Analysis of Opening Sequences Of Thriller Films

Analysis of Opening Sequences/Sequences in Thriller Films
By analysing the different opening sequences we will be able to explore how the films we have analysed may be an influence on our own project.

London to Brighton
In the opening sequence, the title credits are straight to the point, it says the name of the film and the location and the time of the opening scene, this gives a quote realistic impression as we see that is in linear narrative and it is happening in the movement. so it gives a realistic gritty impression because it is happening in the moment. In one particular section, the girl is on her own in the toilet and all you can hear are people trying to break in through the door, her emotions are amplified, creating tension and suspense as the audience feels what the character feels. we see two characters that are on the run and turn to hide in the cubical of the toilet for safety. there is no use of musical score, just the digetic sounds of the door closing and then the dialogue within the two characters.
This creates tension, suspense and enigma because with the use of the door banging, this creates tension as there are people trying to get to them and with the use of no music s
core, thee is quite a violent atmosphere to it. the dialogue between the two characters is also a way to make the audience think and asks questions. Why do then need to run? They also mention characters that aren't in the scene and we don't know (for example Derek) so it creates enigma and we wonder who they are and what do they have to do with the two characters in the scene. this meets the typical expectations of the common thriller opening sequence because its creating enigma for the audience as they are trying to piece together what is happening within the opening scene. within the opening scene, the setting four times within three minutes. one of the characters goes from the cubical, to get some food, then going back to the cubical and then leaving again to get money, then back to the cubical and then going to the train station within three minutes of the film. this is elliptical editing and it meets the expectations of the typical thriller opening sequence because it keeps the pace and rhythm fast. this suggests to the audience the panic there was in getting to each place and creates tension as we can see the panic the character was in whilst going to the different places.

Written by Amy Cooper.


28 days later...
“28 days later...” is a prime example of a thriller opening sequence and uses many different devices to build tension and suspense. It is a low budget, English film but has had many successes. “28 days later...” has two halves to its opening sequence. The first half is edges more to the horror genre and so the second half is more significant due to its thrilling perspective. To understand what is going on the first half will briefly be explained. The film begins in the Cambridge Primate Research Centre as activists break in to free the chimpanzees. A scientist sees them and tries to call for security but is stopped. He tells them the chimps are infected with rage and they are infectious.
Even so, the cage is opened and one by one they are all infected by the virus. Then the second half of the opening scene begins with the title, “28 days later...” During this title, there is not quite silence, but some sort of background noise. The title is shown for about 10 seconds; these features are deliberate in order to allow the audience to take in what they have just seen and so they can think of the implications of it, which will be seen later. The first shot we see is an extreme close up shot of a half closed eye. This shot is used to disorientate the audience, which is very effective as you can even see the small hairs on his face and the audience does not know where the character is, and therefore this raises questions. With once breath we seen him brought back to life as his eye moves. At this point the shot is changed to a crane shot and we see he is a patient in a hospital that seems to be deserted. He gets up from his bed and tries to leave the room, shouting, “hello”. The camera changes so we can see a corridor in the hospital where there is an over turned bed. We see various scenes of the character walking around the hospital shouting “hello”, this confirms to the audience that it is in fact deserted; this begins to raise more questions on what happened. He then checks all the payphones and none of them are working, which continues the theme of a loss of communication. He then leaves the hospital and we see him walk around London, but not London as we know it. It is as if London has turned into a ghost town because there is no one in sight. We see our character cross London Bridge with the Houses of Parliament behind him as some very subtle non-diegetic score begins to play. Our character continues to walk across London, past an overturned bus, an empty Horse Guards Parade and Oxford Street. The score begins to quicken as our character finds many £20 notes. The music quickens and quickens as we enter the heart of the city and the character walks up to a stationary car in the middle of the road, and as he tries to open it, the alarm goes off. This diegetic sound creates a quick shock for the audience, making them jump out of their seats.He then walks over to a big pile of rubbish and a lot of newspapers. The non-diegetic score at this moment get a lot faster in a matter
of seconds, raising questions of what will happen next. He picks up an edition of the Evening Standard. The headline reads “EVACUATION” in large font, capital and bold le
tters. This suggests something terrible has happened. This is the answer the audience has been looking for. The pace of the music continues to quicken as he walks up to a billboard with hundreds of pictures of missing persons. He walks off with the board behind him as the score drowns out as the camera zooms in on a picture of a child.

Written by Tim Creedy

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is part of one of the most loved trilogies in the world and has been translated into many languages.
The film begins by showing wide angle scene of a mountain; after a few seconds a silhouette of Indiana Jones, the great archeologist, followed by a few accomplices. The film is set somewhere in South America in 1936. As the title credits emerge we see scenes of a jungle, which is dark (blues and blacks) and gloomy. The colour here represents a fear as many people a afraid of the dark. This already creates an atmosphere that there will be a lot of action in this film. Throughout these scenes we can hear sound effects of birds, monkey’s and other jungle animals. This makes the characters seem scared and nervous of what is beyond the path they are following.

The costumes the characters are wearing as seen as traditional jungle-wear. They have torn clothes, in bland colours such as beige and brown. This suggests that they have been through a lot as their clothes are ripped. The music quickens as an arrow in a tree is found. One of Indiana’s follows tests it for poison and it does have poison on it. This is a scary thought as others may be there which might jeopardise them getting the golden treasure they are looking for. They also find a statue at which one of the followers screams and sound effects are given in the form of birds screeching. After this the other followers look quite scared and frightened of the peril ahead. More animal noises are heard to create more suspense as they find the entrance to the tomb. They continue to walk and find the entrabce to the tomb. however before they enter there is a close up shot as Indinia Jones fills a bag of sand; this will be useful for later on. This makes the audience suspicious and wondering what the bag of sand is for. Inside the tomb the background noises are much quieter. The scenery inside the tomb is gloomy and very dark and there are cobwebs all over the place. Therefore as there are cobwebs, there are spiders and Indiana and his follower are then covered in them; thus creating more dramatic and suspenseful scene. They continue to walk down the tunnel as suddenly flying spikes struck their path. This sudden dramatic technique is followed up with typical shock music which in turn, makes the audience shocked, and the faint hearted may even jump out of their seats. Attached to the flying spikes is a dead body that is rotting; this reminds the audience how dangerous this mission is as this gives the perception that many others have failed. As they enter the main chamber dramatic music begins to play, this alerts the audience that the archeologist has found what he is looking for. Also when the camera shows a wide shot of the golden statue it shines brightly suggesting its importance. Many different types of shots are used to view the golden statue as again, it is an important part to the plot. As Indiana Jones walks up to the golden statue his is very careful of any traps that may be on the way; however he does find some, such as an arrow shooting out of as large grey statue, and these are examples of special effects – thus proving to the viewer just how dangerous this mission really is and it also reveals how brave Indiana Jones is. During this time relevant music is played which makes the audience nervous. The music builds up as Indiana Jones must take the statue and replace it with the bag of sand he collected earlier. However the weight is not correct and so the whole tunnel begins to collapse in. lots of close up and wide shots are used here to show the devastation and feelings of the archeologist. Overall this is a fantastic beginning to a fantastic film. It is exactly what you would expect from an action film such as this and no wonder so many people view it as a classic.

Written by Tim Creedy