Intertextuality - When a film borrows visual or audio elements from another film in a way that the audience will recognise.
Thriller films can use intertextuality in order to create a memorable event or character that their audience will recognise from another film to associate to it.
An example of this is the shower scene in Psycho and this has been used by Intertextuality for the film Nightmare on Elm Street.
Another example of this is that the character Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm street who wears a black and red jacket has been intertextualy used in the film scream as the villain's costume.
Narrative openings set the scene, introduce characters and vaguely present their situation.
The shining
The introduction shows a journey to a rural and isolated setting, and because the music is tense and disturbed, this suggests that the setting the car is travelling to will be suspicious and hostile.
Arial tracking shots to track the car show that the character inside the car will be the main protagonist or the villain.
Trainspotting
This film opening shows the main characters names in text, which is a more direct way of introducing the characters to the audience compared to 'The shining'. also the voiceover is used to create the main character and to portray their emotions.
Multiple scenes give us a sense of the characters life.
Discrete Openings -
Discrete openings are like separate films to the main film.
Seven
There is disturbing imagery in this opening which implies the genre is Thriller, and rapid movement of the scenes with a distorted effect creates the illusion that it is an old film.
All the shots are close ups of hands and props such as script books, with no facial shots. This makes the opening tense because the audience know they are watching the villain and it is disturbing not to be able to see their faces.
Donnie Darko
This opening begins with titles over a blank screen to introduce the producers, cast and crew.
Narrative elements such as characters and setting are introduced in this opening.
Sounds of thunder create tension and a creepy setting and the gothic font shows that this film is a thriller.
Stylised editing opening
Stylized openings use sophisticated editing with lots of transitions and effects.
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
This opening uses fast moving imagery, showing the setting as a busy city.
close up shots of main characters with some tracking shots to show we are following these particular character's lives.
Mesrine (2008)
The use of split screen editing on particular characters shows we will be following these people throughout the film as the main characters. The tense music and slow imagery sets the tone for the film to create suspense. Also the small screen view of imagery following the characters allows us to get to know the characters however this opening doesn't focus on much of the setting.
Over the holiday I saw Date Night, a thriller and action rom-com. I chose to see this film because I do not like the other sub-genres and horror thrillers is of one of them. Therefore I wanted to see a film that I would enjoy watching and actually learn from it in order to make my thriller opening a success. As soon as I saw rom-com under its genre my eyes lit up, I was very happy to know that I was going to watch a film that I would normally go and see for myself. I found the film very amusing because of the comedy and I was familiar with all of the actors which somehow made it better to watch.
There were tonnes of conventions that were successfully used for example at the opening sequence the music is upbeat continuously which shows us that the couple has a lot of distractions and disturbances at home. In addition, the fact that the couple was sleeping and then in all of a sudden are disturbed by their children emphasises their stress. Moreover, the camera tracks backwards to show the couple in bed after ben waken up by their children early in the morning foreshadows when they are disturbed by two spys at the restaurant. The spys clothes are plain, simple and black; it is perfect for their role as the 'bad guys'. Black connotes negative words such as: death, evil, mystery...etc Date Night is completely different from the Stepfather and the Orphanage. The reason for this is because the others are not as light hearted as this one. Before my research on Thrillers I was not aware o the different types of thrillers, I used to think they were all horrible and horrifying however now I know that there are many types of thrillers and one of them is my favourite, romantic comedy.
The film opening starts with the credits and then a doll entering a window and is then placed on a table. The doll is then being sown and cut by metal hands. The music is heart-warming and light to symbolise innocence since it is showing a doll. After the doll has been reconstructed into another doll she is thrown out the window again.
The fact that the doll is going round and round and enters through the window shows that is odd. The doll then has the hair, eyes and the insides sown off by metal hands. With little understanding at the start, the audience then realise that the doll is being made into another doll with different features. Every sown piece of the doll is shown to show how much time is put into making her. It is quite hard to understand the narrative straight away however the fact that the doll is changes its features definitely makes the audience want to find out more since the doll is being sown by metal hands.
The camera is at a high angle filming the metal hands assembling a new doll. It also shows the power of the thing with the metal hands as it manipulates the doll. The metal hands seem creepy but at the same time making the audience curious to find out what it really is and it is making a new doll. An extreme close-up of the hair being taken off of the dolls head is to show how it is being taken off as well as when it shows the button eyes...etc
Ellipsis is shown when the doll first comes into the window and the outside is light navy blue however when the doll is totally different and thrown back out the window the sky is pitch black.
The non-diegetic sound is orchestral mainly using the triangle to show it is light hearted. The metal hands reconstructing the doll contrast the sound because it is unusual. The sound is somehow ghostly with children singing in the background emphasising the fantasy genre as well as the thriller. The music then pauses and continues at a high pitch but more comforting.
The doll is in a room with a creature/character with metal hands. Around the room I can identify textiles, sewing pins, wool, yarn, buttons, scissors, sewing machine...etc. The props help to reconstruct the doll’s features. After the doll’s clothes are made, the audience is aware that the doll is a little girl. The lighting in the room is relatively dark and therefore gives us the impression that the film is not entirely heart-warming.
My opinion:
The sound in Coraline's opening is suave however the lighting and the metal hands transforming the doll into another completely contrasts to the music. Through my research I have found out that the Other Mother sews children's eyes into buttons and takes their souls therefore the metal hands we see are from the Other Mother. I still think that the song should have been different but it contrasts the Other Mother's character which we later find out she is a monstrous witch. I didn't think the opening caused an instant arousal however it definitely set questions and didn't give too much of the plot.
Dr. No opening sequence
Editing for perspective is successfully used when it also acts as the eye line match who is used from the assassin’s perspective.
Non diegetic sound added in post production is used very well. At the beginning the sound effect is high pitch which quickly grabs the audience’s attention. Before the point-of-view shot there are instrumental noises that introduce James Bond to the audience and then the gun shot noise. After the gun shot, the James Bond theme song is introduced and it acts as a motif, a musical refrain which accompanies Bond as it introduces him to the audience. The theme song sets the mood of mystery as the big circles continuously flash around the screen. The tone and pace of the music is fast as it goes from one credit to the other. The music all of a sudden changes to a drum and rhythmic sound that adds ambience making the audience feel like dancing. The change from the rhythmic sound to the three blind mice sound sang in a Jamaican accent shows the audience where the film might be set or the protagonist’s regional identity.
Mise en scene is not used very well mostly because of the graphics used in the opening and therefore does not require a lot of costume, location and props. However, James Bond’s suit and hat was chosen very well because it definitely supports the stereotype that agents wear black suits and black hats. The audience knows from the start that he is an agent due to his clothes. Also, the gun used was great in order to make it bel
The film opening starts off with the credits. Then the audience’s perspective is shot from the point-of-view of an assassin’s gun barrel. The gun barrel follows James Bond’s movement as he walks, turns and then shoots directly at the camera which then causes blood to run down implying that the man behind the gun has fallen. This is then accompanied by the James Bond theme song. The title Dr. NO is flashed around the screen several times in different bold colours. Big circles in different colours are flashed around the screen and at the same time the credits are being showed. The James Bond theme song then wears off and then changes to a more rhythmic beat song that show human like characters dancing to the beat. Then it shows three old men walking to the right, all behind the other. It reminds us of the human evolution image that show the change from apes to humans. Due to the music they are the ‘three blind mice’ it is clearly shown because all three have walking sticks.
The images of the circles probably symbolise the gun barrel. The fact that it is shot inside the gun barrel is captivating and engages the audience; making us see from the assassin’s perspective. The blood dripping down the screen emphasises that it belongs to the assassin and the fact that the camera moves unevenly and then falls suggests that the assassin has also fallen. It hooks the audience because we want to know more about why the assassin was following Bond in the first place...etc In addition, the flashing big circles on the screen grasps the audience’s attention as well as when it is done with the title. It helps the audience understand the narrative and since it is an opening it has to quickly grab our attention. The dancing people show a different side to the film, meaning that not all of it is serious and a mystery.The dancing people and the three blind men leave the audience in doubt and thus making us want to find out more of the film.
The camera is successfully shot from the point-of-view of an assassin’s gun barrel. When Bond shoots at the assassin it engages us because it makes us feel as if we have just been shot. When Bond shoots the assassin he is still and the camera uses pan because it swivels left to right and then eventually moves on to the next scene. There is a mid shot of the people dancing to the beat to show their dance moves and then a wide shot of the three blind men walking. There is a drastic change from the bright colours on the screen when the people were dancing to dull colours such as navy and grey to when the men are walking which may suggest that something bad has happened. The camera tracks the men’s movement to deliberately show their slow pace.
ievable that he actually shot the assassin. The colours of the circles and the title differ so it is more appealing to watch. The animation graphics of the people dancing are in different colours to differentiate each character. Throughout most of the entire sequence until the three old men walking, the background colour is black. The three old men walking with their walking sticks are all black and the background colour is navy and grey.
My opinion:
I think that overall Dr. No has successfully used most of the thriller conventions. The reason for this is the fact that the music chosen was very appropriate for the genre of the film, for instance the James Bond theme song is mysterious and it is a glamorized spy film so it worked very well. The opening gave out some clues of the story for example, the three blind mice song is sang in an Jamaican accent, later on in the film we find out that John Strangways' is murdered in Jamaica and his body is taken by a trio known as the 'three blind mice' and James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate his dissapearance. The three blind mice song set up questions at the start because no-one knows where the film is set but this is exactly what film produces do to film openings. Film producers make us set up questions because they do not want to give too much of the film away otherwise it would have been a waste of money for the audience. Personally, when I first saw the opening I thought that there was too much going on. I did not understand why there was dancing and the three blind men however through research I found that the opening related to the film a lot more then I thought it did.
The opening of ‘Billion Dollar Brain’ is
focused on introducing the main character of Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) to
the audience.
The electronic voice over is important
because it tells us a bit about the plot of the film.
This has been achieved with the use of
extreme close up shots of Palmers face to see his expressions when talking on
the phone. This is in order to tell us that the phone conversation is important
to the plot of this film.
The opening
shot uses slow panning and zooming in with the focus on Palmer also to highlight
that he is the main character.
A dissolve transition is used to blend
the opening prologue scene into the opening credits and soundtrack. From the harsh
brass and percussion music, this suggests that the film is to be dramatic and
perhaps a thriller. The percussion creates tension and suspense as we can tell that
there will be a climax to the music and therefore a tense climax in the film.
There is imagery of the protagonist
with a woman and holding a gun, this foreshadows events that will occur later
in the film, as well as a shot of Palmer behind bars.
Finally, the credits dissolve into the
last shot we see in the opening of this film. The camera uses a mid-shot,
tracking shot of Harry Palmer in a taxi, being driven towards a building; this long
shot is used to set the scene. Also the same electronic voice over is used as
in the first scene, and from this the audience can assume that this voiceover
will be present throughout the film.
The tense and
haunting music that is presented to the audience before any imagery, allows us
to understand the genre of film before we know the plot. Immediately with a
dramatic climax in the music it is clear that the film will be a thriller.
The first shot shown is of a bird’s
eye view of an almost supernatural looking landscape, and then lots of
different snapshots of nature imagery are faded into one another with a medium speed
editing.
The editing of this film opening is all
in black and white.
As the soundtrack speeds up and
climaxes towards the end of the opening scene, the imagery transitions also
speed up
The
Global audience -
wider audience (world-wide), however films aimed to maximize global gains may be broader, but can sacrifice logic for
political safety and can even, counter-intuitively, keeping non-white actors
away from leading roles’. Animations, physical comedies and famous actors are
easy to market to global audiences who may not be able to speak the same
language.
The
National audience
Age
- U (suitable for
all), PG (parental guidance), 12 (suitable for 12 years and over), 15 (only
suitable for 15 years and over), 18 (suitable only for adults)
Niche
market -The subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing;
therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at
satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production
quality and the demographics that is intended to impact.
…
When making a film, Generic
conventions are important for the production company and film-makers because
they allow them to produce a film which is likely to appeal to the target
audience they are aiming their film at to go and watch it.
The following statistics, taken from the UK Film Council Statistical
Yearbook 2008, give a picture of audiences for film in the UK.
Films
in 34 different languages (including English) were released in the UK
in 2007.
Hindi
was the foreign language with the greatest number of film releases -
52.
Less
than 1% of screens are in rural locations.
London
had the highest number of screens (21.7% of the UK total), followed by
the Midlands and Lancashire.
Only
7.3% of screens were dedicated to 'specialised' (non-mainstream)
programming, with 0.3% showing South Asian films.
Minority ethnic groups were over-represented among buyers of cinema tickets,
rental films and pay-per-view, and under-represented among buyers of
retail DVDs/videos.
Disabled
people were under-represented in the film audience, except as buyers
of retail DVDs/videos.
The usual
target audience for Thriller films
is 18 because they tend to include lots of disturbing images of violence and
cover disturbing psychological issues such as mental illnesses.
The age certificate will be 18 if the
BBFC think a particular film could risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour,
to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or
of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. Where there
are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context.
