Research for Main Task

Films and the Conventions of Opening Sequences

The opening scene of 'Inception' starts with a pan of the sea going down to the beach where the actor is, they have also slowed the speed of the waves down, this implies to the audience that this film isn't going to be masses of chases and riots it'll be more cunning and confusing. The camera then zooms into the actor and then a long shot from where the actor is lying to see two children playing, this makes the audience more confused because it's an odd situation to be in. There's then an over-the-shoulder shot showing him being nudged by a soldier with a gun, this makes the audience wonder what's happening and where he is because the opening scene has just started with slow, calming waves to the actor being almost threatened with a gun. The lighting that is used it bright because it's filmed on a beach, this adds to the confusion because the actor is fully clothed lying in the ocean while being threatened by a soldier with a gun. At the beginning of the clip the sound of the crashing and spraying of waves, it then calms down and becomes a trickling sound, and the audience can hear children's voices like they're playing, there's also a faint piano piece being played in the background, this music isn't fitting with the scenes because the piano piece fits with the children playing, but not with the grown man, fully clothed, knocked out on the shore. The cuts are fairly fast but not as fast as a traditional thriller, but when the actor sees the children the cuts are fast, this is to show that they are in his mind, therefore implying how long he has been 'stranded'. The opening scene for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' has a lot of fast cuts and flashing images to show only small amounts of images at certain times, it implies to the audience that it's a fast past film, and will play with their mind causing them to question what they've seen and whether they've seen it. In nearly all of the cuts, the object that is being filmed the camera 'pans right' not showing all of the object therefore creating a mysterious feel to the opening sequence. The music is definitely not a traditional thriller theme music, it's mostly drums played in a 'rock' genre, this shows the audience that it's not traditional, therefore they need to watch out for a twist that they won't expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VXkUzf1et4
Print screen of opening scene of 'Inception' (2010)
Directored by Christopher Nolan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVLJkIZvFlo

Print screen of opening scene of 'The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo' (2011) Directored by David Fincher

Genre and the Industry

‘Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television which creates suspense, tension and excitement; they are the main elements of a Thriller. 'Thrillers usually have it filmed from the killer point of view, if not then the killer or ‘villain’ will be unknown until the very end of the film, but are usually in the film a lot throughout it but aren’t a suspect at all, therefore the audience won’t guess that it’s them that has committed the crime. Now Thrillers are extremely popular in the film industry people usually suspect the dodgy person who isn’t a suspect, so film makers are having to think of new ways to play with people’s minds making them not suspect the obvious.

The main businesses of cinematography are in the United States, Nigeria, Hong Kong and India. Many of the film industries film in other countries and places than where the film is placed, for example if a film took place in New York they would try to find somewhere extremely similar to New York so they don't have to pay as much as they would if they had to shut New York down for a day or two. Many films are filmed in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand or in Eastern European countries. The early thrillers came around in the 1920's - 1930's these consisted of  Alfred Hitchcock, his films were 'whodunit' films. He began his career with his first silent film 'The Lodger' in 1926, this was the story of Jack the Ripper followed by his next thriller 'Blackmail', his first sound film which was released in 1929. Thrillers have changed throughout the years, not only the types of stories, but the villains and heroes have also. The traditional set up of the 'damsel - in - distress' has changed dramatically, many of the heroes are women now such as Angelina Jolie in 'Salt' and 'Tomb Raider' they are great examples because Angelina manages to do everything a man traditionally does in thriller films such as, jumping off high buildings, shooting several different guns and defeating many villains at one time. There are different types of thrillers, one sub-genre is a 'Psychological Thriller' which has heavy focus on the characters but still incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, it often overlaps with the horror genre depending on the film. A 'Political Thriller' is a thriller that is set in a political power struggle, they usually include international political scenarios such as Political Corruption, Terrorism and Warfare. This sub-genre tends to involve several extra-legal plots, these are designed to give political power to someone while the opponent(s) try to stop them. Spy thrillers are extremely popular at this time with films such as, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'(2011) and 'Hanna'(2011). This sub-genre deals with fictional espionage, in either a realistic way or fantasy based; it’s a significant aspect of British cinema. Spy films usually include activities of government agents and their risk of being discovered by their enemies. They’re a combination of exciting escapisms, technological thrills, and exotic locales, the spy film genre combines the action and science fiction genres.

According www.imdb.com the best thriller 'of all time' is 'Pulp Fiction', which was released in 1994 and on average was rated 8.9 for it being the best. This story consists of the lives of two mob hit-men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption, this would be classed as a Crime Thriller. Crime thrillers offer a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime/s, the villains are usually successfully caught and either killed or put away. These films usually focus from the criminal's perspective, rather than the policeman, but now thrillers are changing the people who are focused on are changing also. Crime thrillers more than likely include serial killers/murderers, robberies, chases, shootouts and double-crosses. The second best thriller is 'The Dark Knight', this was released 2008 and was rated 8.8. This is a story about Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent who are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by a terrorist mastermind known only as 'The Joker', as he drives each of them to their limits. This film would be classed as a Supernatural Thriller which brings in a mystical element mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists, more than likely the villain/hero has super-powers or is classed as a 'superhero'.

Questionnaire

1) How old are you?

12-18

19-25

26-32    

33-39    

40+   

         

2) What is your favourite form of thriller?

Just a basic thriller

Horror Thiller

Action thriller

Comedy Thriller

Sci-fi Thriller

Political thriller

Other

3) What do you find appealing about a thriller?

The characters

The story

The fear and tension generated

Other              

4) Which do you think is the most important convention of a thriller?

Story

Introduction

Characters

Other   

5) At which point in the introduction do you think the title of the film should be displayed?

Right at the start

During the credits

Right at the end               

6) What in the opening scene would make you want to continue watching the film?

     ________________________ 

Thank you