Research Index

Here is a complete list of posts researching the thriller genre:

• What Is a Thriller?
• Genres and Sub-genres of Thrillers?
• What Are the Conventions of a Thriller Film?
• Who Are Some of the Most Popular and Well Known Directors Associated With the Genre?
• Who Are Some of the Most Popular and Well Known Actors Associated With Thriller Films?
• Which Thrillers Are Considered to Be 'The Best of All Time'?
• Which Thrillers Are My Own Personal Favourites?
• Which Thriller Films Have Inspired My Own Film Making?
• Opening Scene Analysis
• What Other Media I Have Been Inspired By?

Created on abcya.com

Films that have inspired

The ways movies are filmed and edited vary per movie. After looking at thriller movies I have extracted certain elements that have
inspired me in making my own thriller. Thesefuelements include opening scenes and titles to the music, colour and camerawork.

When analysing movie opening sequences I have looked into some elements that I think would be perfect for my own thriller. The opening for 'Silent Hill:Revelations' has quite a sinister feel to it with the still mannequins. The element I like is the use of still images but the camera still is moving around creating spacial awareness. The use of canted angles creates chaos and imbalance to an otherwise calm still. The light in the scene bursts from the windows creating an underwater feel but does not add much brightness to the scene. It is an effective use of light which I could use in my own thriller. Over the shoulder shots also create a sense of busyness to the scene and gives some interesting effects.

TO WATCH THE OPENING SCENE CLICK HERE

The beginning of 'Cabin in the Woods' before the opening scene also is rather good to look at. The tone of the scene is a red-ish brown which resembles blood and dirt creating the atmosphere for the movie. I liked the tracking close up of the blood. The camera follows the blood dripping slowly creating a haunting feel to it.  This scene also uses animated stills like 'Silent Hill:Revelations' but does not use canted angles so it is less chaotic and more haunting.

TO WATCH THE OPENING SCENE CLICK HERE

At the beginning of 'Now You See Me' it starts with a direct address. Though this particular type of direct address might be to cheery for a thriller, it can still be used in a more powerful and haunting way. Using an eye level angle like in this scene it makes the audience and the character seem equal which could be useful for scenes with the protagonist in it as it will make the audience feel empathy for them. Using and low angle will make the character seem powerful and would create an sense of fear in the audience. If I used a directed address I would use a low angle to show that the character is the antagonist and make the audience feel scared of the character.

Se7en is one of the most inspirational movies, especially the opening titles. I would like to replicate something similar to the music in the opening scene as it is rather textured with eerie and mechanical sounds. It somewhat resembles 'Portal' music with its mechanical whiring. This type of music causes a scratching effect which can almost resemble scratching on walls.

The movie also uses flittering titles with a handwritten feel to it  which I would like to replicate in my likethriller. It looks almost like a projector flicking on and off which create an interesting effect.

TO WATCH THE OPENING SCENE CLICK HERE

All images are from artofthetitle.com

Juno Title Sequence Analysis

Sourced from deviantart.com

Juno is not a thriller but I looked at the title sequence so I can compare it to a thriller and see what the difference between the conventions are. Juno is a comedy and you can tell just by looking at the title sequence.

The music is key as it is a lot happier and cheerful than a thriller with the use of a harmonica to give it a country feel. The tempo is faster than music such as the 'Sin City' opening where it resembled a heartbeat.

The colour scheme is a lot brighter than 'Sin City' with its monochrome theme and 'Se7en' with is muted browns and yellows. 'Juno' uses brighter colours such as green and yellow on top of pale coloured backgrounds.

The shots have an added style to them making them look sketchy and like they have just come out of a doodle book. The sequence uses stop-motion where they have taken thousands of pictures of Ellen Page walking and compiled them together to create a moving image. It gives it a more playful feel as if it was a flip book. This style could not be used as it is to lively and bright.

Like all openings, the companies are the first thing announced, in this case Fox Searchlight Pictures, A Mandate Pictures and Mr. Mudd productions. Fox Searchlight Pictures are the first announced simply because they are the most famous and did the most work on the film. Fox Searchlight Pictures is announced at 0:11 so quite early on in the sequence. The other two companies are announced at 0:17.

Like most films, the title is announced very early on in the scene. For 'Juno' it was at 0:27 straight after the companies. The colour of the title flashes giving it a vibrant feel which could not be used for a thriller.

The titles tend to flicker a bit instead of moving like they would in an action or a thriller.

The main cast are announced next like they are in 'Sin City'. They are announced between 0:35 and 1:09.

The main cast are shortly followed by the casting director like in 'Panic Room'. It is common in most films to have them announced before any other crew member. They are announced at 1:09.

Next are the costume designers. Again they are announced near the beginning of the crew list. They are announced at 1:18.

Music is one of  the most important aspects of a film so like the other opening sequences I analysed, the music directors are announced after the costume designers. In this case at 1:23.

After these members of crew we get on to co-producers, editors, film production and director of photography. Again like most films these people are announced at roughly the same time.

 Executive producers are announced more towards the end like in 'Se7en'. In 'Juno' it is at 1:57.

The producers are announced at 2:02 followed by the writers at 2:28. These are always at the end of an opening sequence.

Lastly like most films is the director. The director of 'Juno' was announced at 2:13. It lingers on his name for a bit longer to convey how important he is to the film.

TO WATCH THE FULL OPENING SEQUENCE CLICK HERE

ALL IMAGES ARE FROM ARTOFTHETITLE.COM

Panic Room opening Title Analysis

Sourced from www.matrony.ru

The 'Panic Room' opening title uses landscape establishing shots to create spacial awareness whilst setting the scene. It shows us the movie is set in an American city, New York. The colour of the opening is quite yellow and garish representing the sunshine and bright lights of New York. However there is a dull blue-ish tone over top which signifies a hidden darkness in the city showing that this movie is not a happy movie, and in this case a psychological/action thriller.

Before the clips start there is city noises which tells the audience automatically that we are in a city. The music is low string music which is synonymous with suspense music. It creates a atmosphere of fear. 0:20 is when the music starts. When the title is announced the music gets lower and darker showing us that the movie has an element of horror to it. Afterwards the violins get higher and staccato. This type of suspense music was made famous by 'Psycho' in the clip on the right. It resembles high pitch screaming which plays well with the genre.

 The titles are 3D and resemble the New York architecture. It makes them stand out brings attention to the people being announced. It also adds a sense of normality to the scene as they fit in instead of using bring colours to make them stand out.

The first thing in the opening title is the company's titles, in this example it is Columbia Pictures. After this at 0:34 we are announced to the cast.

At 0:50 is the title. It is earlier on like it is in most films as it is one of the most important aspects of the film.

Unlike some films the minor cast are announced separate to the major cast. It creates an unnecessary division between actors but is useful at the main cast are used to promote the film so having them first creates attention.

Like most films the crew are announced after the cast. In this case they are announced from 1:09. Casting is usually one of the first crew members announced and then shortly followed by the costume designers. The costume designers in this film are credited at 1:14. Music directors are normally quite early on and in this case they are announced at 1:18. 

The music directors are shortly followed by editors and producers and then at 1:43 the director is credited like what happens in most films. 

 CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL CLIP

All photos are from artofthetitle.com

Skyfall Opening Sequence Analysis

Sourced from life.royalalberthall.com

The opening starts with a establishing shot of water to show that Bond is drowning and what his surroundings are like. The light blue gives it a calm effect especially when paired with quiet piano music. The water gets darker and darker to show him drifting away. It eventually fades to black to convey his loss of consciousness.

From that clip on the use of CGI, digital sets and backgrounds are used to create a dream like (or nightmare) appearance. At 0:18 the first set of titles come in introducing the companies who worked on the film.

At 0:21 the first of the main cast are announced. In this still it is dark implying that it could be a nightmare. The use of unrealistic imagery is used a lot in this opening sequence and it starts at 0:20 with a abnormally sized hand dragging Bond down into the sea.

The title is announced at 0:30 and has a different font to the rest of the titles making it stand out. The colours are motifs of the seas as we all associate murky blues with deep water. It makes it more obvious where he is. The lighter colours are more centered around Bond himself making him the focus of the shot.

The rest of the main cast are announced at 0:37. The titles appear slowly stay for a few seconds then fades out again just as slowly. Again lighting is used to frame the center prop in this case the cut out of Bond. The dark rocks to the side frames the titles making them stand out more. The colour red is used to draw attention to the center cut out and we automatically associate with blood and danger so it gives us an idea of the type of movie and the atmosphere. The red flows making it seem quite calm and gentle which is the opposite of what you would think when you see blood.

The next shot fades in from a blur. The woman is a motif of Bond films as they were used in the opening sequences of the older Bond films and that is why you'll often hear the term 'Bond Ladies'. One of the women cast is announced at the same time as this clip which pairs the two. She is rather shadowed creating a dark personality. This gives an idea of the role of women in this film.

The sides of the next clip are blurred out with a tint of unnatural colours that look like a spectrum. This can be associated with water and the reflection of light. The large sized weapons give a sense of the size of danger there is.  Again the main source of light is in the middle creating a frame effect.

After the second main person in the cast is announced (Judi Dench) at 1:06, the music gets louder and the drums kick in giving it more emphasis. The tone goes from peaceful blues to red which is a connotation of blood. It increases the danger factor and creates suspense.  The clip is blurred as if it was moving at a fast pace but is still is moving slowly to imply its still underwater.

The co-producers are announced at 1:15 as the red dies down. It takes the emphasis away again but it still is dark creating a tense atmosphere.

'Skyfall' does something unlike most other films I have analyzed and that is to credit many crew at once and crew that are not normally credited in the opening scene such as the electrical supervisor. The font is small implying they are less significant to the main cast who were credited on their own and in a bigger font. They are announced at  1:24 and the transitions are the same as before - slowly fade in then slowly fade out. 

At 1:32 many crew are announced again including make up and costumes which are typically announced towards the beginning. The title size, font and transitions are the same.

At 1:43 other crew members are announced. We retreat back into the blue water but there is still red flowing creating an artistic effect suited for the artistic crew members such as the Supervising Art Director.  The titles are the same.

At 1:58 the amount of crew announced at once are narrowed down to just two making them seem more important as the are separated from the others. The use of 'Bond Ladies' are used again in a dark shadowy scene to imply some sinister at work.

The casting director is announced rather late into the sequence than other films I have analyzed. She is announced at 2:11. The use of red comes back but this time it implies warmth instead of blood through the use of fire. However it still conveys danger. In the back are Chinese dragons which could forewarn about something that happens in China in the film.

At 2:29 typical Bond conventions are used such as the mirror effect, the black and white tone and again the 'Bond Ladies'.  The costume director is announced here which is quite late on compared to most movies.

Next to be announced are the editors which typically are near the the end of the opening sequence.

Afterwards the production designer is announced at 2:55. The image reverts back to the image style used when the first crew members are announced.

Music directors are announced at 3:02 and his name is dragged out to make him seem more important.

The title song is announced at 3:14. This is not often done in most movies but since Bond music tends to be a motif for the Bond franchise, it is credited.

The writers are announced towards the end at 3:28. The tone changes back to red to imply danger. 

The producers are announced towards the end too at 3:36.

The director, like in most films is the last to be announced. The music slows and quietens down adding emphasis to him. He is announced at 3:46. The titles and the clip fade into black.

TO WATCH FULL OPENING SEQUENCE CLICK HERE

ALL IMAGES TAKE FROM ARTOFTHETITLE.COM

Se7en Opening Title Analysis

Sourced from watchthetitles.com

Music is key in this opening. It has an almost static feel to it with assorted noises in the background that we could associate with horror such as a heartbeat. The style of the music is somewhat similar to the introduction of 'Counting Bodies Like Sheep' which also has the same sinister feel to it. The music in the opening has a beat to it which is used to sync the titles. This also happened in the 'Sin City' opening. The speed and the sound level increases towards the end making the audience feel as if something is gaining on them. It then ends with a bang once it reaches the climax to scare the audience. The use of music is evoke emotions in the audience and to set the scene for the rest of the movie.

The opening is composed of short close up shots of props or the hands of the character. By using close ups you cannot see the character adding an element of mystery and suspense. It makes the audience wonder who the character is and what is he doing.  The clips have a yellow but dark tone creating the illusion of an old rusted setting. It is a good example of the use of colour in a scene. As the scene goes on it seems to get darker and the colour red starts to become more prominent as we start to learn what the character is doing and we know that something evil is at play.

The titles are rough and look handwritten matching the theme of the clips. They are not still and flutter in its place. It looks like they were placed there with a projector giving it a handmade feel to it to match what the character is doing it the clips - making something. The font looks almost scratched on which goes with the several clips where they show the character's mangled fingernails.

At 0:04 the company that made the film are credited. After watching several other openings of films I learned that most film name the company first.

Like most other films the main cast are credited before the crew. In this case they were credited from 0:15. By naming the actors first people who like these actors are more likely to stick around if they know their favourite actor is in it.

Again like most films the title is announced early on in the film. In this movie it is a 0:25. And at 0:31 the main cast are announced. These two things are almost always at the beginning of the opening
scene.

The crew usually are credited nearer the end. The music directors are usually first and in this case they are announced at 1:17. Next was costume design at 1:22 then the editors at 1:25.  The director is usually the last person introduced and in this opening it was at 2:04. Putting them at the end makes its more easy for the audience to remember their name and it also puts and emphasis on their name and role.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL VIDEO

All images are from artofthetitle.com