Thriller inspiration

I have looked at a significant amount of thriller openings to give me an idea of how my thriller opening should appear.  

Se7en

I absolutely liked the fact that the flashbacks were very fast in pace. The music is upbeat and follows the flow of rapidness.

I have looked at film openings from previous City and Islington media students. 

Inside

I find it appealing the way the credits appear separately and go off screen to the right.

The filming of people in the high street where cars went past quickly went well with the music because the music follows the credits when they go on and off screen. Thirdly, I also liked the fact that the film title appears however each word is separately lit up alone and surrounded by black background and then it moves to the left. I was thinking that we could also have over the shoulder shot of Psycho sitting on chair...etc

Stroke

I like the credit font with the ‘blood’-like stain. Also the scenario is quite dull and black and white with red paint probably symbolising the blood which is probably to add effect.

Catechize

This opening reminded me of Se7en which was probably an intertextuality of it. I also like the

fast pace, the pen circling name was really good and I believe I could use that in my opening  since my group is thinking of doing a psychological thriller and including that would be  great.  The fact that the eye suddenly opens 

Victoria

I found that this was one of the best student openings that I have looked at. The fact that the ballerina dancing and the faded extreme shot showing her feet dancing was fantastic. Moreover, the girl writes a name on the mirror with lipstick and that can be used as an intertextual reference for my thriller. The  scary lullaby song on the back ground whilst close-ups of dolls is great which I am also thinking of using for my thriller. 

Rex’s with no name

The time set at what time the boy was called, the font suited.

Fracture

I liked the fact how the credits do not magically disappear but fade. A criticism would be that way too much things went on in the opening which made it long. I liked the fact that the high angle followed the protagonist's head.

Shutter Island

It is not a conventional film because no images or anything BUT credits.

Violet

 I absolutely liked the fact that when the girl was in the woods the trees behind was shaking due to the effect added in post production.

My opinion

I personally think that Violet and Victoria are the two best thrillers because I have found elements that I would definitely include in my thriller.

Planning for thriller opening & production schedule

These are some pictures of our planning for our thriller opening. We all gave some input on how we think our thriller should be like based on mise en scene; camera shots; sound and editing. We also thought about what the outline of the thriller could be.

Research - Foley sound effects

Foley effects are sound effects added to the film during post production. They include sounds such as footsteps, clothes rustling, crockery clinking, paper folding, doors opening and slamming, punches hitting, glass breaking, etc.
by adding foley effects in post production, rather than just keeping the sounds made whilst filming, it gives us complete control over the timing, quality, and relative volume of the sound effects. Also, without Foley, a film sounds empty and hollow.

Foley artists create foley sounds by watching the footage they are to add sound fx to, and they perform their sound effects while watching this screen for timing. The actions they perform include walking, running, jostling each other, rubbing their clothing, handling props, and breaking objects, all while closely observing the screen to ensure their sound fx are appropriate to the vision.

Intertextuality.

Intertextuality means borrowing idea's from another film in which the audience may recognise. A lot of films use intertextuality to make their film better and make it clear what the genre of the films is as other films may have used it that have the same genre. This concept is effect when making films as it can make the scene or the shot very memorable as it has been repeated. Intertextuality benefit thrillers in particular as they are most memorable when they are in thrillers.

EXAMPLE 1

This is a clip from season 3 of Breaking Bad. This character is looking for a god weapon.










This clip is from Torantino. This character is also looking for a good weapon to use.








These films use intertextuality as they both have similar shots of the characters looking for a good weapon to use; they don't only find one however pass many weapons they could use and then choose their favourite one towards the end. Additionally in these two clips the male character is looking for a weapon and therefore may be seen as the strong character because of their gender and their choice in weapons.

EXAMPLE 2

This clip is from a film called 'Psycho'. This character is having a shower as the villain approaches her.  

This clip is from a film called 'the roommate'. This clip also shows a character in the shower before she is attacked by the villain. 

Both these clips consist of intertextuality as both of these the female is seen as the week character which needs to e saved. Also both these characters are in the shower when they are attacked. 

Karma film opening presentation

Digital storyboard of 'Karma'

Prelim - Hunting for scents - Opening title sequence

This is our practise opening title sequence which we filmed and edited to give us an idea of our real opening of our thriller film.

Abida Amani Uddin played the psycho.

Andreia Cardoso played the FBI. 

Esme Worrell and Alisha Kaur filmed the sequence. 

We all edited the title sequence on final cut and added the additional soundtracks to create a sense of suspense.