Sound

We chose this music to non-diegetically play over our opening sequence as the protagonist got out of bed and began his routine. We felt this music was appropriate as the genre is quite meloncoly and depression which express the tone of the sequence well. The music also seems to play in a loop. We felt that this would work well to portray the idea that the character's life is stuck in a rut - doing the same thing day after day.

We chose this music to play during the shots from inside the dream at a lower volume. This is because the choir singing sounds like something one might here inside a church. Connotations of church include death and mourning and therefore we hope this might hint some of these concepts to the audience. The music is also rather peaceful which shows the audience that previous to the incident - their life was peaceful.

Key Frames

Key Frame 1

This shows a medium shot of the protagonist in bed as his alarm goes off. This shot is key as it clearly shows the facial expression of the protagonist as he wakes up and remembers exactly who he is and what has happened. In this scene, the character's alarm has just gone off and he is staring at it for a prolonged time rather than turning it off. This firstly shows that he is in no rush to get up and get ready for the day which emphasises the fact he has nothing to live for. Secondly, at this point in the scene, the alarm sound is at a disturbing volume and frequency for both the character and the audience. The fact that he is not choosing to simply turn it off demonstrates how there is something wrong. This was designed to illustrate to the audience the fact that he feels he deserves the simple pain of having to listen to the alarm as he feels he is responsible for what happened to his husband because he didn't save his life.

Key Frame 2

This (extreme) long shot of the character in the bathroom crabs across the floor slowly. This scene is shown right after the character wakes up from bed. This shot is key as it shows how the character life has developed into a rut of doing the same things day in, day out. The large distance between the character and the camera conceals the him from the audience as we cannot see his face properly. This hints to the audience that he is ashamed of himself and does not wished to be seen by anyone. 

Key Frame 3

This still shot displays a section of the protagonist in the foreground with the various props shown in the background. This shot placement firstly conceals the characters actions from the audience, implying that he is rather shady and is not proud of himself. The character, however is not in focus in this shot, instead, the props behind him are in focus. These props give a variety of clues to the audience about the character's old life. Shots following this show a closer view of these clues to allow the audience to accurately see what they show.

Key Frame 4

This long shot of the character seems like a two shot. This is because there are two armchairs side by side, however only one of them is occupied. This implies to the audience that there should be someone else in this shot and therefore their absence seems unusual given the shot.

Key Frame 5+6

The first shot shown is a long shot, birds-eye-view-shot of the protagonist in bed. This early shot has the same effect as key frame 4. It shows the character clearly on one side of the bed and leaves the other half empty. This is another hint to the audience that somebody is meant to be there but isn't.

The next two shots display a graphic match between the tap running in the bathroom and whiskey being poured out of a bottle into a shot glass. This editing technique illustrates to the audience how excessive drinking of alcohol has become as routine to this mans life as simply using the tap in the mornings. 

VoxPops

We interviewed a small sample of people to ask them about what conventions they expected to see in the opening sequence of a thriller film. This information was useful so that we could refine our ideas to either meet these conventions or challenge them.

Do you expect to see fast or slow paced editing in a thriller opening sequence?
The majority of participants felt that fast paced editing should be present in our opening sequence. One also said that the sequence should begin slow and then speed up. As a group, we have decided that when introducing the character and setting we will use slow paced editing to show the lack of tension, however, to meet the convention, we will speed up the editing pace when danger is introduced.

What props do you expect to see in a thriller opening sequence?
It was made clear by our interviews that our participants felt that weapons were a common convention for Thrillers. Therefore, we felt that an absence of weapons in the opening sequence may lead the audience to misinterpret the genre and begin the film with a more relaxed viewing. This would mean that if later on in the film weapons were introduced - it would have a more intense affect on the audience as it would be surprising and shocking.

Do you expect the titles to be played over a moving image, a black screen or to be animated?

With the exception of one, our participants felt it would be conventional for titles of the opening sequence to be played over black rather than over moving image or to be animated. Therefore, this is how we shall present our titles.

Do you expect to see low-key or high-key lighting in a thriller opening sequence?

All of our participants decided that low-key-lighting was very conventional for thriller opening sequences. This is due to the fact that low key lighting usually creates an ominous atmosphere as people cannot see into the shadows.

What plot do you expect to see a thriller film follow?
Our participants gave a range of responses to this question. From this evidence we can conclude that the plot of thriller is much more versatile than the plot of more structured genres - such as romantic comedies.

Film Synopsis

Our protagonist is a policeman who turned to a life of depression and alcohol after his husband was killed in a mugging. The sequence begins by showing the rut the protagonist is in and quickly climaxes with an attempt on his life. He then finds out that his husband's death was not as simple as a mugging and that the police knew this but kept it from him to avoid the pain it would have caused the protagonist  if he knew. Knowing that he can no longer trust the police, the protagonist goes on a one-man-mission to find the truth about his husband's murder.

The film concludes with the revelation that his husband worked for the agency that assassinated him. It is also revealed that the reason they got married in the first place was so that his husband could act as an informant for the agency so they could know what the police were up to at all times. The husband, however, fell in love with the protagonist and wanted to quit the agency to live his life with him. This the reason they killed him - as they felt the husband knew too much and was a risk to be kept alive and unemployed. After the protagonist alerts the world to the agency's crimes, the final scene shows him being to get his life back on track.

Initial Ideas

Audience Research 2

Another copy of our questions and results are shown below:

Most of our participants were male and between the ages of 16-24.

The majority of them enjoy Thriller films and, on average, watch around 1-2 of them a week. Therefore our participants represent our target audience well.

We asked the participants by what method they watched films to get a sense of how fanatic about films they were. We decided that if somebody watched films on TV or via DVD, that they were most likely more casual film viewers - whereas if somebody were to travel to the cinema or were a member of some kind of download/streaming, subscription package; that they would be more dedicated film watchers.

The most common film that arose when asked what the audience's favourite Thriller film was, was Se7en. Therefore, we will shall look at Se7en's opening sequence and try to use the most successful features of it to possibly use in our own sequence.

The large majority of our participants felt that the time of day Thrillers are conventionally Evening or Night. We took this into account and decided that this is around the time of day that we would like our opening sequence to be shot.

Our participants also agreed that the conventional genre of the score in Thriller opening sequences is either Ominous or Orchestra.

Lastly the audience agreed that the protagonist of Thrillers are usually male. Therefore, we have decided that the protagonist for our opening sequence should be male to fit convention.

Audience Research 1

We conducted primary research to see what our target audience expected to see in a Thriller opening sequence. We also asked them various other questions about them personally and their experience with films. We did this to help get an idea of what we should include in our own Thriller opening sequence.

Our Questionnaire:

Harry, Scott and myself individually gave our questionnaire to 10 people of a range of age groups. We decided that our target audience were people in the age groups of 16-24 and 25-34. Although it proved difficult to get many participants in the latter age group; we recieved a lot of data from people within the former age group. The results of our questionnaire are as follows:

Examples of completed questionnaires:

Conventions of Thriller Genre

A convention of Thriller opening sequences that the movie does not spend very long initially establishing the characters. Instead, it introduces a strong element of the plot straight away to give the audience some information about what is going on, without explaining why it is going on. For example, in Watchmen, the opening scene is a fight scene between two characters who we  barely know. Another example is in Face/Off where the only information we are given is that a father and his son (presumably) are at a fun fair before it kills a central character.

The micro elements usually work well to conceal the character. For example, mise-en-scene is used in the form of costume by giving the characters dark, black clothing. This can be used to hide the character in the low-key-lighting or just to make the character seem mysterious.

Another convention is that Thriller opening sequences commonly contain violent scenes to draw the audience into the story straight away. This convention is shared with the Action/Adventure genre. The tone of Thriller's are very serious and harsh realism. Therefore, the opening sequence do not demonstrate many characters with idealist life styes. One example is shown above in the Watchmen clip.

Long shots and loose frames are used commonly in Thriller opening sequences to show the character at a distance. This is used either to show the character's environment and setting; or it is used to, again, conceal the character from the audience - making the audience want to watch more of the film.

Contrapuntal music is convention of Thriller films as it is a useful technique to confuse the audience and put the audience on edge. It also offers a alternative perspective of the visuals to the perspective the audience would have if the music matched the visuals.

Non-Diegetic music heard over Watchmen opening sequence

Face/Off (Woo, 1997, US) Opening Sequence Analysis [Genre: Thriller]

After the majority of the film's titles have been shown over a black background, the initial shot has a long duration to portray the idea of peace and tranquility in the situation. Straight away the audience are made aware that the relationship between the man and the boy is very close and paternally loving. This is shown by the composition between the two characters; they're closeness in proximity represents their closeness in relationship. This relationship is also shown by the performances from both characters, as they both seem happy and enjoying each other's company. The slight brown/grey tint on the shot, added post-production, make the footage seem authentic - as if it was taken in the past. This is due to the fact that older cameras possessed a strong brown/grey tint on their recordings. This implies that the scene was in the past rather than present day; which is later confirmed to be later on in the sequence.

The non-diegetic score in this sequence is uses string instruments to portray a sense of innocent and peace. This follows the theme of the visual footage, as all that has been revealed thus far to the audience is the idea that this man and his son have a very lovely relationship. The hyperbolic sounds of a child laughing reinforces this theme.

This theme of music drastically changes with the revelation of the sniper rifle in the fields above. The score transitions from being very string based and high pitch, to very low pitched and dark. This allows the audience to clearly identify the sniper as the antagonist. The sound of the cover being removed from the sniper is hyperbolic. This demonstrates how the theme of murder and assassination disrupts the much more gentle and peaceful idea of a father and son enjoying the ride. 

The first appearance of the sniper shows him in a long shot to keep the character mysterious and unknown to the audience. The fact that this character is shown whilst the title is displayed indicates that this character has a lot of significance to the story.

The next shot continues to obscure the character from the audiences view by only showing sections of his face at one time. The use of the straw prop portrays the audience as being juvenile, as connotations of a straws usually link to children. However, when we only see his eye, we see that his expression is rather serious and concentrating. This could imply that there are two sides to this character, that he has a mixed personality, or that he is simply insane.

GIF

The eye-line match between Cage's character looking through the scope and Travolta's character being seen through the scope demonstrates that Travolta is being targeted as a kill. Seeing the previously innocent setting of a man and his son on a ride through the lens of a sniper rifle gives the audience a new, darker perspective on the scenario.

The hyperbolic sounds of the sniper bullet being shot and the impact of the bullet on the man's chest emphasis the consequences of the action the sniper has just taken. After the sound of the gun shot, the ambient sound is most silent; demonstrating the idea of death being absolute.

The shot of the balloons drifting into the air illustrate the idea that the innocence of a young boy playing with his father (represented by the balloons) is lost. An alternative interpretation of this shot could be that the balloons represent the boy and that he is drifting up beyond the living world - implying that the character is dead, which is soon revealed to be.

The absence of the brown/grey filter in the first shot after the '6 years later' title shows how now the sequence is moved to present day. Travolta's character's expression suggests that he has not yet fully recovered over the trauma of losing his son.

The various awards and pictures on the wall tell the story of his life. The one below tells the audience that he is a successful policeman. This new information allows the audience to make assumptions about why the sequence of events in the prologue occurred.

Watchmen (Snyder, 2009, US) Opening Sequence Analysis [Genre: Thriller]

This close up of a silenced gun and 'Hustler' magazine give us information about the character. The gun shows that he has a more violent lifestyle than the average person as normal people do not have guns on their coffee table. The fact that this prop is easily accessible to the character may imply that he is either untidy or that he feels the need to be protected, even when he is watching TV in his apartment. The 'Hustler' magazine demonstrates that he is most likely a bachelor and doesn't have any other family living with him in the house.

Another shot that is shown early on, before we know much about the character and setting is the television screen. The news broadcast mentions 'Soviets Violate Territorial Waters'. This implies to the audience that the film is set around the time of the cold war.  The TV set itself reinforces this point as it is clearly not a TV that somebody would have in modern times.

The diegetic music from the TV within the sequence is very calm and soft, along with the slow pace of shots, this makes the audience feel comfortable and relaxed. Therefore, the loud sound of the door being smashed in is shocking for the audience as it is not expected.

 

The intruding character is concealed from the audience through elements of mise-en-scene such as the dark, black costume of the character; and the use of low key lighting to completely hide his face. This adds an element of mystery to the character. Especially given his following performance of violently attacking the Edward Blake with a high degree of skill.

Blake's reaction to this unknown characters violent entrance is surprising to the audience, as his performance implies he expected this attack to happen. This is also shown by the character's dialogue "Just a matter of time, I s'pose"

The eyeline match between Blake and the gun demonstrates the fact that he has a plan of attack to fight back against the intruder. This allows the audience to get an impression of what he is about to do before he does it.

GIF

The contrapuntal music begins as being diegetic, as it is played on the TV, however, after the television of shot, the music becomes non-diegetic as it is louder and of a better quality. This music is unusual as it does not match the violent and gorey visuals that accompany it. This use of sound makes the audience curious and makes them become interested in the movie.

The performance given by Blake after he has been brutally attacked is also unusual given the premise. He is smile and laughing, despite being in a lot of pain.

The prop of the smiley face badge is one other contrast between the general theme of the scene. This is because connotations of the a smiley face are happiness and joy, whereas the fight scene that has just occurred do not follow this theme.

Setting Locations

THRILLER

This location is near a window and therefore, at night time, can be given a dark atmosphere by drawing the blinds open and allowing the audience to see out into the spooky abyss. The dolls and other old fashion ornaments are conventional of some Thriller/Horror hybrid films. The closed drawers restrict the information given to the audience, as they are unaware of what is inside. 

This bathroom location is very pale and white. This contains a mixture of connotations, include the idea lifelessness. The metallic and concrete furnishes are very solid and hard rather than soft and comforting. Therefore, this is a location the audience would not want to spend too long in which may be a useful technique for the Thriller genre

This bedroom location contains low-key lighting during the night. This would create many shadows around this crowded room, a common convention of the Thriller genre. The hard, metallic sink juxtaposes with the warm, comfortable bed; therefore this room seems puzzling to the audience. Underneath the desk is too shadowed to be seen which leaves an element of mystery for the audience.

Romantic Comedy

This room contains high-key lighting thus allowing the audience to be aware of all aspects of it and feel satisfied knowing their surrounds in a simple establishing/master shot. The large amount of seating would allow many characters to be within the shot at one time which may be useful and suiting of the genre. The large mat of the floor may be a useful prop as it is unusual and therefore may be significant within the scene.

The toy prop brings a light-hearted touch to the room as it contains connotations of innocence and playfulness. Front door settings are a common convention of many romantic comedies, therefore this setting would follow this convention. The telephone may also be a useful prop as a character could make or receive a call from a character from another setting. In the example of a romantic comedy, the calling character could be a partner or admirer.

The kitchen setting is a common and comfortable location and the audience will feel family with. Scenes that could take place in this location that would link to the genre may include family meal preparation, person cooking for their partner or preparing for a diner date at home.

Action/Adventure

The well lit environment of this shot makes the atmosphere seem calm and safe. As-well-as this, the computer and various other hardware props demonstrate that the room is modern and therefore the owner is most likely young. The desk shows that this is a place of work, which is a common convention of the action/adventure genre, as it is possible a character may discover information using the internet that breaks equilibrium and starts the plot of the film.

This shot contains handles that may become useful for a chase scene in which the character jumps or free-runs down the stairs. For example, the character could run along the wall if they are acrobatic and jump off it to the bottom of the stairs to save time in a fast-pace pursuit. 

The very low-key lighting of this shot conceals a lot of information from the audience. This makes the area seem shady and therefore could be the setting for dangerous activity such as violent crime or drug exchanges. The road and cars around the area also show that this location could be used for a vehicle chase scene.