Opening Sequence Of A Thriller Evaluation

From my research I have learnt that in order to make the opening sequence effective, I need to do the follwing;

• create characters simplisticly, so that without having the characters do much, the audience can guess a lot about them.
• give connotations to suggest that it is a thriller, such as particular colours, tense music, create an enigma, etc.
• create a mise-en-scene that would be relevant and significant to the rest of the film, and give the audience clues of this, such as the era through props, or the location through the setting.
• increase and decrease the level of tension and suspense through fast and slow editing, loud and soft music, high level and low level action.
• use camera shots, movements, and angles to give away clues about the characters, their status, the setting, and the narrative.
• keep the audience's attention to make them want to carry on watching, and leave them asking themselves questions about the narrative.

Thriller Analysis: Taxi Driver (1976 Martin Scorsese)

(click on the picture for the opening sequence)


Whilst watching the opening sequence of Taxi Driver I was able to analyse the following:



Genre:

• The smoke and close-up of the eyes created enigma and the sense of the unkown, typical to a thriller.

• The loud, raised parts of the music created suspense and tension, which are crucial to thrillers.


• The shot of the pedestrians walking suggested that the normal citizens would be involved as victims, which is often apparent in thrillers.

Charaters:

• We are introduced the main character through a close-up of his eyes which gave a shifty and mysterious expression (as shown by the shot below).

• We can also infer that he is a taxi driver from the shots of the taxi, and how he looks like he is looking out of the front car window at the pedestrians.

Conventions that are present:

• Tense music


• Red and black colours used for titles.


• A night-time setting used to create enigma.


• A city, urban location where there it is heavily populated, therefore easy to loose someone. (shown in the shot below)
  


• A lone character, who will probably be against a system or organization of people.

How it keeps the audiences attention:

• By only giving one close-up shot of the main characer so that we don't know anything else about him.


• By the music which continually increases and decreases the tension.


• By switching between light and dark lighting, creating different atmospheres.

Questions we are left asking:

• Who is that man?


• Why is he a taxi driver?


• Where is he going?


• Why is he intensley looking out of the window?

Thriller Analysis: The Godfather (1972 Francis Ford Coppola)

In the opening scene of The Godfather I analysed the following to tell me about the narrative and content of the film: (click on the picture above to watch the opening sequence)

Sound:

• The trumpets played at the beggining created a serious atmosphere and sounded like the typical music played in an Italian-American gangster-thriller film, therefore it indicated the film's genre.


• Both of the character's accent tells us that they are of an Italian desent and conforms to the stereotype of them being Italian-American gangsters.


• The silence (apart from the dialogue) and the fact that there was no other background sound created a tense atmosphere and implied that the godfather character has authority and is a potentially dangerous man. However, background digetic music played as soon as the vulnerable man exited the room, decreasing the suspense.


• The dialogue between the two suggested that the film was about the vulnerable man's want for revenge on those who harmed his daughter, and his and the godfather's relationship as in the dialogue they stress the importance of family, friendship, and loyalty.

Lighting:

• The low key and dark lighting created a serious and tense atmosphere and gave the godfather an air of enigma and power.

Camera shots, angles, and movement:

• The initial close-up of the man indicates that he has a purpose and objective in the conversation; requesting for something, and is being put on the spot.


• The over-the-sholder shot from the godfather creates distance between him and the other man, and shows the long table, implying that the godfather has the higher status and it is the other man who has gone to him for assistance.


• The tracking and following of the godfather suggests that he is the main character in the film.


• The high angle shot of the godfather (as shown in the picture below) shows that he has high status and power, which implies that his authority and power will be a large part of the narrative.

Mise-en-scene:

• Costumes: The suits indicate wealth which suggests that wealth will be a theme or part of the narrative.


• Props: The cat on the godfather's lap is a stereotypical implication of authority and power. The drink that a servant gives the man is also a sign of wealth, and suggests that the man is nervous.


• Setting: The room also shows signs of wealth through its long mahogamy tables, paintings, large chairs and lampshades etc. It also appears to be part of a larger building or buisness, which tells us that the godfather owns it. His buisness could be part of the narrative as well.

Thriller Research: title analysis on LA Confidential (1997 Curtis Hanson)

During the opening sequence (click on the picture above to watch), I was able to analyse the following:

• There was a Warner Bros Pictures and Regency Enterprises logo, which tells us that the film had a big budget as they are both big companies. The actors in the film are also well known and respected, suggesting that the film would be popular and have a high expectation.



• They used a 1950s bright red font for the title, similar to the lettering found on film posters from that period to reflect the setting of the film.



• The credits where in a pale yellow font, which is a colour typical of the 1950s, and also reflects LA's stereotypical view of being sunny, happy, and full of opportunities.



• The "hush hush" lettering at the end of the opening sequence implies that the film is about corruption and the "bad" and kept secret side of LA, and is important to the film as it is repeated in different ways. Here is a screen shot of this:

Thriller Research: What Lies Beneath opening sequence

Whilst watching the openining sequence I was able to analyse the following points:

Title Graphics:

• 20th Century Fox was in the titles, and it is a big company which suggests that it gave the film a big budget.
• The title was under water tells the audience that water is significant in the film.
• The titles were ghost-like, creating an eerie effect and suggesting the film's genre.

Sound:

• The high pitched piano created chilling connotations.
• The discordant off-key note played creates an eerie atmosphere and suggests that something is wrong.
• The digetic sound of gasping created panick.
• The silence that exists in the bathroom draws the audience's attention to particular sounds, for example, the hair dryer and gasping. It indicates that she is alone.

Characters:

• The focus on the woman during the sequence indicates that she is the main character.
• The gasping and shock of the woman suggests that she will be a vunerable character.

Lighting:

• The dark lighting in the water suggests a dark setting.
• The dark and low key lighting also indicates dark emotions and a sense of anxiety f0r the unknown.

Colours:

• Dark murky colours reflect the mood.
• Blue colours also reflect the water so that the audience infers that water is important.

Mise-en-scene:

• The shot of the window showing the lake tells us she lives near the water.
• The scary/dead face in the shot before going onto the woman shows a connection between the two.
• Because the opening sequence is mainly shot in the bathroom, it suggets that something will happen there.
• We can tell that the woman lives in a big house and is middle class. There is also an indication that she is alone in the house.

Camera Movement:

• The slow movement of the camera through the water creates suspense, making the audience expect for something to jump out.
• The focus and close up of the hair dryer suggests that it has an importance.

Keeping our interest: (we ask the following questions)

• Why is the face underneath the water? What is its significance?
• Who's face is it?
• What is the relation between the face and the woman?
• What is the significance of water?
• 

Goodfellas Opening Sequence Analysis

From the opening sequence I was able to make the following assumptions of the film: (Click here to watch the opening sequence)

Genre: It appeared to be a Gangster film which I guessed from:

• The characters' stereotypical representation of gangsters; well dressed Italian Americans.
• Sound; the voice over indicated the character's ambition to be a gangster.
• A nice car- gangster films usually have signs of wealth and power (shown in the picture below).
• The characters have guns and accents.
• There is graphic violence.

Main Character/s: The character Henry Hill, which I found out from:

• The voice over which indicated to us the main character and the basis of the narrative.
• The camera focused on the main character in the first shot (as shown in the picture below)
  
• The character's role was indicated through his actions- he appeared to be in control.

Setting: It is set in New York 1970, which was shown by:

• The screen text
• The era is suggested by the car, their suits, and the music played.

To keep us watching: We are left with several reasons to keep watching, such as:

• Why was the person in the car?
• We want to find out his life story and why he wanted to be a gangster.
• The fact that it is based on a true story is intriguing.
• How did the character get to where he is?
• We want to find out what happens to the main characer.
• Intrigue is also created through the unusually happy music after the grim scene.

What I have learnt about the film making process from the preliminary task

During the preliminary task I have discovered the techniques and elements of film making, and their detail. Firstly, I have learnt the different camera shots and their purposes. Such as a long shot to show the setting, a close up to show emotion and detail, and a shot-reverse-shot to show a conversation.The diagram shows the 180 degree rule which maintains that the line of action not to be crossed. Secondly, I have learnt how to use a camera with the tripod. I have also learnt how to edit my film and the detail needed for it. For example I know how to cut the shots and add transitions.