Opening Sequences

THRILLER OPENING SEQUENCES

TRAINSPOTTING INTRO:

Why is the protagonist so careless?

How did he get into the chase situation in the beginning and why?

What problems will the protagonist face?

The point of having a film opening sequence is to create a captivating entrance to the film, as to attract the audience to continue watching while introducing the characters, and narrative. 

Conventions of Opening Sequences:

Introducing Themes/Ideology - With the use of introducing themes; the audience gets a hint of a vision of the symbolism of the film. It also helps with introducing the narrative.

Introducing Characters - When introducing characters in an opening sequence, it is significant for the audience to know what the roles are in the film (protagonist, villain, helper, etc).

Introducing Narrative - Introducing the narrative is the whole point of an opening sequence. It`s what introduces the film and informs the audience what is to be expected.

Engaging Music - One of the most significant conventions of an opening sequence is engaging music. It`s what helps emphasise each scene; from tense plucked strings to a dramatic orchestra, the audience will become tense each second from the build up of the music.

Non-Linear Start - By using a non-linear start for an opening sequence, the audience watch the scenes without proper context of what is really happening before the first proper scenes begin. This helps attract the audience to wonder how the characters have gotten into the situation shown.

RESERVOIR DOGS

One by one, the main characters are introduced to the audience with the use of mainly editing while they walk slow-motion. Especially by being dressed formally in suits, we can only assume from this scene that they are quite an established group. However, that idea could be defied as the ending scene consists of one of the characters being horribly injured; while the other man tries to find help; quickly bringing curiosity and suspense for the audience.

The opening sequence helps foreshadow the narrative as we are able to get a glimpse of the sudden problems the group of suited men may face later on. With the theme of violence shortly shown, an enigma is clearly created.

SE7EN

There isn`t much of exposure for the narrative. There were names of the cast and directors/producers shown, until after was an abstract montage focusing on the hands of someone sewing fabric, writing in a book and shaving their dead skin. 

We are immediately told here that the film won`t be as literate as others, with the lack of typical telling of the narrative or characters; effectively bringing tension. This opening sequence ultimately creates an enigma from the eerie montage.

Themes in Thrillers

Themes in Thrillers

THEMES: fear, paranoia, control

FILM: BLACK SWAN

The key theme of Black swan is control. 

 

Nina (the protagonist), strives to become perfect and keep control of how she performs as a ballet dancer. Given the role as the Swan Queen, Nina has perfect control in how she embodies the role of the White Swan. However, with the Black Swan, Nina struggles to perfect it (shown from 0:42 - 0:50). She is the embodiment of innocence and childhood; whereas the Black Swan is more seductive, bold and represents more of adulthood. 

CONTROL:

As the trailer progresses, we see how Nina begins to lose control over her well-being, as her overgrowing obsession of appealing everyone begins to consume her body; leading to fatigue, hallucinations, depression, etc. The role of the Black swan haunts Nina, explicitly gaining control over her which is quite noticeable at the end of the trailer; with the costume, eyes and demeanour. While the Black Swan gains control, Nina loses control of herself and falls into a pit of delusions, and self-harming (as shown at 1:12 - "The only person standing in your way is you"). This clearly showcases how the theme of control is denoted in the trailer. 

FEAR:

Around 0:46, Nina is expressively showing the creeping fear of Lily becoming a rival to her; a threat to steal her role as Swan Queen. The overwhelming pressure in perfecting everything is getting to Nina's head; she begins to fear her surroundings, becoming tense (as seen in 1:19), and self-destructs from the role and her emotions. These scenes strongly depict the theme of fear in this thriller.

PARANOIA:

The theme of paranoia is clearly shown around 1:24 in the trailer, when Nina shakily says, "She's after me..."  referring to Lily who keeps appearing around Nina, whether it's delusions or reality. Paranoia heavily emphasises the psychological aspect of the thriller, giving the audience a clear vision of how toxic people, an unhealthy environment, and the person themselves can fall victim and crumble in front of everyone.

The key themes heavily affects the audience to sympathise with the protagonist, as well as become entranced and apprehensive from the dark spiralling developing throughout the trailer. The enigma of whether Nina will break free from the chains and pressure of being the best Swan Queen is effectively explored in the trailer.

The themes of fear and paranoia will be my main chosen themes for my film; as they are what mainly make up a thriller. They are what keeps the audience intrigued, and at the edge of their seats. You can also get many ideas from the use of those themes.

Thriller Mood Board

THRILLER CONVENTIONS

FILM: Black Swan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Mise-en-Scene

LIGHTING:

-usually artificial; bright

-mostly warm lighting, some cool moments

-spotlights

-dim; almost completely dark scenes; grey

-thrillers tend to have quite dark (almost natural looking) lighting, to bring eeriness

LOCATIONS:

-urban, plain, mostly indoors

-grey, cloudy, real world

-house; bedroom, dining, bathroom

-ballet; practice room

-theatre; stage, backstage, dressing room

-streets; bar, tunnels

COSTUMES:

-ballet wear; thin, fitting, plain colours

-stage wear; elegant, extravagant, contrast

-no signifying costumes

-protagonist`s (Nina) colours begin to darken:

-white & pink, to grey, eventually to black

-signifies transformation into Black Swan

-childhood growing into adulthood

-emphasises the psychological side to the thriller 

ERA:

-late 2000`s

PERFORMANCE:

-delivered seriously throughout

-rely on expression, actions (dancing), dialogue 

-communicate feelings

-showcases the tension between the protagonist`s conflict

PROPS:

-realistic

-scissors, shoes, broken ballerina music box

-glass; mirror, cups, broken

Editing

PACE:

-slow in the beginning

-pace speeds up and becomes rapid 

-begins at 1:33 

-showcases the protagonist losing control of her mind, giving into the role of Black Swan

-leaves audience tense and curious

TECHNIQUES:

-slow scenes in the beginning

-montages become swift, more lively

TRANSITIONS:

-normal scene cuts

-more soft fades in beginning

-shown at 0:16

Camera

SHOT TYPES:

-close ups towards protagonist, to express raw emotion

-couple over-the-shoulder shots showing other characters

-full shot taking in the surroundings

-couple medium shots

CAMERA ANGLES:

-high angles showing the whole location

-eyelevel angles to display the characters` expression

-slight high angles to give a view on how vulnerable the protagonist has become

-these chosen angles give the audience suspense of how the protagonist is holding up in terms of emotions, mental health, etc

CAMERA MOVEMENT:

-cameras are quite stable in the beginning

-often slow

-turns more erratic and chaotic later on in the trailer

-emphasises the risen tension and thrill

Sound

SOUND EFFECTS:

-All mostly diegetic; very prominent

-shuffling, breaking glass, heavy breathing, whispering

-non diegetic sounds of whooshing to emphasise creepiness

MUSIC:

-deep, low, non-diegetic orchestral music

-grows more louder and fuller as the trailer progresses

-violins and cellos become louder

-heard around 1:30 onwards

-blends in well with the elegant space of ballet

DIALOGUE:

-very important

-shows the outline of the narrative 

-also shows how the protagonist is like (personality)

-vulnerable, soft-spoken

VOICEOVERS:

-beginning voiceover from protagonist is quite significant 

-dialogue from scenes goes over as voiceovers as trailer goes by

-adds to the enigma

FILM: M3GAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRb4U99OU80

TECHNO

Mise-en-Scene

LIGHTING:

-mostly artificial; cool lighting

-some natural, dim lighting

-some dark scenes

-Shows off modern vibe of thriller

LOCATIONS:

-urban, modern, techy 

-bright, sunny, real world

-house; bedroom, dining, bathroom

-tech lab

-vehicles; cars

COSTUMES:

-protagonist doesn`t have signified costumes

-false hero/antagonist (MEGAN), has a signified costume

ERA:

-present day

-modern 

PERFORMANCE:

-mostly seriously delivered

-quite comedic

-relies on dialogue and expression to convey feelings

-action

-brings tension, leaving audience on the edge of their seat

PROPS:

-realistic & everyday

-phones, other devices

Editing

PACE:

-not very complex

-quite fast-paced

TECHNIQUES:

-montages become faster as trailer progresses; according to the antagonist

-brings tension towards the audience

TRANSITIONS:

-Bit more fades than usual 

-shown around 0:07, 0:11, 0:18

Camera

SHOT TYPES:

-long shots to show the surroundings around character

-medium shots, close-ups; which bring suspense

CAMERA ANGLES:
-lots of eye-level angles to show characters` expressions

-low angles to display how powerful the antagonist is

-brings suspense and leaves the audience tense and vulnerable

CAMERA MOVEMENTS:

-not a lot of movement

-camera is quite stable 

-editing and sound is heavily relied on to bring thrill rather than camera movement

Sound

SOUND EFFECTS:

-mostly non-diegetic

-whooshing, ambience, slams to create creepiness

-there are diegetic sounds of clicking, cracking

MUSIC:

-there is cinematic music to bring eeriness 

-music is a pop song remixed to sound more eerie, cinematic

-low piano notes played in beginning to bring suspense

DIALOGUE:

-quite important

-gives clear idea of narrative to audience

-brings out dark side of antagonist

VOICEOVERS:

-dialogue from scenes goes over as voiceovers as trailer goes by

-protagonist mainly voices over dialogue in the beginning

-antagonist takes over the voice over later in the trailer

-shows how sentient AI is dangerous 

-adds to the enigma

Sub Genre Conventions