Thriller Openings and trailers

For the two minuet start of the film Jack and myself are going to be filming I will look at the start of other thriller films and analysing them so that I can use this information within our film to create a real and tense clip.

I have decided to analyise the woman in black trailer as the film is a psychological thriller which we are going to make as it focuses on tension and atmosphere. The woman in black trailer begins with seeing the main charcter standing in front of the house, we can see that there are a lot of black and grey colours being used which could be portraying that the house is evil. Once he steps into the house the black colours are represented all around the house and low natural lighting is used to give black siluettes around the house which makes the audience automaticlly feel that the house is represted with evil and the woman in black. We then see three monkeys covered in cobwebs and low lighting is used again, this shows that the house and everything inside is old which is represented with ghosts and death. Old black and white photos are then shown of the house owners showing the old period of the house, the camera focuses on the background of the house and we quickly see a glimpse of someone in the window of the house. This creates the audience to ask questions about who that was and why they where there which is what the thriller is trying to do, this also helps to add tension and mystery. Low lighting is used throughout the trailer which helps to enhance the dark and mysteriousness of the ghosts in the film. The mysterious sounds used also help to increase tension and fear that the audience are feeling.



This is the teaser trailer for Shutter Island, the main reason you can see it is a teaser trailer as it is only 30 seconds long and does not tell the plot of the film in anyway. I am using this teaser trailer as there are elements within the trailer that can help to influence our film. Such as the different camera shots used to add atmosphere and the music and dark lighting that also helps to add to this.
The trailer starts off with a flash of fire which moves into the institutional logo, Paramount pictures, the logo has been adapted to fit the genre of the film as it is faded and grey.
The non diagetic sound is dialogue from the film. The first shot is a mid-shot of Leonardo DiCaprio this changes to an abandoned island and quickly changes to the gates being opened. A black screen is shown before the institution is shown. A very fast shot of a struggling arm, reaching for a gun, you can see a puddle of blood which links to the genre of the film being thriller. The next few shots are very quick, they then lead into three inter-titles, the first saying ‘Martin’ the second ‘Scorsese’ the third is used to emphasise the director as it says ‘From Martin Scorsese’. There are then more quick shots of the film. This is covered by loud single beats which are used to create tension throughout the trailer. More titles are shown naming previous films that Martin Scorsese has directed. More voice over dialogue which is heard whilst there are more clips from the film. Beats get louder and louder and closer together, other sounds such as screams are added in to enhance the tension and fear the viewers have. A tag line is used ‘a new vision of fear’ tells the audience what genre the film is. the lighting used helps to enchance the outline of the characters and only shows specific features on them in around them, this creates the dark and mysteriousness of the thriller.


The Da Vinci Code



Titles:

The film begins with simple title scenes from the makers of the film, these are mainly black and white making them easy to understand but already starts to add an atmosphere as they appear on the screen slowly and have a dark background. This allows the film to start in a dark room which instanly adds mystery to the film and draws the watcher in.

Camera Work:

The first opening shot starts with a fast panning shot to the right which shows a old picture on the wall which immediatly sets the scene for where we are and brings the audience in as it quickly turns from slow title sequences to a fast pace. The next shot is moving down the hall way towards a worried looking man which shows to teh audince that someone is after this man and adds tension to the scene. We then have a quick tracking shot of behind the man which makes us question why he is running and makes us focus on the mis en scene.

There is then a slow zooming shot from the other side of a room and shows that the man is alone and this helps to add to his fear and makes the audience feel anxious about what is going to happen to him. The last shot we see is a slow moving backwards tracking shot of the man running down a dark hallway, and we see another mans shadow. This again adds to the tension of the opening sequence, and it makes the audience ask a lot of questions in a small amount of time which is what we will need to do within the start of our film.

Editing:

The editing throughout the opening sequence is very fast paced and is mostly quick blunt cuts. This really helps to add a fast paced tension to the start of the film and draws the audience in as it creates tension and makes them question what is happening and why.

Mis En Scene:

The empty museum type location that the start of the film is set in is important as this is assoicated with isolation and quite creepy due to the dark shadows that are cast from the things that are in the museum. This helps to add tension and gives a dark feel to the opening sequence while adding a mysterious atmosphere.

The man is dressed in a sterotypical type of clothing for someone that is high up in the museum and shows that he is some way important to where the opening sequence is set.

Sound: