Other AS Media Opening Thrillers

I looked at two different peoples opening of thrillers to see what things I could criticise about it so that when it came to doing my thriller opening I can make sure I didn't do what they had done. One of these was State of mind and the other was Blanc.

State of mind

In the opening of State of mind used lighting at the beginning that meant you cant really see what was happening in the scene. This meant that I need to think about what kind of lighting I am going to use for my opening to make sure that the audience is able to see. Another thing that this group didn't think about but I will try to is about the Mise en scene and where it is set. This was because the filmed the boy getting out of bed and opening the certain which were pink and floral therefore this wouldn't be a typical room of a teenage boy which means that they didn't really think about where they were filming it as they might of just filmed in the first room they went into. Also when I do my filming I will have to think about how the Mise en scene links into the scene and the characters. another thing they made a mistake on with the Mise en scene is that the boy walks to the door without a coat on but then when he walks out of the door the other side he has a coat on. This means that they didn't think about showing him getting his coat on as it is a normal thing to do. This helps me because I will make sure that the continuity is good and that I don't miss out anything. Another mistake that this group made which they didn't realise is that the genre is a thriller and when the boy reversed up his drive and then turned around it was slow which caused it to be dull and boring. This meant that they didn't think to have the car already turned around to make this scene go a bit faster as it hasn't got a massive impact on the actual opening. Whilst I am doing my opening I will keep in mind that it is a thriller and therefore I need to make sure that I don't lose the audiences interest. Within Mise en scene the group didn't think about costume which link into the group not following the conventions of a thriller. This is because the costume of the stalker wasn't scary therefore didn't cause any effect on the audience. Therefore this means that I will use this to make sure that in the opening of the thriller I will choose a different type of costume for the character that the audience should be scared about. The titles that are shown when the boy is walking down the street are hard to see which indicates to me that I will need to play around with where I can place the titles and what colour to have them in so that the audience is able to see. also I learnt that having the titles at the end made this groups work look like a trailer therefore I will think more into where else is good to put the titles.

However in this opening there was good parts as well that I am able to use in my opening of a thriller. these were the continuity and the sound. the continuity was good because they didn't cut from one scene to another and it flowed from shot to shot throughout the clip. the sound in this groups opening was good because it created the atmosphere that is connect to the genre of thrillers. the group did this by having slow music which was opera like. this created depressive around which makes a contrast therefore it became thrilling. another thing the group did with the music was that it was slow music until it got to the man that was stalking the boy and then it picked up. I will use these things that I have picked up on in my own thriller as it helps create a certain atmosphere and keeps the audiences attention.

Blanc

 

Where this group had placed the titles on the first shot was good however you couldn't see them as the colour and font was a bit blurry and wasn't clear. This meant that it is hard for the audience to know what they were meant to be looking at. Another thing about the titles is that they dragged out a bit to long because they did this it seems like they needed something to make it to the time they needed for the opening. From this I will take that not to fill gaps with things that will bore the audience. This group also over used slow motion which is an editing technique. This meant that most of the opening clip was full of slow motion. This meant that because they over used slow motion it loss the effect. Another part of the Mise en scene that isn't effective is the lighting. This is because it is to light to be the first thing in the morning as it shows the boy just getting out of bed. This means that in mine I need to make the light suitable to the time of day I want it to be set in. I can do this by using editing to make the lighting either darker or lighter. The sound that is in this opening is music which doesn't fit in and it changes throughout the opening scene. This has helped me because I will look more than just one bit of music if I am going to use music to make sure that it fits into the scene correctly. Lastly the man who is the stalker has a crow bar in his hand which is swinging however when it cuts back to him its up his sleeve. This is effective however showing it swinging before and then not showing how it got up the man's sleeve doesn't use continuity well. This means that with my opening I will need to make sure I pay attention to the little parts as well as the big parts to make sure that it is shown well to the audience that this is a thriller.

Something good that this group did was that a part of mise en scene. This was the costume of the stalker. This comes across as scary as it creates a sense of mystery. Which makes the audience intrigued to carry on watching due to not know what the mask has to do with the stalker or the film. A camera shot which is good in this opening two minutes is the first shot this is because it is effective and doesn't give to much information about the film therefore makes the audience want to watch it more.