of her clothing was chosen carefully because white is a colour that easily gets ruined; therefore by allowing the character to wear white it proves that nothing bad has happened to her yet, otherwise she would have dirty stains on her clothes or bruises and marks on her arms.

The third image is a mid-shot image, where dull, washed out colours have been used to blend in with the mood or theme of the movie. Perhaps the washed out colours were used because she had died, and therefore as she has no life longer left in her it would be to much of a contrast to use bright, vibrant colours. The low-key lighting informs the audience almost immediately that something bad has happened. The dead girl is shown wearing a skirt and heels, which could most certainly suggest that she had been out to a party or a get together the night before. Infact this could confuse the audience as perhaps her death had been accidental? Maybe she had been drinking the night before and her death had been of her own cause, although arguably if that was the case then they wouldn't have subjected the audience to this image so early on in the film.

The fourth shot is of an extreme close-up of a boy. I believe that they have used an extreme close-up to capture the mood and essence of this seen- to either comfort the audience and leave them feeling intense. Yet again there is low-key lighting, tricking the audience subconsciously as to what mood they're in. In movies you will find that they generally stereotype characters, so an audience are more able to relate or adapt to the subject of the movie. In this case, this character is wearing small rounded glasses, suggesting that he is the geeky-type, that quite often falls for the popular, pretty girls. The heels and dress in the other image suggest that this girl is very sociable, or perhaps she was dressed up to meet her boyfriend and the geeky boy became jealous?
Moreover, the fifth image is of the Focus Features, the speciality films unit of Universal Studies. Focus Features is a well known movie company, and have made very popular films previously such as; Milk, Burn After Reading, Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Translation and Shaun of the Dead. Focus Features is a very modern logo, using warm colours, which could arguably said to be used to confuse people, as the horror genre would have dark, edgy colours, and romantic, uplifting films having bright colours. So if the colours used are neutral, what kind of movie was this? Once again this connotes back to the idea of the movie, having suspense and feeling confused.

The sixth and eigth image are pretty similar in terms to the lighting and the props used. Like throughout the opening sequence so far, neutral, washed out colours have been used to address the scene of death, like the colour of nature has been washed out, just like the colour and warmth of the girls face that was now gone. In the sixth image it's a mid-shot of a set of hands holding this note. This arises suspicion within the reader as they're wondering who left this note, just like the boy in the movie. As the audience are relating to this character, the audience are becoming vulnerable to the situation, therefore the movie is then ready to throw them off track. Just like in the eigth image, where a close up is used to show a photo of him and what appears to be the dead girl. The photograph that is being used is cut up small, which could represent how much he remembers of her, as his memories are fading away. Like I mentioned before, this vulnerability and saddness could be used to throw the audience off track.

The seventh and ninth images are of the actual girl dead. The seventh image is of a close up of the girl, her hair is wet and is cassading over her face. Her hair has been presented as looking very dull and flimsy, you could say even lifeless. This connotes with the actual girl herself, and her body is flimsy and lifeless; you're unable to see the girls face, which has been covered by her hair. This causes more suspense as it doesn't give you a clue as to how she died, like if you were to say for example she had marks around her neck, this could suggest that she had been strangled. However, people could say that she had been drowned as she was completely soaked, but how are we as an audience not to know that it hadn't rained down hard let's just say the night before? If the audience are questioning themselves then they're questioning the whole entire movie. The last image is of a long shot, allowing the audience to intake the entire mood and setting of this scene. In the centre slightly off to the right of the image there appears to be a dark/black cave type hole. The body of the girl is to the right hand side of the image, as if she's just escaped out of the dark hole and then been captured. Her posture is extreme or over-dramatic, but looks quite peaceful, as if she hadn't struggled when being killed. The geeky boy is on the left hand side of the image, peering down gazing at the dead girl. The fact that he is bending down suggests that he is vulnerable, as often in films height equals power. Because the image looks really silent, I suppose that could confuse the audience even more, as he isn't screaming or running off to call the polie; but just staring at her.