Thriller opening storyboard

Embedded film sequences with screengrabs and comments

Out of all the film I saw I choose this film to analyse as I thought it had the best credits because of the shots used. The shots were very unique and worked well when put together as a whole sequence. Looking at these gave us lots of ideas for our shot and also made us think about not only the types of shots but the camera position. 

Shot of hands- This shot is very unique and looks very stylish. It is a mid close up of hands that come together then go apart. At this moment a bunch of leaves fly out of the hand. This was a good shot to see as it gave us lots of ideas for our subsequent shots. We used this and create a shot of me putting on some plastic gloves.

Shot of hands- This is a high angle close up shot taken of a pair of hands. I think this shot is very good as it gives the hand a sense of authority. This type of shot will work well in our sequence as our film is based on shots in everyday examples. 

Shot of beaker- Our idea of one of the credits was to show it engraved onto a jug which had blood in it. I thought this shot was good as it was same as my idea just with water in it. This is a close up of the jug and writing engraved on it. 

Shot of beaker- This is a close-up shot of the beaker again. Notice this shot involves the water been shown going down. This shot is very effective as it draws the viewer as it is unique. In my sequence we hope to do a similar shot to this.

Student opening sequence Analysis

This is a film opening that was created at Long Road sixth form in 2008-9. I choose this opening mainly because I thought it wasn’t very good. The continuity wasn’t flowing properly and the acting wasn’t very good. I think the students worked well on the soundtrack as it fits in exactly on the screening. The use of the pace of music, the different types of instruments and the high pitch immediately drags the viewer’s attention not in a scary sense but more exciting. Also the narrative is not very exciting as it’s just a “man on the run”. It doesn’t give a special feel to the audience. Also there is no real meaning to the sequence the acting is very bad as when the guy takes the case the other starts smiling and doesn’t do anything immediately. Furthermore the ranges of shots used are very limited. It is just basic close-ups and long shots. To make a sequence more exciting, different types of shots should be used otherwise it will seem boring to the audience. It seems that this chase is some joke as when the person punches the other u cannot see this as “Ka-pow” appears. However the one thing i like about this sequence are the credits. They are very plain but effective. The background texture is very good as it sort of goes with the music.

This is the second sequence i decided to analyse. This was made by a group of students in the same school. The thing I like about this opening is that there is a person in the background explaining everything (non diegetic sound). This is a good thriller convention as not many thriller movies do this. It is very affective towards the viewer as it makes them more interested. Also i like how the credits are made. There is a 5 second pause is made with each character then the credits are shown of each. This creates a good mood to the film as it shows it is very professional. This technique is used in the James bond films. Also i like the introduction to each characters as it says”Nicky bullet is our key weapon expert” then a image is shown with the sound of this (iconography). The narrative of this sequence is quite good and works well with their concept e.g. each character having something special they can do in order to complete the supposed challenge at the end. The use of continuity is also good in the sequence as everything flows well. The viewer seems that is comes to reality. However the thing that is not so good is the logo produced in the beginning. It doesn’t look very appealing. Also the logo is not shown long enough. It goes away too quickly. Furthermore the students should have tried to include some sort of music soundtrack in some scenes. This would make the viewer more interacted with the film.

Soundtrack Analysis

Six feet under is the second soundtrack i have chosen to analyse as again, right from the start calm music is played at a slow pace. This informs the viewers to the film and gets them into it. This is totally different to seven but it has the same concept. This shows that you don’t always need fast load music to convey a scary/ physiological thriller. Our opening sequence is based on this opening sequence. The use of music is very good as it not only grabs the viewer’s attention but it also creates tension even though the music is calm. Further on the soundtrack the music gets a bit faster and a new instrument is introduced. The use of different types of instruments makes the soundtrack sound better. We will take this into consideration and re-make it. Also the sudden change of the loudness and pace of the music make the viewer more alert. As when i was viewing this at the point where the water started to decrease in the jug the music got louder this made me more anxious. 

I have chosen to analyse seven for many reasons. Firstly right from the start of the soundtrack slow pace music is played which immediately sets the scene for the viewer. It makes them feel a sense of tension which has a upbeat. As our opening sequence is an action thriller we thought that the slow high pitched music will work well as this will create suspense. We are hoping to recreate the bit were you can hear a noise that sounds like aliens. This makes the audience feel creepy. Also the alternating pace of the music from slow to fast creates a sense of tense mood towards the audience. We hope to create this by using load instruments. Overall this soundtrack helps create a dark scary atmosphere which is then created further into the film.