Final research into thriller opening sequences

1. REAL MEDIA RESEARCH

2. Opening Sequence/ Genre Conventions:
The first shot shows something in the middle of the road, clearly in the early hours of the morning, as
shown by the sunrise. When the camera gets closer the audience sees that it’s actually a young boy in
the road. This creates a sense of mystery which is conventional of the Thriller genre and entices the
audience to find out why he is there/ what will happen to him.

3. Opening Sequence/ Genre Conventions:
The camera then pans round to a close up of the boy who was lying in the road waking up looking
extremely confused and dazed. This adds to the sense of mystery and further entices the audience to
watch as they want to find out what happened, like the boy/ who he is etc. There is also a low humming
sound playing which creates tension and makes the audience uneasy. The lighting is also dark and
gloomy which is conventional of the Thriller genre, and adds to the tension.

4. Opening Sequence/ Genre Conventions:
A mid shot is then shown of the boy who goes from looking dazed and confused, to smiling at the ground
and laughing to himself. This adds depth to the character as it shows he perhaps knows something the
audience doesn’t about why he was where he was. This is conventional of and opening sequence as it
sets up the character for the audience.

5. Opening Sequence/ Genre Conventions:
As the boy walks away, the title of the film ‘Donnie Darko’ fades in. The font used is quite gothic, which is
common for the Thriller genre as it appears quite spooky. This also tells us that the boy who was in the
road is most likely to be Donnie Darko, and that the film is going to focus on him, all without the use of
dialogue which further adds to the sense of mystery.

6. ORPHAN
The film starts with the opening title ‘Orphan’, the title first fades in bold grey text, it then
flickers and changes into a disturbing child’s painting of the same title splattered similarly to
blood, but in different colours, with hand prints that look as though someone has fallen onto
the wall with blood on their hands, but could also look more innocent when linked to a child's
painting This effect hints to the audience that the film may be daunting and suggests that the
orphan may not be the stereotypical orphan that you would expect. This creates suspense and
links the movie to the thriller genre.

7. ORPHAN
A rumbling thunderstorm sound effect plays in the background during the opening credits. This
shows that the film may be dark just like a thunderstorm or perhaps that there is danger
approaching. When the title flickers to reveal the alarming painting electrical buzzing sounds
are used; this emphasizes the transformation and suggests to the audience that the film may
be chilling and have some unexpected surprises relating it to the thriller genre. The sound
effects essentially determine the fact that the film is categorized under the thriller genre.

8. ORPHAN
The film then cuts to a bright white shot. This gives the effect that the audience is entering
another reality/ a dream or flashback, this makes the audience feel as though what they are
about to see is to become quite surreal. The shot fades into a shot of a woman in hospital
screaming in pain. This emphasizes and sets up that the film is going to be chilling and
unhappy, and the use of blurry camera work around the character further focuses on the pain
the woman is feeling in this scene.

9. PSYCHO
Sound
Music is intense. It is very fast paced, high pitched violin sounds. It is repetitive and feels like
someone is being stalked and is trying to get away. The high pitched music has become a
classic in the thriller genre. This is followed by quieter, slower paced music, this builds tension
and makes the audience feel uneasy and nervous.

10. PYSCHO
Editing
During the opening credits, the transitions are one of the most important factors. Grey bars
travel across the screen quickly, this has connotations of knives or even a prison cell, either
way, this foreshadows the violence that will later occur in the movie. Violence is a typical
convention of the thriller genre

11. PSYCHO
Camera
First shot is a high angle pan of the city, it is an establishing shot. It zooms slowly into an
open window of an apartment, it makes it seem as if the audience is spying on the couple
inside. We are intruding on an intimate moment between the two. Thriller films often take on
normal characters and put them in a scenario you wouldn’t usually find them in, such as
murder or stalking.

12. PSYCHO
Mise en Scene
The opening scene plays like a romance movie. So the opening credits may seem out of
place, but this plays in the back of the viewers mind. They are waiting for something bad to
happen, but they do not know when it will occur. Thus creating a suspenseful atmosphere.,
constantly keeping the audience on edge.

13. SE7EN
Sound
The scene opens with no music. Though we can here non diegetic noise from the street
outside the apartment. Police sirens and cars driving by.
When the opening credits start, we finally get the first musical piece. It opens with a large,
loud thunder like sound and is slow to medium paced, with lots of random noises, including
voices and static/electronic noises. It is a bone chilling tune that creates a very creepy tone.
The music becomes fast paced and much louder nearing the end of the opening credits. This
creates a feeling that a series of events are building up and are about to ‘explode’

14. SE7EN
Editing
There are a lot of cuts during the opening credit sequence. The graphics often shake, creating
a blur like effect. Also, lots of words or numbers show up and disappear, which may seem a bit
disorienting. This could perhaps the state of mind of the characters in the film, or how rocky
the film is going to become. The blurred effects are not limited to just the graphics though, as
we see the thumb is blurred in one of the pictures below.

15. SE7EN
The font used looks likes someone handwriting. Also, lots of words or numbers show up and
disappear, which may seem a bit disorienting. The use of hand writing font highlights the plot
of the film; obsession and murder. This creates a very home-made feeling, that the killer
works from the shelter of his own home on his own, and is therefore very intelligent and
private in his actions.

16. SE7EN
The movie name "se7en" appears several times, and in different fonts and sizes.
The scene opens with a mid shot of Sommerset. The character shown is doing his usual daily
tasks, and the camera stays in the same spot as he walks past it. He continues with his
mundane tasks and the audience realise this is his daily routine before going to work. The
audience is quickly caught of guard as the next cut shows a dead man lying in a pool of blood.
This shocks the audience, and highlights that the film will focus largely on this man and shows
how sick minded he is. Psychotic behavior and murder is an extremely large part of the
Thriller genre

17. SE7EN
Lighting
The first shot is well lit, with most items and objects in the scene being white. As the scene
progresses in Sommerset's house it becomes a little darker. Finally at the murder scene, it is
very dark. A room in the back has a window with light coming through, but hardly any of it is
entering the room Sommerset is in. This represents the darkness of the character and his
actions, and creates tension for the audience, and everything is unclear to them at this stage

18. FIGHT CLUB
First, accompanying a black screen, comes the sound of a record about to play on a record
player and classical music then begins to play. Then the track is abruptly interrupted by the
sound of a broken record when then turns into a loud percussion/bass based track. This
contrast signifies how the film contains a narrative that goes against the norms of society. The
classical music sounds civilised and normal, acting as the everyday hustle and bustle of
society, and the loud music sounds aggressive and violent reflecting the chaotic and
anarchistic idea of life that the narrative will show. These two clashing genres of music clearly
show the divide between the idea of normal life and the life that the characters in the film will
lead.

19. FIGHT CLUB
The title sequence begins in what looks like a microscopic view of the inside of a body. The
fact that the camera begins from within a character to intensely signifies that whatever
emotions/actions the character shows/does in the film will be directly caused by an internal
chemical reaction within the body. Here, nerves are shown that are lighting up with electrical
impulses. The music sounds intense and loud which immerses the viewer within the body.
This suggests that the film will be rampant and psychologically-driven. It allows the viewer to
feel like they are inside the body of the character, and therefore suggests to them that they
will be closely following the psychological life of the owner of the body.

20. FIGHT CLUB
The shot then appears to carry on through various different microscopic parts of inside the
human body. This use of biological images suggests that the film will be a psychological
drama, and the sub genre is established. The viewer is explicitly shown the biology behind the
human body and therefore shows that one of the main themes of the film will be mental
health. The camera is moving rapidly outwards from the center, meaning that the viewer is
bombarded with all types of imagery regarding bodily functions and biology

21. FIGHT CLUB
• The next shot in the title sequence shows the camera coming out of a pore on what
seems to be skin. The skin is covered with droplets of sweat, this connotes nervousness
and worry. The camera then reveals that it has came out of the forehead of the character
as the beginning of two eyebrows are shown. This means that the majority of the title
sequence was based in the brain of the character, again confirming the psychological
genre,, which is left for the audience to ponder over until later in the film, which hooks the
viewer.

22. FIGHT CLUB
• The lighting here is dark and gloomy which connotes danger and fear. When the lighting
is matched with the sweat, it signifies that the character is in an unwanted situation in
which he feels severely uncomfortable to the point of perspiring. The camera moves down
the front of the face to reveal a metal object inside the characters mouth. Moving
backwards along the ridged object, it is revealed to the viewer that the object is a gun
which has been lodged in the characters mouth. This brings an extremely sinister theme
to the film as the dramatic genre is moved up to a new level.

23. FIGHT CLUB
‘People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden” Is the first piece of dialogue we hear spoken. It
is non diegetic and comes from a narrator. At this point in the film the audience is completely unaware
of who this so called Tyler Durden is or why he is mentioned. However they are aware of the fact that
this character must have significant value in the plot of the film, since his name is spoken in the first
line of dialogue in the film. One of the droplets of sweat then rolls down the side of his face. This
sudden movement alerts the reader and signifies his fear once again. His eyes then look to the side
desperately. This opening scene portrays the narrator to be fearful, cowardly, and weak. The camera
shot used here is a slight low angle shot, this connotes inferiority and shows the character to be
feeble and emasculated.