Sounds for our Thriller Opening Sequence

For sound we have to use non copyrighted material from, copyright free websites our from stuff we have recorded personally. Four our thriller we are going to write and record some of the music on Cubase and possibly record other sound effects. However we will borrow copyright free sounds from copyright free websites.



A thriller would probably have eerie ambient music, so we would need something that would build some tension without giving it away. We just want the audience to feel that something is wrong.


We also want some traffic noises as well for when our character walks to his mate's house. The noise has to be realistic, I can't sound too busy however, otherwise we would loose the isolated feel we want to maintain.


A few good swoosh and swish noises would suggest something that shouldn't be there.




For musical score it would be right if we went for a more modern approach and had some music similar to films like the Matrix and the Bourne Identity with a slow drum beat, ambient noises and distorted synth noises to suggest the problems about to occur in the film.

Shot Types and Ideas for our Thriller Opening

The first shot will be a mid/close up of the protagonist from behind, so again the audience will not be able to see his face. The camera will track with the actor as he walks forwards and gets out his phone. 

                                                                                                                             

The next shot will be another mid/close up of the phone he is calling to at his mate's house. The camera will track back very slowly.     

The fourth shot will then cut back  to the protagonist at a mid close up level as he leaves a message on the answer-phone.

It then cuts back to the shot of the protagonist from the front and he is putting his phone away after saying the words 'see you in a bit.'

The next shots will be long shots of the protagonists walking to his friends house down the road, in the corner titles will appear whilst music begins to play.

Peer Review

Synopsis of our Thriller

A man goes to visit his friend at his house. He rings his friend as he walks there to make use everything is still good. There is no answer. The man assumes everything is okay and carries on his journey to his friends house. When he arrives the door is open, he still knocks but there is no answer. He opens the door to see if everything and shouts out his mates name. Still no answer, so he goes inside only to find his mate and his wife dead. He immediately goes into shock and panics desperately trying to bring his mate back to life without realising that he is contaminating the crime scene with his fingerprints. He eventually notices that their daughter is not there and then starts to look for her. He finds her upstairs under the bed, alive.

The man and the daughter then take part in a journey to avoid the people trying to kill her family and the police who believe that he was the one who killed the family and kidnapped their daughter.

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas for our Thriller Opening Sequence on Prezi

Audience Research - Thriller Questionnaire on Opening Sequences

Locations Research

Carshalton Park Grotto (Carshalton)
Carshalton Parks grotto will provide us with a creepy setting for the opening of our film. The old but graffiti'd building will suggest abandoned and the park's high trees tower over the area creating a vulnerable location for a victim. However this is a public place and there will be people walking their dogs. It is by a main road so it may be noisy and it night it will be hard to film with the trees blocking most light.

Radcliffe Gardens (Carshalton Beeches)

The tall towers and trees will create vulnerability for a victim in this area. The area is usually quiet near no main roads and contains a small woods next to it. This means we could make a film were someone goes out of their flat and something happens to them in the woods just outside. At night can be spooky. However people do live here and might be upset if we film around this area.



                                                                                                  Shanklin Estate (Sutton)
Can be quite creepy at night dark atmosphere. Brickwork could suggest an old run down area. However can be quite a dangerous area to be, especially at night. People live here too and might be offended if we film around here.

Questionnaire Answers and Analysis

• Most of the people I gave the questionnaire to were males (60%) which meant that the answers I would recieve would be generally masculine.
• All of the people I interviewed were 16-20 which means the answers I got about films would be similar due to films being based on age groups.

• Most of the people wanted to meet the main character in the first 2 minutes of the film. The reasons were because they want to know who the film is about, to see if they recognize the actor and then determine whether the film is going to be good or not, or to judge the character, seeing if he/she is interesting or boring. The few who said they didn't want to see the main character, said that it kept the mystery of a thriller.
• When it came down to what people would want to see in the main character people mainly said male. Other popular attributes were a bitter personality, violent, determined, clever, strong and the ability to do the impossible. The unpopular attributes were a female main character with a more humane way of dealing with things. I expected these results because the conventions for main characters in thrillers are similar to the popular outcomes. 
• The most popular actor for thrillers was Liam Neeson with 40% putting down his name. I expected this because of his appearances in two huge thrillers 'taken' and 'uknown'. This suggests that the main character in our film should be middle aged, quite strong and tough, very intelligent and capable of violence. Other actors included Matt Damon from Bourne Identity who has a similar likeness to Liam Neeson. 

• Most people seem to prefer the titles to appear over the moving image. This could possibly be suggesting that they probably wouldn't want to see the titles at all and would want to go straight into viewing the film. 
• Most people said that the less they learn about the film in the first two minutes the better. This way the typical mysterious atmosphere held by a thriller would be upheld. Many mentioned that they would prefer to see the opening of a thriller to be a prologue were something bad is foreshadowed. 
• The results to what they want to see and hear in the opening of a thriller film were all pretty similar. Many mentioned an abandoned building as an appropriate setting or a run down area. This suggests low-key lighting and smoke. Also they mentioned that the music should be orchestral and follow the score, no one said they wanted to hear a popular song. 

Opening Sequence Conventions for a Thriller

Conventions of a Thriller Opening Sequence on Prezi

28 Days Later - Thriller opening analysis

Analysis of thriller – 28 days later

View more presentations from GeorgeBlewitt.

Se7en Thriller opening anaylsis

GIFSoup

Distributing Company, logo appears first reminds audience who made the film, promotes them.


GIFSoup

Fades in straight to the film, with no other titles yet. A mid shot of a man, can't quite make out who he is. The audience will be asking who is he? is he the main character? The ambient noise suggests he lives in a city, the viewers will be wondering where?


GIFSoup

Cuts to the man getting ready for work, audience will see his face for the first time. They will also notice the items shown in the close up and will be wondering what they are for? What is his job?


GIFSoup

Cuts to a crime scene, the camera tilts up so you can see all of it. As the man walks down the corridor it becomes apparent that he is a detective.


GIFSoup

The shot starts off as a long shot at the other detective but tilts upwards when a new character walks up the stairs becoming a mid shot.The fact that only these two characters have been shown up relatively close suggests that they are both the main characters.


GIFSoup

The two characters in the frame together signify that they are the main characters of the film, detective and partner. They are probably going to have to spend the most of the film together solving this crime.


GIFSoup

The camera tracks forward on the guy in bed. This gives the idea that he is pondering deeply, possibly about the crime or his new partner. The ticking metronome that the camera focuses on with close ups, signifies this as well, as though he uses it to help him think. The audience will be wondering why he has a metronome ticking.


GIFSoup

Title sequence then begins. Shows disturbing instruments with eerie music. The random shots imply the work of the killer. The titles are in hand written or typewriter like font that again suggests a serial killer. The titles seem to flash on screen as though you shouldn't have seen them.

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Commentary of title and roles.

Bridget Jones Diary - Screen Shot with annotations opening analysis

 Mid shot draws attention to Bridget in embarrassing outfit, centered in the screen. Makes it funny for the audience.

 The camera tracks backwards as she walks towards it but becomes a close up, showing the audience her awkward face, making it funny but making the audience feel sympathy for her. The close up emphasizes her reaction to the situation, making the viewer aware on her feelings.

Fades to an establishing shot, showing the audience the main setting, the building is centered in the frame, perhaps suggesting this being Bridget's home. A voice over starts, talking about her life and bringing the audience up to date, with what the film could potentially be about. The amount of screen time these shots get suggests that the director is showing the main setting of the film. The shots start with a long shot and then feature close ups with pans, and crabs of the building so the audience become fully aware of the area.

 Titles appear with a pinkish tint, possibly signifying the feminine aspects of this movie, the title immediately tell the audience who this film is for. The hat on the pole signifies the end of Christmas and help the audience understand when the film is taking place.

 Title appears next to the actor, shows who's who. The font is in a handwriting style signifying the diary concept of the film. The diary idea also suggests that this film is for woman with diaries being a feminine thing to have. The long shot establishes the room she is in where most of the title sequence takes place. The framing of the shot helps the viewer to notice the state of the room which reflects the emotional state of Bridget.

 The shot occasionally cuts to close up Bridget dancing and singing to the song, making what ever she is doing funnier. By cutting to the close ups the director successfully highlights the funny behaviour of Bridget.

When the title appears it is next to Bridget Jones going mental to this song, which could be showing that this film is going to be funny. The font also represents the title of diary that this film is actually about.

Spiderwick Chronicles - Opening Analysis Bubbl

Screen Shot Analysis - Wallander Open Sequence

Wallander (Firewall, 7/12/2008, BBC1)


The first shot it fades into is the ocean, cold wind noises are played perhaps suggesting to the audience that this scene is going to be cold upsetting scene.

The helicopter shot tracks forward to the shore, to what looks like a grey countryside in which the audience can make out a car and people walking away. The setting is deserted, the car doors are opening they have pulled up along the side of the tracks. The audience will be wondering why? What's in the car

The 2nd shot suddenly cuts behind the two people who are walking, we are behind them, the director has done this so we cannot see their face, who are they? One is wearing a leather jacket and has red hair extensions and the audience will probably be able to work out that she is a rebellious teen. The other is smaller so possibly younger, perhaps a younger sister or friend. Their hair is all messy, were they in a scrap?

The third shot cuts to a shot from within the taxi looking at the two girls, a man is collapsed on the drivers seat, there is blood, and  the two girls are walking away, blurred in the distance so you can only just make them out. The audience would have guessed that the two girls probably did this. Also the ID of the driver is focused signifying to the viewer that he was a taxi driver. Possibly suggesting the he was dodgy and the girls attacked him as a result.

It cuts this time to the girls and for the first time you can make out their faces. The you can see they are both quite scruffy and the girl with the red hair in focus has blood on her neck. This again justifies the idea that she killed the man in the car. The audience will notice that they are breathing heavily and are not talking, possibly indicating the shock of what just happened.
















It then cuts to an ID of the taxi driver, coered with blood to confirm again the dead guy in the car is a cabbie, it also reveals his name.

It cuts to a front mid shot of the girls tracking back with them as they walk away from the car. This confirms to the audience that they are trying to get away and must have been the ones who killed the driver. They are breathing heavily but don't look too scared or shocked, as though they meant to do it, not from self defence.

The close up on the hand shows the audience the man is still alive, but is shaking and must be on his way out. The girls obviously meant to harm him otherwise they wouldn't be walking away. 

An extreme close up of the girls focusing on the blood around ones neck. The blood splatter suggests they killed the man with a knife, the lack of blood on one, suggests she did not want to get involved and was dragged into it. 

It then cuts to two quick cutaways one with blood splatter on his taxi computer. 

Then to a a keyring photo of him with his son, suggesting that maybe he was not so dangerous after all and was actually a nice person. This then gets the audience asking 'well why did they kill him then?' 

It then cuts to the girls hand covered in blood, with a knife and she obviously attacked the man in the car. The attack was obviously intentional because no one really carries a knife around for self defence. 

She then drops the knife in the grass, deliberately so she can rid herself of the evidence again confirming the attack was intentional. At the end of the opening sequence now the audience will be asking, 'who are these girls? Why did they attack this man? Who is the man?' Creating a great foundation for the rest of the show. 

Sixth Sense - Annotations video

Director's Commentary - Brick Opening Sequence

This is my director's commentary of the opening sequence of the film Brick (2005, Rian Johnson)

Director's Commentary - Memento Opening Sequence

This is my director's commentary of the opening of the film Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan)