Se7en opening sequence

This opening shows several shots repeatedly to connote that this is a routine for the killer, and also connotes his obsessive qualities. His methodic approach is also respesented whenimages an texts are censored and specific words are cut out of books. The killers hands are shown, focussing on his dirty and scruffy fingers which alo suggests that the killer is not trained and is brutal in the way that he kills his victims. The titles as well as the music connote a distorted atmosphere which could refer to the killer's state of mind. Nails and blades are shown to once again connote torture, whislt a Bible is also in the scene to suggest the murders are conncted to Christian teachings. Dissolves are used to connote the passag of time; this is repeated by the killer over a long period of time

Opening Sequence - Previous Thrillers

THE STEPFATHER




I thought this scene was very good. It had good continuity and a large range of shots, whilst also creating enigma and a basic plot.
The sequence involved cross-cutting, with the opening half of the shots mostly dedicated to the little girl, and the second half involving a man. The final part of the scene is when the two characters meet, therefore confirming that they have a relationship.
Enigma is created extremely well in this scene. For example, we do not know anything about either character depicted until the very end of the sequence, but even then, we do not know the extent of their realtionship, although the title of the film seems to suggest he is the girl's stepfather. We do not know what has happened to the mother, why the girl is sitting next to a lake, and why the man is looking out of his window.
There is a very good use of mise-en-scene in the sequence. The opening shot, a dripping tap shot in a deep red light, is very effective in connoting blood and tension due to the anticipation of the water dropping. The domestic utensils shown with the male connote the family lifestyle that the film will show; in particular he is seen chooping vegetables, with the knife connoting violence. He is later seen washing his hands, as if washing his hands of his sins perhaps.
The range of shots is probably the best aspect of this sequence. There are over-the-shoulder shots, POV shots, and frames within frames, for example when the man takes the frying pan from a cupboard, or when he takes a jar from a shelf. The range of shots helps to keep the audience entertained, but as there is no speech until the last 30seconds of the clip, it helps to maintain tension.
The titles are also shown on blank screens, after each shot. The black on white connotes good vs. evil, and it also makes them stand out more.
The music used is very succesful also in creating tension and fear. Long, high notes are used by a string section, although it sounds extremely distorted, almost like scraping metal. The sound made when a finger goes round the edge of a glass is also used to create enigma and fear as it sounds very distorted and eerie. A few piano notes are used to create rhythm and also create a metronome effect, as the note used are ina cycle of sorts, almost likea trance, again creating a suspenceful and unnatural atmosphere.

Wes Craven Openings

Inspiration

Wes Craven films (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) usually incorporate the death of a female character, presented as the protagonist. They also usually involve the villain of the piece, for example in Nightmare.. Freddy Krueger kills the character of Tina in the opening section of the film. These females who die at the beginning of the films are usually quite rebellious and promiscious, for example Casey is home alone waiting for her boyfriend to come round, whilst Tina has sex with her boyfriend. In comparison, the film usually goes on to focus on another female, who in comparison is a "do-gooder": an innocent girl who is sensible and does her work rather than sleeping around. This is shown in the character of Nancy who wants to focus on her school work rather than sleep with her boyfriend.
The film also normally focusses on the killer, and often creates cult status for these characters. Freddy Krueger is a prime example of this, as he is the central figure of the sequels to Nightmare..., which hardly ever have recurring heroes or heroines.

This is very similar to the idea we had, as we wish to kill off the victim shown in the first section of our film and focus on the killer.

Vanilla Sky review

I had been wanting to see theis film for a long time, and finally got to take a look the other day, and boy was i confused.

The film follows David Aemes (tom cruise) heir to a succesful business in the heart of New York. At a party he meets Sofia Serrano (Penelope Cruz) and begins to flirt with her. Their romance flourishes, but ex-girlfriend Julianna Gianni (Cameron Diaz), in an insane fit of jelousy drives a car containing David and herself off a bridge.

Julianna dies but David survives. He is physcially and mentally scared, now wearing a mask to hide his disfigured face. He meets once again with Sofia, but she is uneasy around a drunk David. He ends up passing out, but in the morning SOfia promises to be with him and help him deal with his problems. Surgeons begin painstaking plans to rebuild his face, but David begins to have hallucinations. He is told he can save the world by a man, and cannot distinguish between Sofia and the dead Julianna.

There is an ongoing narrative in the future where David is in jail serving a sentence for murder. Dr Mcabe is listening to David's retelling of his life up until this point, and he cannot believe he murdered anyone.

The film goes onto delve into David's mind, explaining who he killed and why. David thinks he has connections to a chryogenic clinic, and as the film comes to a climax, all sense of time and space are distorted as David gets closer to (or further from) the truth.

This film was very cconfusing, with the use of sepearte narratives and times. I also thought that the two different personalities of David, post-accident and pre-accident were almost like two different people. I liked the distortion of characters aswell as the story line, as even though some sections were repeated, clues were left everywhere to indicate what was really going on. This had a huge impact on me, with the ending leaving me with no idea what actually happened, forcing me to think about it hours after viewing it.

This would not be impossible to achieve during our thriller, with enigma easily created with the opening scene (New York deserted). I like the idea of a deserted place, but i also like the idea of someone is prison, explaining how they there, telling the story backward if you like.

However, distortion would be quite hard to achieve, especially with specific characters merging into eachother. I also think that whilst the dramatic fall from grace of David the young handsome rich business man is a good narrative structure, i do not think it would be plausable, as some sets would be hard to capture

Some initial ideas / themes /settings

• Woodland
• Darkness (nightime)
• Urban setting?
• False hero (possible femme fatale?)
• Opening death

One idea i have is that the film should open with a black screen, with the sound of someone running whilst panting. These sounds would continue, as the next should would track the feet of the victim running from side view from left to right. The camera would then pan up, whilst still tracking the character, to reveal the upper body and face of the victim. He would then stumble and fall over, but the camera would continue moving to the right for half a second and then stop. The next shot would be of the victim on the floor, clambering on the ground desperatly tryin to get up (medium / long shot - slightly high angle). A chase sequence would then ensue, with the identity of the killer becoming more and more apparent as the sequence progresses, climaxing with the killer walking towards a defenceless victim. This would instantly create enigma and force the audience to question why the victim was running, why there is a murder etc.

Scream Opening

The opening of scream is has a huge instant impact on it audience, mainly because it breaks Syd Fields narraticve structure theory so blaintantly. Drew Barrymore during the marketing, for example in the poster, was set up as the main character of film especially as she was the most well known actress in this production. However, the fact she dies in the first 10 minutes of the film is very unconventional and therefore shocking to the audience. It is "scarier" due to the facdt that audiences would not expect there to be a death in a thriller movie in the opening scene, allowing this movie to create added fear due to a break of conventions. The film does however stick to some genre conventions as she is a blonde sex symbol, who screams for her boyfriend.

The actual scenes are very scary but also very possible. Having someone break into your house, and then not being able to escape is something that could happen to anyone, and as the events are plausible and domestic, there is a certian realistic atmosphere. The fact the killer is not seen, as for the first part of the scene we only hear his voice over the telephone, is also distressing as we do not know what to expect, thus making his first entrance even more shocking.

The comic aspect of the film can be seen in the dialogue, and quips about the thriller genre. The most effective part of this opening sequence in my opinion is how the credits are not shown at all in the opening scene, allowing the audience to focus solely on the action and the horror