There are three basic structures, the first one is, a narrative opening with the titles running throughout. The second one is a discrete title sequence. The third and final one is titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening.
Throughout the Thriller Openings, I have seen approved that there are three basic structures which one or the other fits each Thriller Opening, such as,
· Arlington Road - A discrete title sequence · The Shining - A narrative opening with the titles running throughout · What Lies Beneath - Titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening
A 2006 American Thriller film, United 93 includes events abroad United Airlines Flight 93 which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The film opens with a black screen but we can hear voice of a person reading the Quran, this creates suspension as the audience wants to know who the voice belongs to, soon as we get a view another person says, 'It's time' this creates tension as it builds more suspense.
Later at the Newark International Airport, the passengers and crew board United 93 along with the hijackers, the pace is slow to rise tension as the audience is aware of the oncoming disaster. After boarding, the flight is delayed and other three hijacked flights take off to other targets, World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
Eventhough the audience is aware of what is happening or what they expecting to happen, the feeling of hope is still created as the air traffic controllers have a tape recording made 20 mins earlier before one of the flights crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, 'We have some planes, just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are going back to the airport', says one of the hijackers. Now that the air traffic controllers know more flights have hijacked, the viewers have an hope that the flight United 93 will be spotted to prevent the disaster. Later all the hopes fade away as the air traffic controllers and Air Force then watch as Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Centre on live television.
United 93 was set for the U.S Capitol, White House. By the time the hijackers take over the control of United 93, another flight creates a huge fireball at the Pentagon, at this point hopes were totally destroyed along with the buildings.
The turning point was when the passengers refuse to be hijacked and one of the passenger can fly a plane. Every step passengers took raised tension with the hopes, they soon managed to make attempt to take control and as they reach to the cockpit to save their own lives, one of the hijackers shakes the plane violently to throw the passengers off balance and plane angles towards the ground where cockpit window is clearly shows it's destination,then the screen goes blank just as at the start but at this point we are aware of what has happend.
When choosing a font for a title sequence you have to be careful on what sort of font you choose, as the font plays a big role and could determine what kind of genre the film is going to be.
There are two types of font: Sans Serif fonts and Serif fonts
Serif fonts are generally more formal and traditional and than other fonts. A serif includes a little detail at the end of each stroke of every letter. Such as Times and Courier
Sans Serif Fonts are generally more informal, more modern and more 'friendly'. Such as Arial and Comic Sans
A narrative opening with the titles running throughout
A discrete title sequence
Titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening
Throughout the Thriller Openings I have seen approved that there are 3 basic structures which one or the other fits each Thriller Opening, such as;
Arlington Road - A discrete title sequence
The Shining - A narrative opening with the titles running throughout
What Lies Beaneath - Titles on a plainj background, followed by the narrative opening
Opening of Thriller clip - Collateral
Collateral opens with medium shot of Tom Cruise, eventhough he is walking through a crowd in a airport the use of selective focus makes him stand out and allows to view him clearly. His foot steps are heard which indicates he is in control. Then we get a medium shot of Jason Statham with the use of selective focus which makes him the main subject in the shot, as we also can hear his fast foot steps, which highlights he is in hurry wheras Cruise's slow shows the opposite. The both characters are wearing formal outfits but Statham has a black suit and Cruise has grey with black sunglasses on, which creates a question in mind of who Cruise is?
As the two walk towards eachother the crowd and the footsteps is heard. The slow pace then changes into fast pace with a swamp sound when the two walk into eachother the sound of beats included while the over the shoulder shot of Cruise is shown, as if we are looking through his glasses.
The structure of thriller openings There are three types of basic Thriller openings:
A narrative opening with the titles running throughout. A discrete title sequence. Titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening.
I have studied four different Thriller openings, each thriller opening connects with one of the three types of thriller openings that i have stated above.
Arlington Road - A discrete title sequence The shining - A narrative opening with the titles running throughout Deja Vu - A narrative opening with the titles running throughout What Lies Beneath - Titles on a plain background, followed by the narrative opening
In our lesson we had to analyse different opening title sequences, whilst analysing we had to consider key points such as the, mise en scene, camera work, editing, narrative, lighting and sound.
The film I chose to analyse is déjà vu, in my opinion the most attractive and interesting title sequence was Déjà vu. Firstly we are introduced to the setting, we see medium shots of the environment alongside shots mid shots of people cheering and laughing, basically we are introduced to a happy setting, where it seems like an big even or in other words something important is about to take place. However the calm sad music does arouse some questions, for example it makes you think, despite the fact that the people are so happy there’s this sad calm music.
We hear a variety of diegetic sounds such as, the busy crowd, horns, laughter, vehicle engines. The lighting is natural lighting, indicates that it’s a happy day with the bright lighting. Once the film’s title is introduced the music starts to pick up and it becomes more impulsive, which helps create suspicion. Once we see the captain of the boat we also see a reflection on the window of a guy waiting on the bride, this shot also points out potential danger. The shot that I like and find effective is the one where the little girl drops her dolly into the sea, the dolly drops in slow motion it almost signifies little girl herself and how she also could be in danger.
The title sequence appears in white writing, I really like the technique they have used to introduce the words. It’s almost as if the words are being photographed and captured in a frame. Overall I personally think the opening title sequence to déjà vu is interesting and eye catching. After a title sequence like déjà vu I’m sure I will be into the film, wanting to watch more.
Taking lives
This particular font really appeals to me mainly because it looks like pieces of matches put together which indicates danger. A thriller is a genre that is suppose to create suspense and tension, and by looking at this films poster, already the mans blurred face automatically creates suspense. On the other hand, the font of the title also seems mysterious and creepy. The font is bright and because I have seen this film the font of the title really represents the personality and characteristics of the main character (Ethan Hawk) who turns out to be a psycho.
Genres are often divided into sub-genres, this gives a clear idea of what is the type, what the production is about and what it contains.
ACTION THRILLER -The Happening
Action Thrillers usually contain guns, explosions and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place.
HORROR THRILLER-Orphan
Horror Thrillers in which the main character is put in danger and his/hers main enemies are unknown or unrealistic creaters in which he/she must destroy to achieve.
POLITICAL THRILLER-Eagle Eye
Political Thrillers in which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs them.
CRIME THRILLER- Law Abiding Citizen
Crime Thrillers often focuses on the criminals and emphasize action over psycholoigical aspects. Central topics of these films include murders, robberies and chases.
During the design of our title sequence, it is very important that we are aware of the type of font that we use. This is because the type of font can bring forward the type of the genre from a title sequence.
There are two types of font: Serif fonts and Sans Serif fonts Serif fonts are generally more traditional and often slightly more formal than sans serif fonts. A serif includes a little detail at the end of each stroke of every letter. Such as Times and Courier
Sans Serif fonts are generally more informal, more modern and more 'friendly'. Such asArial is more formal and doesn't imply to many.
Film Openings are often evocative that some include simple images which highlights variety of different moods and feelings.
Our group task was to take photos of 6 of the following words:
Claustrophobic
Paranoid
Mysterious
City
Euphoria
Hysteria
Contentment
Happiness
Anguish
Confusion
Depression
Future
Passion
Electrify
Calm
Disorder
Quick
Spiky
Through
Twist
Hang
The words I have chose to use are
Happiness
The image above show two people expressing their happiness by using their body lanuage. They are both in use of the open space to show clearly that they're happy.
Depression
The image above show a person with loss of interest or pleasure by sitting in a spaceless area where their hands are covering their face as if they dont want to be part of the world and left alone, this indicates depression. Future
On the above image we see someone planning ahead (future) by looking at their watch.
When we are creating our title sequence, the font we use is important, so therefore we need to think carefully about the font we use. The font may actually reveal the nature of the film, or reveal something about the main character.
In today's lesson we covered the two main types of fonts that are usually used for title sequences.
Serif Fonts -Such asTimes and Courier
Serif fonts are generally more traditional and often slightly more formal than Sans Serif fonts.
( A Serif is the extra little detail at the end of each stroke of ever letter)
Sans Serif Fonts - Such as Arialand comic sans
Sans Serif Fonts are generally more informal, more modern and more 'friendly'.
The Guardian, Saturday 27 June 2009 papers include an article about Neville Brody's thoughts and ideas on his favourite film fonts, and opening sequences. Overall i think his information is very inspiring and motivating, however i really like his quote on what makes a good film font, "Fonts convey an emotion without actually having to say the words".
During this lesson we also did a short task on Font Analysis, we were given two film posters to examine, Pearl
Harbour and Rocky.
Pearl Harbour
Pearl harbour is about war, pride, friendship and romance. to promote this film they have used the PLATINO font which may come under the serif fonts mainly because of the flicks. the font connotes seriousness, its believable and realistic.
Rocky
Rocky is about love, friendship, honour, pride and sports. the font used for Rocky is, Franklin Gothic Heavy, I think this font comes under San Serif because it is more curvy. This font is punching, bold, in capitals and heavy, all these words indicate strength. Rocky is clearly the main character who boxes for a living, the font may suggest that although Rocky is all hard and strong, there is a lady who stands behind him, and this lady brings out the soft side of Rocky.
While using the Final Cut Pro program I've learnt to use many things such as cutting one piece to join it with another piece by using the razor blade tool. By doing this you can get bits from different scenes and put them together to make it even better.
I've also dragged some videos to the timeline to shorten or lengthen some of the clips as I want. This technique is used to delete unnecessary bits un-needed from the clip.
During the use of the program Final Cut Pro I have learnt to use many different tools by editing BAIT tutorial which allowed us to look at different clips. By using range of tools I have tried to put together these clips to create a running sequence. By viewing each clip from browser allowed me to have a clue about the main idea, which then I have pit in In and Out points to select section I wanted out of the clip, then draging each selected clip on to the timeline allowed me to view the rough cut I have produced. The razor blade tool was then used to select and erase the sections out of the clip on the timeline to have well fitted clips which run clontinously without any faults. The use of Final Cut Pro has given a taste of editing clips and how to build a sequence on the timeline.
I have learnt how to use Final cut pro, while i was using Final cut pro i have used clips from Bait tutorial to practice. I have also learnt these techniques,
-Open a clip from browser + put in in + out points. -Drag clips onto timeline -learned how to use razor tool -Learned how to build a sequence on a time line
In our Final Cut Pro - Bait tutorial, we learnt how to open a clip from a browser alongside putting in and out points. We also gained knowledge of different techniques such as dragging clips onto the timeline, we learned how to use the razor tool to cut particular clips, we learned how to build a sequence on the timeline. we also learnt how to shorten and lengthen clips. Our task was to create a sequence by using different clips to a film. By using all the techniques we learned, we completed a good piece of sequence. Overall this tutorial has been very useful, and it will help us with our opening title sequence.
Film openings are often evocative and some very simple images van evoke a variety of different moods and feelings, images can capture different emotions.
My group and I were given a camera to complete our task which was to, take six photos of the following words:
HAPPINESS
PARANOID
MYSTERIOUS
CLAUSTROPHOBIC
FUTURE
CITY
EUPHORIA
HYSTERIA
CONTENTMENT
ANGUISH
CONFUSION
DEPRESSION
PASSION
ELECTRIFY
CALM
DISORDER
QUICK
SPIKY
THROUGH
TWIST
HANG
The words we chose to use are, happiness, future, claustrophobic...
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre. This genre usually has characters that are mentally disturbed. There are many mysteries and puzzles to be put together by the audience. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.
Political Thrillers
A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of political power struggle. They usually involve various plots, rarely legal, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or international political scenarios. In political thrillers there tends to be the bad guy who could to be a terrorist and the good guy who usually is the politician.
Supernatural Thrillers
Supernatural is something above or beyond natural, things unexplainable by natural law. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others. Supernatural beliefs have existed in many cultures throughout human history.Films that tend to include spells special powers are likely to be supernatural.
I personally have watched all these films and I can honestly say that they are great films and are worth watching, for example the lake view terrace is an eery story of a racially heated relationship between two neighbors. One happens to be a cop, badass Samuel Jackson, who escalates the aggressive relationship to dangerous heights. On the other hand Rendition, is about a true story where the government take in the wrong guy and torture him. on one side the government are mistaken with the wrong guy, and they try do everything to cover up there mistake, and on the other side there is a pregnant wife demanding for answers for her husbands disappearance. He vanished without any explanations made to her which makes her suspicious. This film is about trust, hope, deception, mistakes and love. lastly, The Others is about Grace (Nicole Kidman) raising her two young children alone on an island in a beautiful Victorian mansion, the one place she believes them to be safe. But they become uncomfortably aware of strange sounds and happenings which seem to be supernatural. This is a film full of puzzles and surprises.
United 93 is a very intense film that portrays many emotions, for example fear, anger, religious belief, suspicion and anxiety. The film illustrates the day of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which was committed by the members of Al-Qaeda.
United airlines 93 was a united states domestic passenger flight which departed from Newark International Airport, the destination of the flight was San Francisco International Airport. Four hijackers hijacked the plain. Over 40 minutes into the flight the hijackers breached the cockpit, overpowered the pilots, and took control of the aircraft, diverting it towards Washington, D.C. Several passengers and crew members made telephone calls aboard the flight and learned about the attacks on the World Trade Centre and The Pentagon. As a result, the passengers decided to mount an assault against the hijackers and gain control of the aircraft. The plain never did reach its target Washington D.C.,instead it crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, in somerset county, Pennsylvania. Not one passenger survived the impact of the plain crash.
The film introduces us to a scene where a group of men are constantly praying to Allah. People who know about the 9/11 attacks, would immediately be aware that these men could be potential terrorists. I personally thought the tension really raised higher when the passenger decided to fight back and do something about the situation they were in, even in the end despite the fact that there were no survivors from the real plain crash, the minute the passengers fight back the film gives you hope.
I personally think the film is great, but also very heartbreaking because you really do feel sorry for those innocent passengers and most importantly those personal phone calls really enable you to relate to those passengers and feel their pain, because we all have loved ones and have lost loved ones at some point in our loves.
Religion is very important for the hijackers in this film and the hijackers are clearly Muslims because we hear Allah many times. I just wanted to add that, God does not say you have the power to take a human beings life let alone someone innocents live, and it is most certainly insane to be praying whilst you are killing people. Many people believe that all Muslims are the same, just because a group of insane fanatic people turn Islam into their own crazy religion does not mean every Muslim out there believes in it.
We had watched the film United 93. The genre of the film was a thriller, but this film had lots of emotional scenes as well as tension scenes. The reason it was emotional was because it was based on what had happened in America in 2001. The film was about how the terrorist was trying to blow up the white house by flying the plane (United 93) into it, a suicide mission. In a typical movie we would see the terrorist as "non-human", we see them as insane religious hooligans which don't feel any emotion. In this movie since its based on a true story they wanted to make it more realistic so they made the terrorist real, made them have feelings, we see one of the terrorist ringing his loved one and saying " I love you" for the last time because we know its going to be for the last time. This also gives us the impression that he isn't 100% positive that he wants to go along with the mission. This also builds up the tension as we ain't completely sure our selves if his going to go along with it or not.
The passengers on the plane also find out that the Twin towers got blown up and that they was a explosion at the Pentagon. That day the terrorist had three targets, the Twin towers which represented money, the Pentagon was represented military and the White house was represented politics. They were successful with two of there targets, the Twin towers and the Pentagon, but they couldn't blow up there third target the White house, the reason they didn't succeed in blowing up the White house was because the passengers on the plane fought back ageist the terrorist when they found out it was a suicide mission. They had given up their lives in order to try stop the terrorist... Which made them hero's to the Americans
The film we watched in class was United 93. The film created suspense by building up tension, one way this film did this was by using the technique "false plateau". By using this technique it made us think that the danger had past, until the danger suddenly pops out and gets you by surprise, in this case, it was when the terrorist was starting their attack because we wasn't sure when they were going to do it.
This is someone looking into their watch as time goes by into the future.
