Opening Sequences

What is included and how we applied this

Flashbacks These are typical in opening sequences as they show key events which have happened before the present time in the film and give insight into certain characters background history and give the audience an idea as to what they might be like. In our thriller we use multiple flashbacks to create tension and give the audience their first clue as to our antagonists character and his weird obsession. These

are clearly defined as flashbacks as they’re in colour and this differs from the rest of the footage which is black and white. We also added the ‘dip to white’ transition which is a typical transition used to show the narrative going back in time. I think we used these effectively and it was one of the main things that people commented on in our audience feedback, saying were effective and built tension.

Examples of our flashbacks

Establishing/Panning shot• Establishing shots help to set the scene

and inform the audience where the film is taking place and puts the rest of the film in perspective in terms of location. We used an establishing shot in our opening sequence in the form of a tilt and this helped the audience that it is a normal location and adds to the verisimilitude. The tilt establishing shot is also a smooth shot to open with at it slowly introduces the location and eases you into the movie.

Title Sequence

• Title sequences often appear at the start of a film whilst the story line is being set up for the rest of the movie, it lets the audience know who has been a part in making the film and is informative. As much as giving the audience information about the cast and crew it gives the people involved in film credit. We made our titles simple so that they didn’t draw away from the narrative but they help to distinguish the video as an opening sequence rather than an extract from any part of the film.

Examples of our titles

Non-diegetic music

• Non-diegect music is often used in opening sequences to give the audience a chance to see things like the location and characters before they start talking or the action starts to happen. It also allows the audience to get a feel for the mood of the film. We used this in our opening sequence by choosing deep, eary music and this let the audience know that the mood of the situation was a sincere one and allowed them to focus on the narrative rather than the sound as a main focus.

Thriller GenreWhat is included and how we

applied this

Characters• Male actors are usually cast for the main

antagonist of a thriller film and this character will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses. This is a typical convention of a thriller as males are usually seen as the more scary gender, adding to the narrative enigma. We show this in our opening sequence by not giving too much about his character away but enough to make the audience question what is going on.

Sound

• The music of a typical thriller film is a very distinguishable type of music. It reflects the mood of the characters and adds tension. Typically this includes low, deep, eary tones of music and is at one consistent pitch. The sound that we have used as our backing music defiantly reflects the mood of the whole film and I am pleased with how it adds to the narrative enigma. Without the sound the footage wouldn’t be as easily identified as a thriller film and it wouldn't be as tense.

Mise en scene• Low key lighting is a typical attribute

of a thriller film and we made sure that this was a part of ours along side it being black and white in colour. The actors cast in a thriller film must have something unusual about them and to be able to act seriously which our actor did and did very well, portraying his character exactly as we’d hoped as mysterious and creepy.