Analysis of Thriller Opening: 88 Minutes

Elements of thriller opening that i studied:

1. Camera Work
2. Mise en Scene
3. Editing
4. Sound

The Video below is of the first few minutes I studied (Poor quality-I was unable to find one online):

1. Camera Work:

Screen Shot of the wounds on victim

• The sequence uses a lot of close up shots within the first 3 minutes. These close ups are of things such as the bloody hands, rope wound and a clock counting down. The reason closeups/extreme close ups are used is to emphasis the wounds and blood-suggesting someone is dead. The clock close up is also significant, it builds tension and suspense (gives the impression that time is running out) and as we can gather from the film name, time is clearly something significant, (maybe a distortion of time is signifcant as the opening sequence is quite confusing as it does not run in chronological order).




Screen shot of Evidence shot-
zooming in on dead woman


• The camera also zooms in to focus on key things. For example when the camera is shooting the photographs titled 'Evidence', it then zooms in on the woman lying on the floor dead holding a gun, we then are aware of who died, whereas before it was restricted narration-we could only see close ups of the bodyparts, this created an element of mystery and suspense as we did not know who was dead. This creates enigma because we don't know who this woman is, why/how she died and who killed her.

 2. Mise en Scene:

• 
  

  

  Screen Shot of the woman in the club-
  Monochrome

  The footage is quite a low saturation and dark lighting throughout the opening (creating a negative mysterious mood), When we are looking at the evidence and shots of the dead female, it is very low saturated. On one shot of a bloody hand however it starts off as monochrome and then slowly the colour comes in (emphasising the blood). Monochrome or low saturation is something that adds an element of mystery into a shot and is something i feel would be effective if it was to be included in our thriller opening. One example of the effect of monochrome in this opening sequence, is when the woman and man are dancing inthe club together-when the camera is filming the woman, the shot then slows down and turns to black and white-we are then perhaps lead to believe that something is going to happen to this woman (the life/colour has come out of her). This creates suspense as we think something is going to happen.
• Another point also to do with colour and lighting is the clip of the young girl running along the beach. This shot uses high key lighting and hight saturation, we get the impression that this is a flashback/old footage of the woman that is dead. The fact the footage is bright and colourful is perhaps to show how happy everything was when she was an innocent young girl. This shot creates mystery as we do not  know who this girl is and so we may think it was the woman dancing at the club at he start-who is now dead.
• The use of the props is also significant because we see different murder weapons such as the gun and rope-creates enigma, why was there more than one murder weapon? Provoking thoughts that maybe there is more than one death. This builds suspense because we want to find out what it is all about.

Editing:

• The shots of the woman in the club have been edited into slow motion, provoking thoughts that this is a flash back or is building up for something to happen. The fact that it could be a build up for something to happen creates suspense and builds tension in the viewer as they want to find out what is going to happen.
• The fact that we see the woman in the club and then the shot fades in to view the evidence, gives us the impression that it is this woman that has died (however as it is later revealed this is not the case) but this is what we are lead to believe (making the audience think they know something and then adding a twist, thrills the audience and this is a technique we could apply when creating our thriller opening).
• 

  

  Screen shot of the young girl running along the beach-
  blurred creating a ghostly, mysterious effect.

  The shot of the girl running along the beach is also significant. It has been edited to make it look like an old movie, this in combination with the fact it is in slow motion forshadows the idea that this is a flash back (perhaps of the dead female). The effect used also blurs the girl as she is running, creating a mysterious ghost like effect(as shown in screen shot to left). This in combination with the echoing (similarly ghostly) dialogue of the girl gives us the impression that she is now dead)-Creating an element of mystery.
• The use of fades between cuts is effective at creating a mysterious atmousphere, confusing the viewer. This transition is something i feel works effectivly in more mysterious/psychological thrillers.

Sound:

• The opening titles (including the shot of the bloody hand) before the first scene, uses a sinister, dark, mysterious track. There is emphasise on a clock ticking just before we cut to the club scene-forshadowing the fact that time is significant-builds suspense, we think something is going to happen.
• The diagetic music track playing when the male and female are dancing in the club creates a happy, positive atmosphere, however becuase of faded non diagetic suspense music, we get the impression that a disruption is going to happen. This creates suspense because we know something is going to happen.
• When the shot of the 'evidence' appears, we can hear police radiocalls-fading in and out-like a flash back to the calls that were recieved regarding the death(s) (this shows us that it is a police case) and emphasises the reality and seriousness of the situation-builds tension-we want to find out what has happened.
• From the shot of the woman-that turns monochrome;There is a non diagetic track that plays throughout the rest of the opening . This track is mysterious and sad. It uses a pianno to create sad and emotional feelings.  The track is effective as it is parrallel and works well with the footage, although we do not yet know who the person who is dead is-we already feel emotion and sorrow to the woman. Throughout this sequence it cuts between shots of the girl and the evidence; When the girl is on the screen the track provokes more sad feelings in the viewer/more peaceful music (the gentle singing of a woman in the background), whereas when viewing the evidence the music is a lot more mysterious and bold.

By Holly King

The dark night: Batman

The main promotional poster of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

Camera work

• The first shot is an extreme long shot and an establishing shot from an airial perspective giving the audience an overview of the surroundings. I think it is shot from a helicopter as it is the only possible explanation as other methods such as a dolly would be obviously impossible. This shot also my show the movies huge budget along with its big Hollywood name stars such as Christian bale and Michael Caine.

• Throughout the 4.30 minuet opening scene the camerawork is trying to engage the audience. This is evident with a small tracking shot the duo abbsail out of the window across the busy road and onto a nearby roof top. Also in the back seat of the car as a different groupe of 3 travel to the bank prior to the robbery. This gets the audience involved straight away and engages them into the narrative of the movie.

• The third shot we see one of the assumed antagonists back holding a clown mask facing us. This firstly hides his personal identity and replaces it with the identity of the “Jokers” gang. This creates enigma and further hooks the viewer to watch more. The shot also creates enigma as the shot focuses the audiences attention onto the narrative as well as not overcomplicating the storyline with extra characters. 

one of the antagonists 

Mies en scene

• The clown masks that the antagonist bank robbers uses serves a number of purposes. Firstly, they hide there identity personally but identifies them in the “jokers” gang. However all the masks are different showing that they are still individual people involved in this terrorist gang. This may represent the difficulty is fighting this sort of war. “ war on terror” as its members are constantly changing. Also the masks themselves are scary but humorous which my represent there personality.

the mask of a bank robber 

• The setting and decor of the bank robbery is very realistic further improving the movies realism and connection to the audience. The costumes worn by the antagonist characters are mainly dark, grubby suits. This may show there professionalism and further identify them as part of the “Jokers” gang. Also they blend into the crowds and city workers with there costumes further.

• The bank vault itself is scene in many movies which makes it easier for the audience to understand whats happening in the storyline.

• The body language of the antagonist is quite arrogant showing they have control of the situation while the hostages/ victims of the robbery are obviously scared and confused. We know this as there heads are down trying to avoid eye contact with the antagonists and as they fall to they floor for protection and cover from the gunfire

Editing and sound

• Many sounds have been added in editing such as the window smashing in the first shot, when one of the antagonists hits the bank guard in the back with his gun and the screeching of the tiers as the old 4 X 4 pulls in to collect one gang member from a junction. This emphasizes certain elements of the story in which the director has choses to enhance the experience and drama of the shot. These sounds also give clues and undertones to the audience to help them understand characters and story lines better.

• The soundtrack in the bank vault is parallel to the visual as we see one of the antagonists pilling money into bags. The soundtrack enhances the event and creates a better experience fir the viewer.

• The editing is cross- cutting as the antagonist bank robbers meet in the bank vault to carry out the mission. The cuts are not at a fast pace maybe further implying that the bank robbers have the situation under control.

• The movie goes straight in with the “disruption”. There is no “set up” to introduce the audience to protagonists or antagonists. This may be due to the nature of the film. As it is a movie with the batman brand the audience has properly already met the main characters of the plot. This is why the narrative goes straight into an event rather than setting us up for the rest of the movie.

• there is little non-diegetic sound in the opening sequence of the dank night. however there is a quiet soundtrack in the bank vault. this creates tension and emphasis on the shot. 

By Alex stirling

Analysis of Thriller Opening-The Dark Night

Camera work- 

• The first shot is an establishing one, showing the surroundings and the city.  We first see the joker from behind in a long shot, and the camera zooms in to the mask he is holding in his hand which makes the audience realize its importance.
• As the clowns run into the bank the camera tracks them, which makes us as the audience feel among the chaos.
• Over the shoulder shots are used with the two clowns on the roof to show the one working while the other one pulls a gun on him.  Shallow depth of field is also used here as the background is blurry while the foreground is clear.

Mise en scene

• Props are very important in this opening.  The use of different weaponry helps develop certain characters.  The way the protagonists use their weapons makes them seem not only dangerous but clever as well.
• The masks are very important props, not only adding mystery to the characters but making them look scary.  They suggest that the crime they're doing is just plain fun to them.  These props are important to the scene because they hide The Jokers identity, we don't know who he is until the very end.

Sound

• The non diegetic sound is the music, which at first is just a low ticking noise.  It paces us, like a heartbeat and bridges through all the shots.  In the most dramatic moments the music rises and the beat becomes load
• The diegetic noise includes the sounds of the city, and dialogue.  The sounds affects, for example the noise of the man drilling into the vault, are done loadly to reflect the importance of every little detail.

The clip was unable to be embedded so here’s a link to the opening sequence of The Dark Knight:      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

Freya

Analysis of Thriller Opening: The Bourne Ultimatum

When Analysing the 2 minute opening of the film, I looked at these 4 elements:

1. Camera Work
2. Mise en Scene
3. Editing

4. Sound

Diagram to show difference
Between Cross sutting and
Parrallel Editing- (Both types
cut between location 1 and
location 2).

1. Camera Work:

• From what I can see in the first 2 minutes of the film is that all of the shots were taken using a handheld camera or steady cam, however I feel the shots are made to be unsteady. The Camera almost follows the movement of the main character so we are able to witness everything that is going on-this builds suspense and tension as we can see that the man is being chased and we don't know whether of not the police are going to catch him. It is mysterious and builds suspense because we don't know why he is being chased in the first place and we want to find out what is happening. The quick movement of the camera also gives a sense of panic (that the character may be feeling).
• The camera I feel uses a sort of Point of View (POV) shot and throughout the opening everyshot appears to be made this way. The POV shot is almost like we are seeing what the character is seeing. For example at the start we are following the character, he is limping and the camera is moving a very similar motion, as he turns and looks down off of bridge the camera also turns to look over edge. (The clip of him looking over edge of bridge is the video below).
• The focus in this clip changes a lot, perhaps to show that the man has distorted vision (maybe from his injury) and this creates enigma around the character and builds suspense because we want to know what has happened to this character. 

2. Mise en Scene:

Screen shot showing low key lighting

• The Lighting is very dark and Low Key throughout the opening sequence, with a green/cyan hue to it (low saturation)-emphasising that it is a negative atmosphere. It also gives an element of mystery because it is very dark and so hard to see exactly what is going on (becuase of shadows for example).
• We can see from the mans facial expression and body language that he is injured-he is limping, bleeding and you can see the distress on the characters face. We can also tell straight away from the way the man is turning around a lot/looking behind him that he is being chased and he is trying to escape the situation. This creates enigma/mystery because we want to know what has happened to this man, why he is injured and running away from the police.
• The fact he is being chased by police is significant because it makes us think that he is the antagonist and that he must have done something bad to be chased by a number of police. This foreshadows the fact that suspense is created because we are unaware of the situation and what to find out whats happening and what will happen.

3. Editing:

• Parrallel Editing has be used in the chase scene to show to distance between the charcters and speeds up during the chase scene on the train to show how the two are getting closer, however it is not cross cutting because there is no collision/the two characters do not meet-he manages to escape them. However by quickening the cuts and increasing the number of shots and flashing between the characters, tension is built because we are able to see how they are getting closer and do not know whether or not the police will catch the man. Personally I feel that cross cutting is more succesful in a thriller and I would choose to use crosscutting, however the way they have used parrallel editing is effective becuase of the speed increase we think the characters will meet but they do not.
• As mentioned briefly above, the sequence uses quick cuts between shots to show all of the action taking place-so we do miss anything. It also helps to emphasise the intensity of the situation and gives a sense of panic, this is something that i feel builds suspense and could be used in our thriller opening.

4. Sound:

• There is a non diagetic track playing throughout the intro. The track is very mysterious and works effectivly to set the mood in the sequence. The track starts off loud as we see the man stumbling down the street and the police cars chasing him. The music then fades out as he thinks he has escaped them however when he sees the police chasing him, the music gets louder and the beat increases (perhaps symbolising his heartbeat).
• There is also a lot of diagetic sound in the opening. The siren of the police cars is very emphasised throughout the sequence to remind us if the intensity and seriousness of the situation/chase. The groans/heavy breathing of the man are also emphasised, to show us that he is in pain-this builds tension and we may begin to emphathise with the character.

By Holly King

Analysis of Thriller Opening-No Country for Old Men

Camera work

• In the first minute of this thriller there are just establishing landscape shots. They are all extreme long shots and last around five seconds each. These shots are very important as they give the audience an idea of the whole setting, and how important it is.  The first moving shot pans along the fence and then onto a car where it stops as the audience watches a sheriff walk an arrested man to it.  There is a close up of an oxygen tank being placed on a car seat, which brings the audiences attention to this prop and wonder what it is there for.  Later on a point of view shot is used as the arrested man picks it up, putting us in his perspective: again wondering what he will do with it.
• The shots used when the arrested man is in sight always hide his face; the first shot of him only showing his back, and the second one, as the sheriff gets into the car, uses the mesh between him and the man to obscure his face. Back at the police station, shallow depth of field is used to hide his features as he approaches the officer, and even when he strangles the man his face is hidden in the scuffle. These shots help raise mystery around this character.  

Editing

·    The first shots of this sequence show time passing; in each shot the sun is more and more up which gives us an impression of it being sometime in the morning.  The use of cutting in these shots makes the sunrise in under a minute to save time.

Mise en scene

• The costume on the arrested man immediately gives him away as the protagonist.  He wears all black, connoting darkness, along with his dark hair.  This, a long with his facial expressions and body language make his character comes across as brutal, untouchable, purposeful and uncaring.   All his movements seem very deliberate; the way he strangles the police officer is not out of sudden rage, it's planned and cruel.  As he does this, we see his unhidden face for the first time:  his eyes are wide and his face is contorted as he tries to kill the man.  He looks insane and the affect is very frightening.
• The scenery that we are shown in the first minute is very beautiful but deserted and barren which gives the audience a sense of loneliness and fear because we realize there is no where for anyone to run to.

Sound

·    The non diegetic sound consists of a voice over and at one point an eerie long noise which starts when we first see the oxygen tank, making it seem sinister.  The voiceover at the beginning has a southern accent, and it talks of murder quite naturally which reflects the idea of this being quite a rough area.  We don’t know who the voice belongs to either which gives us the impression the protagonist has not been introduced yet.

·    The diegetic sound starts with the wind as the voiceover is going, and it emphasizes the desolate area.  The other digenetic sounds consist of dialogue, footsteps, cars, running water and gurgling.  There is hardly any music which makes the opening very realistic and takes the audience right into it.

Freya

Editing our Film



 We decided to use Final Cut Pro as the editing software for our primilinary. We decided to use this as opposed to iMedia because although Final Cut Pro is more complex to use, we felt it was the better editing software and would challange us.

In our video we used quick cuts between shots so our sequence ran smoothly and was continuous (chronological order).



Screen Shots-
White Balance and Filter

 We used a title at the start of our video and credits at the end of the film. We used a fade transition between the texts (title and credits) and the video to demonstrate that we knew how to use transitions/different ettects.

We also used a filter on one of the shots (where the white balance was set incorrectly). 

The image to the left shows the difference of the use of the filter. The top image is a screen shot of the origional shot (where the white balance was setup incorrectly) and the bottom image is the a screen shot of the same shot once a colour filter had been added and adjusted to match the other footage.

We also used garage band and tested out different sound effects we could edit into our footage. In the end we only used the sound effect of a door opening because other background sounds (such as footsteps) were already in the audio of the video, so did not have to be added.

By Holly King

Our Preliminary Project

The Video below is of our final preliminary video:

Planned by Holly King, Freya Murdock and Alex Stirling

Filmed by Holly King

Acted by Freya Murdock, Alex Stirling

Edited by Holly and Freya