Thriller opening research - Alea Holland

44 inch chest - http://www.ugo.com/movies/the-first-5-minutes-of-44-inch-chest

Camera work and Mes
The introduction to “44 Inch Chest” immediately sets mood with props being used from the very first shot creating enigma in the scene as close ups of the smashed props don’t allow the audience to see the whole setting and just slowly reveals different sections of the scene so most of the visual information on the scene is hidden which would provoke the audience to ask questions and piece together what has happened for themselves. The use of the still close ups use foregrounding to place the objects of interest immediately in the viewers focus with shallow depth of field used when focusing on a particular object in the frame and a large depth of field when the focus is on larger or multiple objects in the shot. The lack of movement with the camera gives the impression that the shots are still images which could be interpreted as last snapshots of someone’s life as with the setting the audience would expect there to have been a murder as is conventional of such films. This is followed by a tracking long shot which moves from the right of the room to the left. It starts with block framing as the camera moves past a piece of furniture creating a slow reveal of the entirety of the setting and full devastation in the scene as well as what appears to be a dead body on the floor further reinforcing the idea that there has been a murder. This tracking shot could also give a sense of a point of view as the audience would feel like they are walking into the room to discover what has happened.
As previously mentioned the camera work used in conjunction with the props as well as the setting which is a smashed up interior of an apartment containing household objects like televisions and sofas to make it believable with low lighting being used, which is often seen in thrillers, with the main light sources coming from the knocked over lamps in the room which also adds to the realism of the destruction in the scene. The main effect of the camera work used here is to created restricted narration as the close up shots create a puzzle for the audeince as they know very little about what has happened in the scene. 

Editing and Sound
The editing used in this scene also reflects the mood with slow transitions between shots with simple straight cuts that appear to match the beat of the music used which is contrapuntal as is it romantic and slow paced which does not fit in with the chaos of the scene, however, can be seen as fitting as it can reflect the broken mood of the scene. Also with this scene being the introduction to the film the audience could think that this could be a manipulation of time as they would assume they are not seeing the beginning of the plot so the story has been re-ordered. There are no diegetic sounds to be heard in this making the scene more solemn and lonely as the audience just have the mostly still shots and soundtrack to try and create atmosphere.
This works well as a thriller opening as it grabs the audiences attention and makes them try to find clues in the scene as well as presenting possible themes of revenge, betrayal and crime from what the audience can see along with a type of character with a victim that is surrounded by the chaos.



The Dark Knight - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0


Camera Work
The introduction to “The Dark Knight” immediately sets the story in an urban environment, which is a usual setting for a thriller, with an establishing shot of a skyline before tracking in to a side of a building where after the audience is introduced to the characters who are the antagonists as in the scene the audience sees them robbing a bank which would also set the theme of this film being a crime thriller. The main camera angles and sizes are eye level long shots and mid close ups of the antagonists allowing the audience to see them in relation to the environment and their body movement as with the use of clown face masks as part of the costumes body language would have to interpret more of the emotions in the dialogue.


MES
The main setting featured is the interior of the bank which has appropriate set pieces to make it believable like the vault and the cashiers with high key lighting to resemble the daylight and make the scene more realistic. Props are also used effectively to show the organisation of the group with the different technologies and weapons used effectively to get the job done. With the inclusion of dialogue in this scene as well as wide angle shots not much of the story is hidden from the audience and the only thing left to the audience to figure out is the identities of the antagonists as the costumes keep their faces covered at all times with the inclusion of the clown face masks.

Sound
The sounds used in this scene contrasts to the one in “44 Inch Chest” with the music being parallel sound and less dominant in the scene with much of the focus being on the action with the sound effects that stand out more adding to the realism and beliveablility of the scene.

Editing
Continuity editing is used in this scene with shots being edited in chronological order with straight cut to transition between shots for most of the scene and towards the end jump cuts are used to just show the important points in the story for example when one of the robbers is filling the bags up with money in the vault a jump cut is used to go to the next shot in the main lobby area of the bank with all the bags filled.
This works as a thriller opening as the themes relate to violence and crime thriller with the antagonists clearly being human. The story also jumps straight into the confrontation and skips the set up by immediately putting the viewer in the action with props used to show motive of the characters and the interior settings to reflect
the sinister action create realism.


Se7en - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY&feature=player_embedded

Editing
In the opening of “Se7en” editing is a dominant feature as it uses a great amount of discontinuity editing techniques. Jump cuts are used as transitions between the characters actions as well as slight manipulation of time with frames overlapping, shots being reversed for a small amount of time and other frames flash up in the sequence which distorts the image and therefore confuses the viewer and create an unsettling and tense atmosphere.

Camera
Camera angles used also add to this as during the scene the only part of the character that is visible is his hands so restricts the audiences view so is restricted narration. The close ups in the camera work allow for focus on the objects that the character is handling with most having a large depth of field which enables the audience to see the details in the props and help them try to piece together what the story is about.

MES
The props that are clearly shown and are the most dominant in the scene are paperwork and pictures of dead bodies people making it appear to be a crime thriller theme and also poses the question does this character work or the police or is he not to be trusted? Also with the camera being so close to the props no surrounding settings are revealed so the camera work is subjective but with the contents of the props the audiences assumption would be that he is inside in the daytime as the lighting is high key soft lighting to represent natural daylight to keep it realistic. With parts of costume the audience only sees the bandages on the characters fingers after he takes the skin of with a blade, with the knowledge that this is a crime themed thriller the audience can judge if he is trying to remove his fingerprints or possibly they could get a different reading from the text.

Sound
Dietetic sound is not heard during this sequence with no sound effects to mach any moment shown within the scene, however, music can be heard and is parallel with what’s happening in the scene and adds to an unsettling atmosphere with high pitched notes used in the soundtrack and that with the distortion of the images the sound of the music also distorts to continue to add to the feeling of suspense and danger.

This works well as a thriller opening as it makes the audience ask questions and with the use of restricted narration the story plot is not revealed so keeps up suspense and tension as the audience would not know what is happening or what will happen.



The Silence of the Lambs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixv-BQtMZHY

MESThe opening of “The Silence of the Lambs” places the character within a conventional thriller setting in the woods with an extreme long shot at a high angle followed by a tilt which establishes the scene and reveals the character. This would immediately set a tense atmosphere as with the setting being a well known conventional setting the audience would expect some sinister force lurking within the trees. Also in the setting there are parts of obstacle courses that the character traverses which puts forward the idea of a military training ground but through use of costume the audience can see this is an FBI training ground as “FBI” is embroidered on the characters jumper. This now allows the audience to come to the conclusion that this could be a crime thriller with the introduction of the FBI character. Props are also used to tell the story as the location changes from the woods to the FBI headquarters where we see photos and magazine cuttings on the wall on one of the offices that depict murders and provide clues to the plot to the audience which sets up the 'Initial Situation' or 'Equilibrium' stage in the narrative.

Camera
With camera work the use of the extreme long shot previously mentioned allows the scene to be set and long shots allow the audience to clearly see the body language and movement of the character as in this scene there is no emotion that needs to be capitalised upon with close up shots. Tracking shots are used for the running shots and give a sense of pace but some shots could also represent a point of view when the camera follows in behind the character which is something that would be in the viewers mind considering the setting and also the music as the rhythm and style creates a tense mood as it increases in pace slightly along with the characters movements.

Editing
Editing in this scene used simply with straight cuts to transition between shots with the exception of one jump cut from the woods to the headquarters to cut down on unnecessary time. The shots themselves are mostly quite long in length which allows the audience to see the characters journey from one place to another and see them in relation to their environment.

Sound
Diegetic sound can also be heard over the music unlike in “44 Inch chest” and “Se7en” as we can hear the characters foot steps and heavy breathing used for realism. Dialogue is also used to introduce who the character is and her position within the story with some background information being given in the dialogue.

This works as a thriller opening as it uses a conventional setting very early on and slowly reveals parts of the plot through use of mise en scene and sound allowing the audience to be drawn in and try to figure out the main plot for themselves.


Run Lola Run - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2tCcWSQOJ8&feature=player_embedded
“Run Lola Run” is quite different when compared to the other thriller openings.

Camera Work and EditingCamera work is used to create a distorting effect with editing adding to this by speeding up the shot to confuse the viewer with the camera weaving through a crowd of people at a low angle and occasionally stops to focus on certain people prompting the viewer to ask questions about weather these people are significant in the plot or are just used as a point of focus to fit with the narration in the scene. Shallow depth of field is also used throughout this scene giving it a very hazy appearance which distorts the image more and therefore adds to viewer confusion. At the end of the crowd scene the camera focuses on a police officer at a low angle mid close up looking up to show his authority and importance as he is the only character in this scene that is focused upon and has dialogue. As previously mentioned the editing in this scene mainly consits of speeding up the shot which is a long continous shot with no cuts untill after the the officer has finished his dialouge to a birds eye view and then a zoom is used to transition into a cartoon animation opening which is a very unusual choice for a thriller.

MES
In the crowd scene it is not clear where the story is set as with the shallow depth of focus coupled with the lighting and the people in the scene no setting is actually establishes at any time. Costumes used in this are to show that this could be an ordinary scene in a street which could suggest an urban setting and along with the costume for the officer add realism to the scene. Props used in this suggest thay this film is based around sport with a football being used at the end of the offiers diolouge which also hints towards this based around sprt by talking about the duration of the game. Also at the beggining of the sequence the camers focuses on an old wooden clock with what apperes to be a dragon carving on it. However this does not give any clues to the plot as it seems not to fit with the rest of the sequence and only provokes the audience to ask questions about how its fitis within the story.

Sound
Sound in this scene is lacking with no diagetic sound but instead a voiceover and music creating enigma as it is not clear what is going on in the scene.

This works well as a thriller becuase like some of the others it allows the audience to make judments for themselves about the plot and the characters whislt keeping them hooked in suspence with the uses of the disorienting camera work. 

This can help in our thriller opening as it allows us to see what styles and conventions work well and interest the audience so we can replicate and use those methods to make ournpice more successful.