Different
genres of films have different target audiences that they cater for. The
audience for thriller films depends on which type of thriller the film is.
Crime thrillers:
Crime thrillers tend to attract more
mature audiences (usually women, 30+), as older people enjoy piecing things
together and figuring things out, whereas younger audiences often don't have the
patience or attention span to.
Psychological thrillers:
The target audience for psychological thrillers
is usually 18+. Psychological thrillers tend to be quite dark and get quite deep,
and people under the age of 18 may not be mature enough to handle the strong
themes they include.
Romantic thrillers:
Romantic thrillers tend to be targeted mainly at
females from a young age to mature women (7-50+). This is because of the
romance storylines they entail, and whether a thriller or not, the romance
genre tends to appeal to women.
Supernatural thrillers:
Because of the supernatural, often scary themes,
supernatural thrillers usually appeal mostly to teenagers and young people (13-26). A lot of teenagers love scary thrills and want to watch something
that will shock them. Supernatural thrillers are often watched in groups of
friends as teenagers find the aspect of scaring eachother appealing.
The purpose of a film opening is to entice the audience into watching the film. It should also introduce the characters, set the scene and give information. This can be done with things such as:
Flashbacks: A convention I find particularly interesting. A flashback to a significant event that may be refered back to later on in the film. It may be confusing to the audience at first as they have no other knowledge of the film, but it will make sense later on in the film. Flashbacks often hook the audience as they want to know exactly what the event was, why it is significant, and how it ties in with the rest of the story.
Planning of landscape: A good way to set the scene and introduce the audience to the film and where it is set. It may make the viewer feel as if they are almost part of the film, because they have and insight into exactly where it is set
A narration: An effective way to introduce the characters and storyline quickly. It entices the audience because once they get a snippet of what the film is about, and once they feel they know a bit about the characters, they will usually want to continue watching the film.
Action/chase scene: This is a good way to start the film if you want a fast-paced opening that throws the audience straight into the story and the action it entails. It will hook the audience into the film as they're witnessing action/drama right from the start, and won't get bored.
Production company logo: At the start of most films there will usually be the logo of the production company that produced the film. If the film has a high enough budget or is a franchise film, the logo may be adapted to reflect the theme of the film.
Title sequence: Title sequences are important conventions of film openings. They can be simple, with just titles appearing in plain text on the screen, or they can be very creatively done with animation used.
The music is very innocent but because of the video and past experiences you instantly know that the film is going to be about something that looks sweet on the outside but isn't anywhere near sweet on the inside. It reminds me of thriller movies that have a deserted merry go round that is filmed in an unstable way which lets you know that something is not right.
I like the way they had things overlapping, especially at 0:32 where they put in a twirling ballerina toy. At 0:47 they have a close up of the girls eyes which look dark, this shows that although she's doing ballet which is a very gracious style of dance she is very dark on the inside.
I think the props such as the red lipstick and all of the dolls played a big part in the film opening.
Overall I think it was a very good opening to a film in a lot of ways and if it was part of a real film it would make me want to continue watching.
As we can see in the picture above the position the man is holding the knife is a direct link to Psycho, the only difference is that in Psycho the identity of the person is hidden whereas in Stepfather we know who the person is and we know that he intended to stab someone from before so there was a build up to this moment whereas in Psycho it was a shock/sudden.
In the picture above we can see that after getting stabbed the man is trying to stop himself from falling by holding onto the shower curtains like the woman in Psycho. Due to this, the curtains come down with them and this is filmed in the same way using a close up on the shower rings/hooks in both Psycho and Stepfather.
In Stepfather the man has the same look/expression on his face and slides down the bathroom wall in the same way as the woman in Psycho.
Overall, this scene was pretty much a repeat of the famous shower scene in Psycho.
Intertextuality is the way in which media texts purposely give references to other media texts in order to give the audience recognition. It involves the process of extracting elements from existing texts and subtly including them in the making of your own, this can be Mise en scene, sound, editing, or simply the plot. Intertextuality often takes place in media forms under the same genre, for example...
Examples of intertextuality...
Nightmare on Elm Street & Scream Mise en scene is often red in thrillers, here we can see that red costumes in thrillers have derived from Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street. The movie Scream has clearly taken this idea and used intertextuality.
Scream & Scary Movie
A great example of intertextuality is Scary Movie, this is because it is a parody so all scenarios therefore depend on the text from other movies. One aspect of the film that will clearly be recognised by the audience is the character from scream. Like all intertextual texts, Scary Movie uses the original element but slight changes are necessary, as the 2 movies are of different genres, one is a mystery horror, and the other is a comedy/parody, so it is adjusted.
Scary Movie also uses the typical plot which appears in many other movies, it consists of one mystery serial killer with a list of victims. This scenario is seen in films such as... The Bone Collector, Jack the Ripper and Scream.
The Simpons Movie & Clockwork Orange
Even movies of different types are able to use intertextuality whenever they want, easily. An example of this is The Simpsons Movie (which is cartoon) imitating the type of character by using the same costume (mise en scene).
I think that the intertextual media we have viewed will influence our own work massively because it proves that taking elements from others doesn't mean copying, it in fact means that viewing it will be more interesting for the audience. Moreover, it shows that production cast have knowledge and experience of the film industry.
NARRATIVE - this type of opening is direct and emphasising, it clearly sets the scene and gives background information to the audience. Narrative openings are the best way to set the tone of the film, for example humorous/serious. It is used in order to make the rest of the story enjoyable and easy to understand/follow. This is done by...
Introducing the environment - focusing closely on camera shots/angles, editing pace, and sound.
Introducing the characters and their situations- elements such as mise en scene (clothing) are important.
Some examples of film's with narrative opening sequences are...
The Shining
As this particular film does not include any characters or dialogue in the opening sequence, implications as to what genre the film is and upcoming events are given by other elements such as the soundtrack and camera.
Firstly, just simply what is on screen is significant to the story. An isolated and rural location creates mystery by bringing rhetorical questions as to why the character's are in this environment. The moving car easily shows the audience that the character's are on some sort of journey, setting up the rest of the story.
The music during this opening seems very disturbed, inconsistent, and tense, which creates a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience and proposes that negative things are to come, which relates to the genre of the film (horror) and imperatively sets the tone of negative events.
Aerial tracking shots are cleverly captured on camera of the travelling car, this imagery gives connotations that the car is being stalked, again reinforcing the idea of horror by typically including a victim (introducing the character's situation early on). We already are aware that whoever gets out of the car is the main character.
Matilda
Although Matilda also uses a narrative film opening, it is very different to the shining...
The first big contrast is that Matilda includes a voiceover throughout the opening, which literally tells the audience who the characters are (tells us their names) and the situations they are in without viewers having to figure it out. This makes sure that the movie has a clear storyline from the start.
Subtle music is also added in the background, however this is for entertainment purposes only and it is not there in order to set the scene, because the voiceover successfully does that directly.
Many short scenes are condensed into one to form this opening, this allows the audience to see the main character's (Matilda's) past experiences, and therefore gives us a sense of her life.
Although there are no graphics or text included, the opening sequence does incooperate the main character's name onto the screen, this is by on screen footage which makes it more interesting than just titles over a blank screen. It not only inputs the character's name, but also the actual film title 'Matilda' at the same time.
DISCRETE OPENINGS - These film openings are the most complex and consume the most time to make, this is because just the opening is like a short seperate film in itself, because it shows a whole story and sequence of events taking place without giving too much away. The main thing it does is leaves the audience asking questions before the film has started, because it gives them a glimpse and wets their appetite.
An example of a discrete film opening is...
Seven
This is a very visual opening, using sound effects to accompany movements.
Notice that the shots taken are all close ups, or extreme close ups, which is the reason we can see events taking place, but can't clearly work out the story. It also emphasises every small action and dramatises it as a thriller should be.
Camera is also used in a clever way in which it films from the perspective of the main character, often placing the camera at a high angle looking down at their hands, the audience see it just as the character would. Making everything seem as if it is happening right at the moment of watching it.
As this has a discrete opening, which demonstrates a short story, the slow motion used makes it easier for the viewers to follow and also cooperates in making every single movement significant.
Unlike most film openings, Seven does not have soundtrack music, instead it uses short and persistent sound effects which are synchronised with the moving images. Added post-production, during editing. (The sounds add emphasis to every slight movement and make them more significant)
TITLES OVER BLANK SCREEN - this type of opening is self explanatory, it requires very little visual/camera input, and therefore in order to make the opening a GOOD one, it must pay extra attention to other elements which are sound and fonts.
What is intertextuality?
- Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meaning using other texts. It can also be refereed to a reader's referencing of one text in another text.
How is intertextuality used in film?
- Intertextuality in film involves taking a reference/idea from another film.
- A discreet but brilliant example of intertextuality includes director of famous horror franchise Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven wearing antagonist's Freddy Krueger's red jumper during his cameo appearance in modern-horror flick - Scream.
- Parodies use intertextuality, frequently. For example, The Simpsons have used the 'Shower' scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho for comical purposes in their Treehouse of Horror specials.
As for my group, I think intertextuality might be somewhat hard to incorporate into the plot of our thriller as ours strays away from the norm, especially horror-based thrillers. Even if we were to use a couple of seconds, I believe this is something the examiners might dismiss after some consideration.
Narrative Openings - They set the scene, introduce the characters as well as inform the audience as to their situation.
Examples (Films) we see narrative openings in:-
The Shining - Ariel tracking's used to stalk a car as it's driving through a rural, isolated location. The non-diegetic music's tense and disturbed.
Trainspotting - The name's of main characters in this feature-length's highlighted in a bold-style font during lead protagonist (Renton)'s narrative opening. This helps the audience familiarise themselves with character's personalities as well as their overall attitudes e.g. Spud's small-minded way of acting. Multiple scenes are also intercut together to enforce the sense of characters and their lives.
Discrete Opening - An opening that usually separates itself from the actual film itself. This short-feature's typically used to emphasis a title sequence. Example of a discrete opening:
Se7en - During the disturbing opening. Fast-paced/rapid editing is used. All cuts convey a distorted feature as it is enforced with close-ups of props (razor-baldes, needles, etc.), scrapbook photos/entries and body shots; there are no facial shots in this discreet opening.
Titles Over Blank Screens - Unlike the other two types of film openings (narrative & discrete), titles over blank screens helps us understand the overall mood set for a film. As appose to familiarising us with any characters.
Example of a title over blank screens:
Donnie Darko - We see the film open with diegetic thunder after the gothic-font title exits the screen using a transition. The amount the screen-time a character is presented usually highlights their importance to the main plot without using a narrative element. Though some may argue these type of openings limits expectations for the film. Others would say lack of opening knowledge makes for an interesting feature.
During lesson, the other week. We looked at film openings and their title structures. Title structures would often include:
The order of names and who gets the right to be displayed/highlighted on the title sequence first.
Where exactly the film title's is typically placed.
The types of fonts used in title sequences.
Whether sequences are conventional or not.
How many times institutional information such as production companies and distributors appear during the opening.
Productions & Distribution companies (e.g. Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Relativity Media, etc.) usually appear on a title sequence, first. This is because they have paid for the film's production and therefore pay to be displayed first. I believe this is fair as without their money and expertise. The film wouldn't be where it got to (world-wide distribution).
We look specifically at the title-sequence for the film The Taking of Pelham 123. Containing all elements of the traditional sequences. The structure of the film is as follows: -
Production Company opening - Columbia Pictures
Production Company title - Columbia Pictures & MGM
Distribution Company title - Relativity Media
Director/Writter - Tony Scott
Actor 1 (Lead) - Denzel Washington
Actor 2 (Lead) - John Travolta
Film Title - Taking of Pelham 123
Actor 3
Actor 4
Casting
Costume
Music/Music Supervisor
With regards to the casting order. Actors 'rank' is usually determined based on income. I believe respect is an external factor and not thought-of highly.
A monochrome-style title was used in the middle of the screen. This may have emphasised how big/bold our expectations of the film is to be become. Having watched the film, myself. This exaggerated statement was stated with factual purpose.
Narrative film opening: This helps to set the scene and introduce characters and their situation. An example of this would be 'Trainspotting', during the opening one of the main characters does a voiceover. He explains what is happening and also introduces us to some of the characters as well as himself.
Discrete film opening: this is like a separate film and can help to introduce the character and allow the audience to familiarise themselves with the character. An example of this would be 'Seven'.
Title over blank screens: This type of film opening, unlike the other two doesn't familiarise us with the character but can help us to understand the mood of the film overall. An example of this is 'Donnie Darko'.
Narrative: Set the scene, introduce characters and their situations.
The Shining: Opens with a journey that is rural and isolated. The music is tense and disturbed. The camera tracks the car on it's journey. These elements give an uneasy feeling about the film, and set the viewer up for what is to follow later on in the film.
Trainspotting: Characters are introduced with their names in text on the screen. There is a voiceover monologue from the main character. Multiple scenes to give us a sense of the characters, and the scenes are intercut. We get a good sense of who the important characters are and their personalities. We also get a very clear picture of what the film is about.
Discrete Opening: The opening is a separate film in itself.
Se7en: The editing is very fast-paced and rapidly put together. The footage has a jumpy, distorted effect on it so that it looks like old film. All of the shots are close-up of hands and props, and there are no facial shots. It gives the viewer an uneasy feeling about the film, but as it is separate from the film, it withholds a lot of information from us and makes us want to know more.
Titles Over Blank Screen: Sequence begins with a black screen which has the title on it.
Donnie Darko: Opens with the sound of thunder after the title exits the screen. The font of the title is gothic. These elements set up the expectations of the film. The introduction of the setting and characters bring in a narrative element to the opening.
Genre:- The method in the filmmaking which bases ideas on similarities in narrative elements from which films are constructed. For example a horror uses generic convections of the inevitable foreshadow of death. This separates horror from other films, initially making it unique.
Genre is important for the film maker/producers as this allows them clear investment opportunities. This makes film-making easier - range of generic elements to be included.
Sub-genres:-
A sub-genre is like the subdivisions of an encompassing term. Looking at current genres such as action, comedy & thrillers and thinking narrower. For example, some might watch a drama and see it as a romantic drama. Not your typical action drama.
As our group are yet to create the opening of a Thriller film. I think the most subtitle sub-genre to film would be Conspiracy. I believe it creates optimum suspense without giving away too much of the story. As well as match the theme/conventions we're aiming to get a high grade on. When researching conspiracy films. I looked specifically at Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity for inspiration. I think the opening was perfectly curated as closed techniques were used to mask protagonist Jason Bourne's identity. Initially creating mystery as to why his body with was left in the river. Though mystery's a convention associated with conspiracy. Some may argue as the mystery's that mystery's a separate sub-genre. I feel it may be beneficial for the group to merge two both conspiracy & mystery sub-genres together. Although this may be challenging. It'll prove extremely rewarding providing we stick to the true conventions of an award winning thriller piece.
Over the holiday. I watched the film, Die Hard With a Vengeance starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Though it was a very interesting feature. There were many conventions to take note of. For example, the first convention of this action-thriller is the characters. The protagonist was a brave male man seeking to remove injustice. However, Bruce Willis’ character, John McClane is a middle-aged alcoholic who could want nothing better to do with life than crack open a bottle. However, he is forced by his precinct to play the antagonists mysterious, but cruel games across New York. Even though antagonists are entirely different characters in each and every film made, they share similar motives; revenge; which may have been misinterpreted event. In Die Hard’s case, the aim is revenge.
Further on, costume plays significant part to the film’s antagonists’ Simon Peter Gruber uses a worker’s jumpsuit to empower his appearance, showing off muscles. Connoting his strength. Although the female antagonists are heavily criticized for being vulnerable. This is conveyed with dresses worn in a seductive/revealing manner. Katya, the film’s mute female terrorist does exactly the opposite to this. Making her the intimidating character she is.
Another renown convention of thriller films are theme(s). The director of the film usually bases his storyline on the things that are most feared by society so the audience can relate to them which may enhance the level of fear. Die Hard incorporates terrorism bombings. However this wasn’t a frequent theme at the time of the movie’s filming - 1995. Nowadays, the amounts of films that are linked to terrorism are at an all time high. Though they lack originality. Die Hard With a Vengeance uses a brilliantly curated script along with the witty banter of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson to create an enjoyable piece of film.
The first film opening I looked at for The Dark Knight Rises. This opening was informative as we find out about the antagonist, Bane.
This opening uses little emphasis on non-diegetic sound to illustrate a calm background; just one’s normal plane journey. However, the music soon becomes heavier and louder as the opening starts to unfold, setting a true tone to the plot. Additional sound e.g. gunshots. were made using foley. Something I would hope to avoid whilst making my own thriller as I wouldn’t want to risk not syncing the audio in time with the picture.
Moving on. Mise en scene helps convey various integration techniques creating a real-life aspect for anyone wondering how mercenaries may perform such tasks. Suspense is created shortly after as Bane (Main antagonist), is in the plane. He is now recognizable due to his distinctive voice/mask.
Editing features a few over the shoulder shots to portray different character’s perspectives. On the other hand, the camera captures the small plane’s torn-apart background. Connotations would go as far to say the state of the plane represents each character’s gruff attitude. By performing something similar in our own thriller, I feel it’s something we’d be greatly rewarded for.
Though the second film, The Bourne Identity belongs to a conspiracy sub-genre of Thriller. The title sequence keeps suspense consistent. Especially with the use of sound. Non-diegetic music is used to create tension throughout the 3 minute clip as we find out Jason Bourne’s just as mis-informed about the opening as we are from the YouTube clip.
Mise en scene see the opening taking place on a gritty, poorly-lighted boat. Something that may be out most of our comfort zones. I think this is illustrated to highlight JB’s surprise when he wakes up. Towards the end of the clip. A first person camera view is used to display a close-up of projected writing. Something I believe was used brilliantly. Personally, I would like to do something similar, but using a track-shot using the 2nd person narrative-view. Although this may prove challenging, I think our group is more than capable to do so. Overall, both thrillers are similar to each other, respectively. However, both use different techniques to create a unique piece of film. Something which I aspire to achieve when filming.
The target audience for psychological thrillers
is usually 18+. Psychological thrillers tend to be quite dark and get quite deep,
and people under the age of 18 may not be mature enough to handle the strong
themes they include.
Romantic thrillers tend to be targeted mainly at
females from a young age to mature women (7-50+). This is because of the
romance storylines they entail, and whether a thriller or not, the romance
genre tends to appeal to women.
