Analysis of Thrillers

Psycho - 1960 - mystery/horror/thriller:

The first thing we see is the company the film is representing which in this case is "Paramount Release"  which can interest the audience as it was not seen to present a thriller. In the background we can hear upbeat music which creates tension for the audience. Hitchcock is the first name to appear on the screen which suggests he is the most important. The name of the film then moves across the screen which creates tension


Seven - 1995 - crime/psychological/mystery/thriller:

"New line cinema" is the first thing we see as it is the company the film is representing which is typically how all films open with. We then see someone opening a book which is unusual in a thriller as a lot of fantasy or childrens films have the opening of a book. However, the book used is unlike a fairy tail book as it is empty as in has no words or pictures. This could give the effect of making it look suspicious to the audience and therefore reinforcing the fact they are about to watch a thriller. The music playing in the background is very tense and eerie. On top of the music we can hear digetic sound of the pages of the book being turned which suggests it is significant to the story. The music contrasts the book as it is intense yet the book seems quite boring as there is nothing in it yet at the same time quite the book and the musics contrast could be quite intriguing. The typography used for the names of actors and crew is filmic and looks like un-neat handwriting which gives it a creepy feel. We then see a drawing of a pair of deformed hands which again could make the audience suspicious of why they have been drawn, and who ever drew the hands are clearly artistic and detailed. A shadow then moves across the scene and we hear a door creaking as the light moves over the drawing it brings the focus onto it. Jump shot is used as we see different images of unusual tools which suggests the character is planning to make something. 'Brad Pitt' name is parted and flashes to bring focus and attention on the actors name for audience recognition and interest. There is then a split second scene where we can see writing on a wall which says "D-35" which might give the audience clues if it is relevant later on in the film. The last thing we see is someone scraping their skin off their fingers which makes the audience uncomfortable and wonder why someone would want to do that and what must of happened to make them do it.



Limitless - 2011 - mystery/sci-fi/thriller:

The music played throughout the opening is quite upbeat and new which reinforces the fact it is a modern type of thriller. We see images of planets and stars when showing which company is representing the film which in this case is "Relativity Media", this denotes the film is going to be a science fiction thriller. There is then a close up shot of a crystal ball which gives the idea of looking into the future - again a sic-fi feel. the first name to come up is Bradley Cooper, this is shown in the bottom right corner where actors names are typically shown in openings of films. the typography used is white, bold, capitals which stand out from the background and makes the audience focus on the name. Unlike most of the thrillers I have previously looked at, the main colour used is blue which gives a mysterious feel to it. It also suggests the film is not going to be dark or scary. We then see the crystal ball moves across the screen at the same time revealing an actresses name. This could connote mystery and hidden meanings within the film. Jump shots between names of crew and actors creates tension and excitement. Producers and crew names are only shown for a few moments which is less than actors as to show importance for the audience. The name Neil Burger is shown at the beginning and the end of everyone elses names to show how important he was i the production of the film. The music fades out and the screen goes black to confuse the audience as this would normally happen at the end of a film. We then hear bangs in the background which reinforces the mystery and tension. The screen then lights up and and we see a metal door shaking. This intrigues the audience as they now want to know who of what is behind it which makes it thrilling.

(We couldn't find the opening scene or sequence on youtube or the internet so we instead watched it using my DVD that we have because we've already seen and have the film)

Casino Royale - 2006 - action/crime/thriller:

The first thing seen in the title opening sequence of Casino Royale is the main character (James Bond) suddenly turning and shoots the at the camera. then blood from the top of the camera starts to pour down. This creates tension as the audience feel that they have been shot by this character, which connotes that this film involves action. The gun fire from the pistol shot triggers the music to the title sequence. The music creates tension and excitement as it is includes an orchestra including: trumpets, symbols, an electric guitar and loud, heavy drumming, which builds drama and a thrilling tone. The first text seen in this title sequence is "Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions LTD. presents".This is the production line that made the film and connotes that this is the most important information as it appears first on the screen. .It can also connotes that the audience maybe familiar with this production line from other films and therefore know they are watching a good film.The font is in a san-serif style, with capital letters and a white text colour. This makes the text clear and bold. The blood then merges into the background of the screen and images of hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs appear, suggesting this film is about gambling. During the images is the name of the actor that plays the main character of James bond (Daniel Craig). The music then fades as the title of the film appears on screen. This builds tension and excitement and connotes that this is the most important information of the title sequence. The music suddenly begins again with the electric guitar and images of a silhouette of the main character sitting on a pattern, related to casinos and gambling. The names of the actions then start to appear on screen in white colored text and capital letters. This helps to make the name bold and clear. More images of the silhouette of James bond appear loading his weapon with imagery related to gambling and cards, not bullets. More imagery related to gambling and casinos appear with weapons firing card types not bullets. The music becomes fast and has a higher tempo which creates a exciting and thrilling tone to the sequence. Along with the music is multiple scenes of James Bonds and a bad guys silhouettes fighting and James bond winning which shows he is the antagonist, the hero in this film. This connotes action and violence in this film. More names appear on screen such as the producers, costumes and make-up, casting directors, editors and all people who made this film, names. Images of targets appear on screen which when the bad guy fall on, reveals a roulette wheel, linking to the subject and title of the film. the bad guys are being killed with cars types such as: diamonds, clubs hearts and spades. Which connotes killing and action takes place during the time in casinos. Patterns and cards form the background for the title sequences all relating to the subject of casinos. The card, seven of hearts is the main  focus of the screen and bullet holes have shot the card to form the famous letters of '007'. The card is the seven of hearts, which connotes love in this film as well as action. The silhouette of James Bond appears and starts walking toward the camera. The face of the silhouette slowly fades away revealing the face of Daniel Craig who plays James Bond in this film. This build tension as it is the first time we see the face of the main character. Along with this image is the name of the director. The single piece of text connotes that the name is important and makes the text bold and clear. Suddenly the face becomes black and in-sync with the music. This connotes the character has an hidden identity as a spy.



Taken - 2008 - crime/action/thriller:

The first thing we see in the title opening sequence of Taken is a party hat saying happy birthday. The scene is shot using a hand held camera. This connotes that this is a family or home video. As the scene cuts to a young girl with her mother opening presents, music starts to play. The music is from a piano and is calm and peaceful. The first piece of text we see is the production who made the film. The font is in a san-serif style, with capital letters and a white text colour. This makes the text clear and bold. We then hear laughter as the young girl opens her present to reveal a horse and smiles in joy. More text of information appears on screen. The music becomes more tense and thrilling as the next scene reveals the young girls cake being handed to her on the table. The camera zooms on the top of the cake and the number 5 placed on top. The camera is fluttery and creates a thrilling tone along with the quite music in the background. We see the small, young girl blow out the candle of her cake which then reveals the next scene of the main character sitting, asleep at home in darkness. This connotes that this character was watching the home film on his television. The character wakes up and text appears on the screen. The text is a name, which suggests that its is the actor that plays the main character in this film (Liam Neeson). By this scene the music has stopped and we only hear diegetic sound. The next scene shows the audience the character sitting at home, turning on the light and holding a picture. We see that the setting in which the character is placed is basic. We see Chinese takeaway boxes left on the table which connotes that this character is unhealthy and maybe poor. We see more text appear with the names of the writers of the film. During this scene is the character picking up and holding a piece of paper with the word 'karaoke' printed on. He gets up and takes the piece of paper. As the character passes the camera reveals the picture frame which the character was holding. The picture is of a girl on a horse. This connotes it is the young girl grown up and connotes that she is his daughter. This gives the audience a sense of realisation in the film as they figure this out. During the shot of the picture frame is the title of the film in bold text. This is the end of the title sequence as the scene changes to an outside setting, and continues with the story.



Evaluation:
From all this analysis the rest of my group has done it now gives me an insight into the thriller genre and their title sequences as now I can read through this analysis of the title sequences and realise the key codes and conventions as well as the aspects we need to incorporate in our own title sequence for a thriller. Furthermore this analysis allows me to compare them with each other and see how the codes and conventions differ and see whether this is because they are different types of thrillers or directors style. This is because I have realised all films are shot in different ways and made in different ways depending on a lot of things, including: directors style, target audience, genre, age restriction and many more reasons. So this analysis allows me to ask myself this question and think about why something has been done in a certain way. e.g why has this sound been used here and then not here? etc.