Sound: Speed

The sound from Speed, another thriller is to set a certain atmosphere and mood. The beginning starts with 20th Century Fox sequence, showcasing the institution behind the film. 
The start of the opening begins with the sound of a lift, which could be diegetic. The eery orchestral music featured us non-diegetic to create a tense atmosphere amongst the audience. This sound is parallel to the visual shown. The "Speed" title, as it quickly exits the screen, and with it is matching sound. The pace of the music gets quicker, and builds tension for the audience however as it slows down the mood becomes suspicious. There is no speech throughout the opening, with the only character to appear opening a door, with the sound being diegetic. 

Sound: A Mother's Son

I have analysed sound from the television programme opening of AMother's Son. This thriller programme aims through the sound is to set the mood and scene of what the programme is going to be like.
The sound of nature features heavily in this opening sequence, indicating that nature may have some significance to the plot. The first sound heard is the crashing of violent waves against the shore, and the sound of the grass rattling. This builds tension and suspicion among st the audience, as to why these sound are so powerful. Whilst the sound of the sea may be diegetic, the sound of the grass is most probably non-diegetic. Another non-diegetic sound in the opening sequence is the orchestral soundtrack, which heavily features violins. Such music is often used when mourning someones death, however this music is leading to the build up to this, so the pace of the music is faster, and more frantic. The only speech, which is diegetic, is the female saying "I'm sorry," however you can often hear her heavy breathing which adds to the tense mood of the opening sequence.

Coming from a thriller opening this has made me understand the importance of the soundtrack to build up tension and suspense when creating an opening sequence, as the sound is a vital part of creating a tense atmosphere.

Research into Similar Media Texts

This opening sequence comes from the film "Children of Men". 

• The Universal Studios sequence appears at the beginning of the film, Universal studios are both producers and distributors so we understand what institutions are involved in the making of this film.
• There is a black screen for the titles: however the sound we hear, is the news, presumably which is non-diegetic.
• The opening shot is a medium shot, taken from over head, of a group of ordinary people in a coffee shop- we are given no introduction the main character at first. However there is a close up shot of a male in the coffee shop, which indicates he is the protagonist. 
• Mise-en-scene: is ordinary clothing. This indicates those involved in the film are "ordinary people". It could also indicate the genre: it eliminates fantasy, fairy tale (which usually uses cartoon characters) etc...
• The tracking of the male from the coffee shop to outside allows a panning shot of a bleak London, which we know through the red bus, and the title along the bottom telling the audience of the location. There is also indication that this is set in the future, with moving bus advertisements.
• The music in the opening sequence is quite orchestral and reflective, gives a sense of something tragic.
• The music, lighting, and the narrative indicate the mood of the film, which is mourning and tense. 
• The lighting in the entire opening sequence is very dim and full of greys, blacks and white, there is a lot of pollution on the street which makes the setting look very unpleasant and boring.
• Characterisation: the main character seems to be very serious, middle aged white male. Males usually dominate thrillers. 
• Narrative: the narrative of Children of Men seems very easy to follow, there has been a killing of the youngest human on the planet. This adds a sense of enigma to the plot, as to why someone who is an adult is the youngest person on the planet. 
• Representation: Children of Men is very generic of thrillers, using a white male as it's main protagonist. Females do no feature heavily, apart from the fact that they may be portrayed as being more emotional, with more of them crying than males. 
• As there is a bomb explosion there is a piercing sound of what sounds like a female screaming. The camera's sudden movements indicates the intense and frantic situation of those involved. There is then a silence before the black screen with the title of the film, "Children of Men". The titles in this film do not move, and are black, plain writing.

Distributing our Film

It is important to think about who would distribute our film once it is completed. There are many British film distributors however there are some which specialize in certain genres. I have decided to focus on two distributors in particular: Entertainment Film Distributors and Arrow Films.

Applying Narrative Theories to our Opening Sequence

I have previously researched the theories of Propp, Todorov and Strauss and found that their theories fit the vast majority of professional films. It is evident that their theories also fit our opening sequence, I have found whilst planning, shooting and editing the film.

Codes and Conventions of Genre in Our Opening Sequence

In our opening sequence we will use various codes and conventions of horror and thriller, such as using a secluded setting, because the female will be in the house, and the male is in the car, alone. Another convention which will be used is black and white, which will be used in the CCTV footage. 

We will also use non-diegetic sound in our opening sequence, as well as diegetic sound, such as the flicking of the photo album. The use of an establishing shot in our opening sequence is a typical convention of thriller, as well as following the characters and over the shoulder shots.

Audience Research

It is important when trying to understand our target audience to understand what sort of films they like and if they would be interested in watching our opening sequence. We also videoed some people from our target audience talking about their favourite films which we uploaded onto the group blog.

What films do you watch?
I watch horror films most of the time.
I tend to watch both action and comedy films, both older ones and more recent ones.
I like thriller and comedy films, they tend to hold my interest most.

Why do these films interest you?
I quite like watching films which aren't based around love, horror films are the total opposite.
Action and Comedies such as 21 Jump Street are very entertaining, I also really enjoy "the chase" in these films.
I like thriller films because of the suspense that is built up in them. I also really like detective films like Sherlock Holmes. 

How often and where do you watch films?
I watch films around once a week, and I tend to watch them with my family.
I don't watch films very often, I go to the cinema around once a month.
I watch films quite often, about three times a week at home.

Do you watch British films?
Yes, I do watch British films quite often.
Not really, I prefer American films.
Yes, I watch British films all the time.

What is your opinion on our chosen opening sequence?
I think that the opening sequence sounds interesting, it looks like it would appeal to people who watch horror films too.
This opening sequence does sound appealing, although I don't really watch thrillers.
This opening sequence sounds very impressive, it would very much appeal to people who are interested in horrors and tend to watch thriller films very often.

Personal Opinions on Opening Sequence

I believe that our opening sequence has the ability to create enigma and capture the audience in order to make them interested in watching the rest of the film.
I like the idea of the film being in the thriller genre, as there are lots of different possibilities for a story line in this genre, and our idea of a stalking/kidnapping will hopefully be able to create an interesting story line. I believe that one weakness we may have to deal with is the confusion of the male character and how he is involved in the story, we will have to make it clear of his intentions. Another area of weakness may be the CCTV scenes, which we plan to differentiate from the other "normal" scenes by using black and white, instead of having them in colour.

Synopsis of Opening Sequence

Our opening sequence is in the thriller genre. The opening sequence starts with a young girl, around the age of 15-17 who is in her home. It then cuts to a man in his car, however we cannot see his face or what he is doing. We then realize he is stalking her, as there are lots of photos of her in different settings in his car. 
He has put cameras in his house to watch her, (which will be shown through the use of black and white), and is watching her whilst she relaxes in her home. We then hear someone ring the door bell, and she gets up to get the door. As she opens it, she says hello, with an over the shoulder shot, before it cuts to the title of the film.

Group Discussions 19/12/12

In today's lesson, Kiah and I began to storyboard our opening sequence. This allowed us to incorporate more detail into the opening sequences, as we discussed things such as camera angles, mise en scene and location.
We will carry on with our storyboard next lesson.
Photos of the completed storyboard will be put onto our group blog but here they are too.

Group Discussions 17/12/12

Ideas for Possible Storylines

Today in the lesson Kiah, Laura and I brainstormed different storylines for our opening sequence. Our initial idea was for the protagonist and antagonist to be adolescents, seeing as our target audience for our opening sequence is between 15-24.

As our two possible genres are Thriller and Horror, we started to brainstorm all the possible ideas or typical plots that feature in these films.

As we progressed, we decided on a plot of abduction, with the antagonist potentially being a stalker. The next lesson we plan on story boarding our idea.

We also came up with our production name, and decided on "Phoenix Productions".

Photos of today's work will be put on the group blog.

Gender Representation in Thriller and Horror films

Males

Both genders are very stereotyped in in horror and thriller films. Men are usually portrayed as being very physically and mentally strong, especially protagonists, or the “hero”. Men tend to be less emotional than women. Men tend to take more active roles, and more of a team leader than females. Males in horror and thriller films tend to be brave and usually clever, however usually come across as mysterious, and often battle their own inner                                   “demons”, especially in thrillers. For example, Alex Cross’ character in "Along Came a Spider" is portrayed as mysterious, and very intelligent. Alex Cross is also African American, which is a representation of ethnic minorities, which are usually side lined in horror films, apart from in urban horrors such as Attack the Block. There has also been a rise in Afro-Caribbean male protagonists in thriller and horror films, such as Denzel Washington in "Training Day".

Male characters are often seen as the “lone hero”, and have a lot of independence. Alex Cross eventually loses his female sidekick, and manages to solve the crime alone. This is also true of male antagonists, who are often portrayed as isolated but have power. Males often restore the new equilibrium at the end of the film.

Females

Women in thriller and horror films often portray a variety of roles, younger females tend to have a sense of purity and innocence, and however older women are portrayed as having great sexual appeal and can be mothers.

In 1953 thriller "Niagra", Marilyn Monroe portrays an adulteress who plots to kill her husband. This character is seen as seductive and sly, and not a great contributor to the society, and is someone who is not in a role to restore the equilibrium at the end.

Women in thriller and horror films are usually portrayed as being passive and dependent upon men. Women usually are not the protagonist, or feature any characteristics that would help to solve the issue, such as intelligence. There is usually a “final girl” in horror films, who is seen as “virginal” and does feature some masculine traits, such as independence, and a unisex name.

 The “final girl” in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is Sally. She is portrayed as young, beautiful and possesses the male characteristic of being strong-willed. She is the character who survives in the end, and helps to restore the equilibrium.
Both genders are greatly stereotyped as however in very different ways. Men are usually portrayed as being very masculine and the heroes, whereas women are seen as being very passive and not independent.