Loua's Thriller Openings!

Evaluation!

I think Loua's analysis was brief and to the point perhaps a bit too brief. However, the videos embedded were a brilliant idea but its a shame that "Silence of the lambs" doesn't work. Nevertheless I did learn a lot from from her opinion this is below, but I also put a few points about what I thought about the films as well.

Shutter (2004)

Mise en scene - Lighting In the backgrounds of credits photos are being developed in a dark  room so the lenses of the camera are red this connotes danger and blood. Even though the facial expressions are happy in the photos it adds a sense of eeriness as something is yet to happen.

Camera angles - The director uses mostly of close up canted angles on the photos being developed zooming in and out so the audience can see the characters of the film in detail, this is important because we know that a protagonist will be a photographer. The camera produces short flashes at each photograph. These flashes of photographs increase pace adding suspense.

Editing - The film is edited with some sharp cuts that creates a climax as they flicker across the screen increasing the suspense and other cuts that fade or ripple into each other which increases suspense. And in the credits the titles are over the clip the font is in white small capitals which really contrasts against the red dark background.

Sound – at the very beginning there is a piano playing very high eerie pitched notes but as this non diegetic music keeps going it turns into a high-pitched, and screechy sound that increases in speed, pitch and volume as the introduction continues. This reinforces the tension as intrigues the viewers to keep watching.

Panic Room

Camera:

Generally most of the camera angles are a bird’s eye view of New York City it establishes the setting and time of the film. The bird’s eye view also makes the cars and people seem really small from far away connoting that humans look weak and insecure. The camera also pans across skyscrapers; it shows the inactivity from above which makes the audience feel isolated to the "real world" as there is no movement inside the buildings.

Titles:

The film must have been edited so that it was three dimensional titles was probably computer animated over the clip so that they would stand out. The titles are grey, bold, thin and 3D as they stand high in the air strong between the sky-scrapers. The fact that they are grey could connote jail and cages because someone’s been trapped ect. When the title Panic Room comes up the non diegetic ticking starts which could connote panicking of time or height because of how high up the camera is.

Sound:

The non diegetic music used throughout the opening sequence is the main point of interest within this film because it tells the audience that it is an action thriller because it has a low slow base kind of hum which creates suspense. As the wide shot of the New York Skyscrapers are also used in Sex and the City the music creates a completely different atmosphere. This is reinforced when the ticking starts as the use of rising tempos throughout the scene add to this feeling of suspense, which is important because it gives the impression to the audience that something bad is going to happen. There is no Diegetic sound heard in the beginning of the film.

Mise-en-Scene:

The mise-en-scene denotes what normally happens on a day-to-day life in New York from above, which includes yellow cabs and business-dressed individuals. This also increases the anticipation because the people in shot are not aware of any danger the viewer knows this because of their body language and facial expressions are relaxed, however the audience is aware.

Silence of the lambs

Camera:

Due to the tracking of the woman through the forest, it shows the audience that she is the female atypical protagonist because it starts off with her. The fact that it is fast paced shows that This is shown through the fast paced tracking connoting that she is running fast, and this sport ordinarily connotes masculinity

It also pans across the forest at the beginning of the sequence which gives the impression of isolation. This pan shot also reinforces her atypical masculinity character because she is alone in the woods, which could connote the emotions of the female protagonist.

The low to high shot of the tree with signs, signify that the people looking up to them would be weak as they say “Hurt”, “agony”, “pain” and “Love it” this could connotes the setting of an training base for the FBI which is connoted through the hat.

As the clip continues the camera angles range of mid long shots of other characters and mid close ups of the girl reinforcing that she is the female protagonist.

Sound:

In the opening of the film, leading the audience up to a false sense of security as the music is only establishing the characters and setting with non-diegetic music that is soothing but there is also background sounds of people working physically for example her heavy breathing connoting she is running but also gun shots of people training and gates opening reinforcing the setting. There is also diegetic dialogue with a male antagonist, foot-steps and the lifts sound all on screen sounds.

Editing:
At the beginning, the shots are seen as fast paced because the editing is abrupt and jagged to match the speed of her running; however when she begins to slow down the editing does. However the lifts journey is cut short to speed things up a bit, and the cuts flow well with the music.

Mise-en-scene:
Clothing used within the scene introduces the main character effectively by showing that she is part of the FBI e.g. the male antagonists hat has the signs “FBI” this signifies that the characters are part of the police force in the government as it stands federal bureau of investigation. Body language is relaxed and facial expressions are normal which connotes all is fine at the beginning – equilibrium the traditional starting of a Hollywood studio film.