Fast pace editing
Music full of suspense
What makes a thriller a thriller?
Unpredictable elements
Guns/fight scenes
Violent acts - won't be an amphasise on blood
Excitement/surprises
Anticipation and anxiety
Plot twists
Isolation
Theme of travel
What makes a film opening
a film opening?
What makes a good film opening?
Within the first few minutes of your movie, you should be able to introduce your protagonist (or even the antagonist if that's the route you want to go), provide information about their character, communicate their goals/fears/flaws/etc., as well as establish the themes of the overall story.
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What is a film opening?
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. There is no set length for an opening scene. Of the scenes I watched for this analysis, the shortest was about 30 seconds and the longest was 19 minutes.
What do we know about film openings?
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- narrative
- credits
- tells us what productions/companies are involved
- an establishing shot
- the name of the film
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What do we learn in the first 2-3 minutes?
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- learn about the setting of the establishing scene
- the actors name
- some of the characters
- opening credits; inform the audience which studios or productions companies were involved.
Microanalysis
What conventions might we see in a psychological thriller?
( Plot, characters, style, themes, iconography)
Someone manipulating another person
Dissolving sense of reality
Mental illness/substance abuse
Themes of identity, reality and death
Mirrors
Obssesion
Paranoia
Fear of replacement
Ghosts - paranormal
Light/dark - real/unreal
The Thriller genre is very broad and within the genre there are a few sub-genres. For example;
-Psychological
-Crime
-Spy
-Action
-Political
-Erotic
-Technological
-Medical
T2 - THRILLERS
Five conventions of a spy thriller film:
- Guns
- Fast cars
- Suits
- Technology
- Stunts/explosions
Crime thrillers
- Detectives
- Crime -> murder (threat)
- Usually multiple murders
- Audience will see crime scenes but not murder taking place
- Low level lighting
- Confusion
- Suspects/accusations
Political Thrillers
- Low level lighting
- Violence but no gore
- Guns, explosions
- Mystery
- Car chases
- Mention of death/murder
- One isolated character who has too overpower