Analysis Of Thriller Opening

Seven Opening Sequence Analysis

The beginning of the sequence shows somebody who is unknown reading a book and filing this gives the audience the idea that they are plotting something and creates the idea of mystery. The fact disturbing pictures are displayed gives us a hint to the mischief which is going to occur. We get the idea from the mise en scene that the character is going to be evil and a hint that there is going to be a threat of violence.


The shots used in the opening sequence give no clue, as to where the scene is taking place. The unknown in this sequence creates tension and unease for the audience. Close ups of the actions taking place makes them more bold. The fact you are unable to see who the mysterious character doing these actions are creates suspense.


The convention of low key lighting is used in majority of the shots connotes danger and creates suspicion. A lot of the shots are in black and white except the occasional red light this adds to the idea of danger and violence.


























Bonnie Hartrey

Shooting Script

Bonnie Hartrey

Film Synopsis

For our coursework production we have decided to make a psychological thriller film opening, we are currently working on a name for our film but we have got our story line.

Levi is the protagonist in the film, and is being portrayed as a mentally-ill patient who has been sectioned off into a mental institute for murder instead of going to prison. During his time in the mental institution, Levi has made a kill list containing 3 women- one he has already killed and another he kills in the opening sequence. The third woman will be Levi's target for the rest of the film. In the sequences following our opening sequence, the likability of Bonnie's character will be established in order to create tension and anxiety amongst the audience for the remainder of the film. A cat and mouse pursuit of Levi and Bonnie will dominate most of the film, ending with a plot twist in which Levi learns that he is the father of Bonnie's child but he is shot by the police. The final sequence will be an ariel shot of Bonnie lying over Levi's body whilst uncontrollably crying.


Levi Hodge

Age Classification

As part of our production we have to classify the minimum age limit to either watch our film in the cinema or to purchase it. In order to do this we had to do some research on it to gain more marks. One key website that we found useful was the British Board of film classification  (BBFC) because it give us detailed information about each age classification and the what should and should not be included.

 

The age classification we have agreed on is '15' because on BBFC it states that a this classification could include:

• strong violence
• frequent strong language (eg 'f***').
• portrayals of sexual activity
• strong verbal references to sex
• sexual nudity
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• discriminatory language or behaviour
• drug taking

 

But the only the element from this we are using is strong violence because of the fact that there is going to be a murder and we feel this is too serious to classify as a '12' and it would not be an '18' because we are not dwelling on the infliction of pain and injury.

Levi Hodge

Key elements of our Thriller Opening
In our Thriller movie the key elements we are going to be using some codes and conventions to help build up suspense before the film begins.

• Fast paced quick cuts - We know that this is an element that the audience will be used to and is effective for building tension and suspense in a film.
• Mirrors - Mirrors are another commonly used convention in a thriller. The connotations of mirrors are reflection, double meanings and tricks on the audience. We are going to use mirrors in our opening to show the fractured personality of our character and to build mystery about his identity.
• Black and white CCTV footage - This will allow us to create a dark and eerie atmosphere at the same time CCTV footage has connotations of reality making the film feel more real and creepy.
• Non diegetic music - We are going to use non diegetic music to allow the audience to identify that is something not right, so that we can build suspense for them and make them aware that something bad is about to happen.

We have chosen a target audience of Age 15
A film opening is supposed to draw in the audiences attention and give them a clue about the type of film it is and what is going to happen. The opening will also introduce the characters to the audience.

Bonnie Hartrey

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.






Chloe, Alexandra, Bonnie, Somer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Codes and Conventions of the Thriller Genre.

For our foundation portfolio we had to research key codes and conventions of the thriller genre. To show some of the codes and conventions we discovered, we decided as a group to create a production piece in the style of a TV interview. We have included the codes and conventions that we feel are relevant for our own coursework production and have included them in this clip.