Opening Sequence Analysis
Panic Room

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement
Different shots are used in the opening scene when the names appear in the air in front of various locations in New York city. The establishing shot shows a town with a river between it, but we discover it is New York with the other shots. Most of the other shots are omniscient shots when they are looking down at buildings or panning shots when they show different parts of New York with the names of the actors in front of the scenery. The different shots keeps the audience interested on the film.

Sound
The music in the opening scene is non-diegetic. You can hear diegetic sounds in the background such as police sirens and car horns, which is realistic in New York city. The pace of the non-diegetic sound, which is an orchestra of violins and other instruments like drums, quickens and the sound of a clock ticking adds to the speed of the pace as they go together in unison. This creates a feeling to the audience of tension and this build-up of sound maintains their interest.

Editing
The editing of the opening scene gives a sense to the viewer that this is a thriller. The names of people appear in different parts of New York as the scene and music progresses. The cuts are all in similar length to display the shots of New York and the names so it plays in time with the non-diagetic sound.

Mise en Scene
The special effects used are the names that appear in the air in different areas of New York city. The words appear in long, establishing and omniscient shots to keep the viewer’s interest.

Characters
No characters are shown or established in the opening scene. Although no idea of characters in the film are portrayed, famous Hollywood stars such as Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker, so many people may want to watch the film.

Locations
New York city is established through the different shots in the opening scene; areas such as Central Park in a long shot and Times Square in a still shot.

Narrative/Plot
There is no obvious plot given through the opening scene because it consists of just shots of New York, so we are only given information about location.

Themes
The opening sequence suggests that the film is most likely a thriller film because of the title Panic Room which echoes the type of feelings that the main characters have in the film and that the quickening ticking sound is conventional in a thriller when something sudden happens.

Visual Style
The opening scene is quite similar to a conventional thriller opening. It uses special effects for the names of the actors and the film company. We cannot judge characters in the scene because no-one is portrayed yet in the film.

Genre
The opening sequence of Panic Room suggests that the film is of a thriller genre because you get a sense of the sound, which is fast and loud, so it tells the audience that something dramatic will happen and that the title suggests feelings of panic and drama will occur.

Opening Sequence Analysis

‘Seven’

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Close-ups on objects - it is as though we are unable to look away as an audience to another part of the screen, as we are drawn in to the object focused on.

Sound
The music is intense and creepy with a lot of sharp and disturbing sounds; creating a rather uncomfortable and tense atmosphere. There are also sounds which can be related to the screaming of another being.

Editing
There are flashes from one image to another, and distorted writing appears across the screen. We also get a very quick glimpse of a droplet of what is assumed to be blood. The way this is edited is very effective as it all links together smoothly.

Mise en Scene
There is little lighting except for the use of capturing shadows, this is perhaps done to reflect the dull surroundings of a typical killer. We do not get much of an idea as to the set, but the props include odd tools, photographs of murdered victims and highlighted texts - this gets the audience thinking.

Characters
There is no introduction to characters, just close-ups of a pair of hands, belonging to the ambiguous character. We are encouraged to assume the hands belong to that of a criminal, perhaps trying to cover any evidence of finger- prints, as we see the removal of skin from the fingertips. It is also hinted at that the character is involved in murders, and perhaps planning more, since we are shown flashes of disturbing photographs of people. We are given clues to the character but do not actually hear voices or see any faces in the clip.

Locations
The camera focuses on objects, rather than surroundings - the setting is left to our imagination; all we know is that the location is dark, with shadows, and creates a tense and creepy atmosphere.

Narrative/Plot
There is no dialogue or introduction to characters or setting, so the story line is left to our imaginations at this point. We do however see violent images in the opening credits so we are left to assume the story will involve murder and violence.

Themes
Although we are not told what the themes are, they are simply hinted at in the first clip of the film. Due to the violent imagery presented in the form of photography, themes suggested include pain, suffering, horrific deaths, murder and a psychopathic killer.

Visual Style
The visual style of this film (based on the opening credits) is quite unique in that the credits appear as though they are hand written. They appear in flashes, in quite an erratic way, as though to portray the erratic mind of the killer.

Genre
After hints to the story in the opening credits, we are aware that we are watching a thriller or horror movie. This is done thorough sound, editing, typography of text or credits and violent imagery. There is also an idea of suspense, linking to the ideal aspects of a thriller.

Comparison of Panic Room and Se7en

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement
Panic Room differs greatly to Se7en in terms of camera shots because it uses a lot of shots whilst the names appear in the air in front of various locations in New York City. The establishing shot of Panic Room shows a town with a river in between, so at first it isn’t obvious. Most of the other shots are omniscient shots looking down at buildings and panning across the imagery of New York. However Se7en has more close-up shots and is inside not outside, so the shots show everyday things such as books and writing. The shots are quick and convey a mysterious setting for the audience so we are supposed to feel unease. This method builds tension and sets the tone for the films, meanwhile the opening for Panic Room keeps the audiences interest of New York.

Sound
The sound for Se7en is non-diegetic (background music) which is the same for Panic Room, however diegetic sounds in Panic Room are heard in the background such as police sirens and car horns, which is realistic in New York. They are also similar because both of the sounds from both films increases in pace to maintain the audiences interest and appear in unison with objects that appear on the screen for example, when the razor appears in Se7en a static dark sound is heard. The sounds may be different, as Se7en uses dark and eery sounds and Panic Room uses normal instruments like violins and drums, but they achieve the same effect - to build tension through the first scene.

Editing
The opening to Panic Room gives a sense to the viewer that it is of a thriller genre. The names of people appear in different parts of New York as the sense and music progresses. The various shots are in similar length to display shots of New York and the names so it plays in time with the non-diegetic sound. This is quite similar to Se7en as the music progresses which gives us more of a sense of a thriller, however it is different because the sound appears in unison with the objects that appear on the screen, which may not be made by these actual objects but can be related to them.

Mise-en-scene
Special effects used in Se7en are minimal because the actors names flash on the screen quickly and appear more than once or have a mirrored effect or fade out. The words appear to have been hand written, opposed to the conventions of computing stylings. This is different to Panic Room as the special effects appearing in different areas of New York are shown in establishing and omniscient shots to keep the viewers interest.

Characters
No characters are shown or established during the opening scene of Panic Room and no idea of characters are portrayed, only the Hollywood names that appear, so many people may want to watch the film. This is the same for Se7en because the character in the first scene is shown cutting his fingers and developing photos, but we cannot see his face. This shows the character to be possibly anti-social which is conventional of a detective/crime film. This differs to the fact that the opening to Panic Room is all outside; Se7en is all inside.

Locations
The location is unclear for Se7en because more attention is payed to the things that the character is doing, highlighting his character as disturbed, which is different for Panic Room because New York City is established through the different such as Central Park in a long shot and Times Square in a still shot.

Narrative
There is no obvious plot given through to the opening scene of Panic Room, as it consists mainly of shots of New York and so we are only given information about location. This contrasts to Se7en because although there is no narrative as well, the things that the man is doing suggests that he is most likely to murder or torture someone because it is conventional to his character. The title is vague to the audience because we do not know the significance of seven to the rest of the film.

Themes
The opening to Se7en shows the audience that it is most likely of a horror/thriller theme because of the things that the main character does - conventional to the characteristics of a thriller movie. This is similar to the opening of Panic Room because the title echoes the feeling that the main characters might have in the film, and the quickening ticking sound furthers this thought, as if something sudden will happen.

Story Board For Our Preliminary Task

 

Preliminary Task

Questionnaire and Results For Thriller Openings

 

Draft Thriller opening

Title of the film - The Photograph

Setting/Location - Park

Costumes/Props - Photo, Envelope

Camerawork/Editing - Panning, Still, Tilt, Long shot, Over-the-shoulder, Point-of-view, Slow motion

Title font and style - JC Productions and names used in a 'spotlight' style.

Story - Charlie is sitting on a park bench when Charlotte walks along and sits next to him and gives him a photo of Jennifer. Jennifer is spying on them and taking photos of them sitting on the bench behind them. Charlotte walks away and Jennifer walks towards Charlie quietly. She sneezes and Charlie turns around. Jennifer turns to run away and the camera fades as you hear a scream.

Genre - Thriller

Characters - Charlie, Jennifer and Charlotte

Special Effects - Credits, Slow-motion camera

The Storyboard

Our Thriller Opening Draft

OUR FINAL THRILLER OPENING

The Storyboard

We changed the title of the film to 'The Target' because we felt it related more to the theme of the film being a thriller. We also changed the storyboard to improve our thriller opening.

The Working Script

Exterior Scene – Description – Park Setting

Shots 1 and 2
After the credits have faded, a pan shows everyday life at a public park, with few passers-by to give the impression of an isolated area. The pan then stops to concentrate on the male lead role. From a long shot, the camera zooms in on the character. This character is ambiguous, as he has not yet been established as either the protagonist or antagonist, therefore creating a sense of mystery to the thriller opening.

Shots 3 and 4
The following shots show a girl walking toward the bench at which the main character, Charlie, is seated at. This cuts to a point-of-view shot to put us in her position as she makes her way to the meeting point.

Shots 5 - 8
Both seated at the bench, the girl passes Charlie a piece of folded paper on which a photograph is shown. The camera zooms in on Charlie opening up the photograph; however this remains to be hidden to the audience, in order to create a feeling of suspense. This then cuts to a shot of the girl walking away from the bench, this is the last time we see this character in this sequence.

Shot 9
This shot is a point-of-view shot in which an anonymous character emerges from behind the bushes. Here, it is made to feel as though it the audience who are the voyeurs, walking out from behind the bush. The movement of the feet is intended to appear as though creeping, with the image of leaves appearing across the screen to emphasise the audiences ‘spy’ status.

Shot 10
There is then a cut to Charlie opening up the photograph, presenting the image of two girls to the audience. This is shown in an over-the-shoulder shot, which is then followed by a zoom to allow the audience to concentrate more closely on what it is that the main character is looking at.

Shot 11
This next shot shows Charlie sitting on a bench from a long distance. This is a continuation from the point-of-view shot which included an anonymous character walking out from behind a bush. From this shot of Charlie at the bench, the camera zooms in slowly. It is quite shaky, creating the feeling of fear and anxiety. Since put in the position of a voyeur, along with this use of camerawork, the audience are intended to feel quite uncomfortable here.

Shot 12 and 13
With the camera positioned directly in front of Charlie, a mid shot shows the moment at which he turns to see the anonymous character emerging from behind the bushes, in the distance. Panning away from the bench, focusing on where Charlie is looking, a girl appears from behind the bush in a long shot, staring at Charlie. This is the first time we see her, and although the audience are not told this, this character’s name is Jennifer. The camera zooms in on Jennifer, enabling us to recognise her from the photograph Charlie just received. The zoom also allows us to watch as she hides once more, after realising she has been spotted by our main character.

Shot 13 and 14
Another pan is used as Charlie jumps up from the bench. Running toward where the girl stood, several cuts are used, cutting between long shots and point-of-view shots. The point-of-view shots are quite erratic, reflecting a sense of emergency, especially when compared with the cuts of long shots, where the camera is kept completely still.

Shot 16
The last shot is a long shot, showing Charlie running up to where the girl was seen. Also, shown lying on the ground, where Jennifer stood, is a grey cardigan. It is implied here that the cardigan belongs to this girl. Charlie looks down and picks it up before the credits appear on the screen, displaying the title of the film in order to bring the thriller opening to a close, before the film would normally start.

OUR THRILLER OPENING

Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

One of the main features of our thriller opening, which links to the conventions often used in popular films of the same genre, is the use of sound. The music is one of the many ingredients which help to set the sinister and eery atmosphere. It helps to change the pace of the action that is taking place on the screen. For moments of everyday activity the music is slow, but creepy nonetheless, to give the impression of odd goings-on, and thus arousing suspicion.

Although thrillers often include dark, cloudy skies, and stormy weather, our thriller opening does not employ this detail of pathetic fallacy. We rely on the sound effects to give implications of such weather, and hence suggest something sinister coming. The weather sets the scene for an ordinary day. But the action which takes place, suggests otherwise. This is done to take the audience by surprise.

The use of costume is also significant in reflecting good from evil. The dark clothes are intended to show their dark personality, especially the long dark cloak, worn by the male character. The young girl however, is dressed in ordinary clothes that you would expect to see a female wearing in an everyday situation. This hints at her innocence, especially in comparison to the other characters in the film. This detail is a vital message often used in many thriller and horror movies.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our production includes young adults but are represented differently to convey different opinions of the characters. The main male character is shown as 'bad' as he is instructed to kill a girl. This is reflected through his dark clothes - black shirt and long black coat. The female character, who gives to instruction is also represented as bad and mysterious in the same way. Gender, in our production, is represented stereotypically because the male character is ordered to kill a female character so it gives a sense to the viewer that he has more dominance over the female character. However, the female who instructs the killing subverts to the 'passive' woman's role because it shows she has power over who is going to die and is giving orders to the male character. Our intended target audience is also young adults and we decided this using the Pearl and Dean website and researched the audience age for thrillers. We also felt that it would attract them more because the characters are their age.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

We would like our media production to be published by a major film company because we feel that it is the best place to market the film to our intended target audience and distribute the idea to as many people as possible, although it is highly unlikeable because of the money and production facilities invested in the project. This can be done, however, using social networking sites and video sharing networking sites such as Youtube, Facebook, MySpace etc. because it would reach our target audience better as a majority use their time as they are time-rich and money-poor and look for more convenient ways to watch films. It would be released because it has the normal conventions of a thriller movie but offers twists in the storyline and will captivate younger people because of their interests.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

After looking at the 'Pearl and Dean' website, along with the 'BBFC', we were able to make comparisons with various popular thrillers and the target audiences found most suitable for them; i.e who would most enjoy the type of film opening we were assigned to make. We looked at what makes a certificate right for a particular film, and how they are assessed as belonging to that category.

We came to the conclusion that the 'thriller' genre contains a more sophisticated story-line, setting and characters. We therefore had to come up with a compelling story-line in order to grip our audience. It is because of this that the thriller genre is not generally aimed at the younger audience. According to the 'Pearl and Dean' website, thrillers are more commonly aimed at fifteen to twenty-four year olds.

One of the many conventions of a successful thriller is maintaining to keep the audience in suspense. We therefore agreed that our focus would be to reveal as little as we could about the plot of the film in our opening sequence. We also included basic introductions to characters, reflecting a sense of ambiguity. In addition to this, point-of-view shots meant that the audience had to use their imagination when thinking about what the character looks like. This may be difficult for the younger audience, or perhaps confusing, thus why it is more closely aimed at an older generation.

According to the 'Pearl and Dean' website, a lot of thrillers tend to target the male population. We therefore assigned the lead role to a male to perhaps appeal to the female audience too.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

One way that we hoped to appeal to the modern young-adult audience was by using the setting of a public park. The park being a frequently visited place by many, meant that by placing our story in an everyday situation like this, our audience would find it easy to relate to.

Often the inclusion of a male lead role in the casting of a new film has a strong impact on the type of audience it draws attention to on its release. Stereotypically, it is thought that by perhaps giving the main part to a male, it would encourage the female population to view the film.

Also, by using a young, teenage cast, this could also assist in appealing to the teenage generation. It is evident from the 'Pearl and Dean' website, that thrillers are most favoured by, and more frequently watched by, fifteen to twenty-four year olds. We therefore used this theory to our advantage.

Point-of-view shots are the key to putting the audience in the position of the character on the screen, and are very effective. This can often be used to put the audience in an uncomfortable disposition, and in one example of our thriller opening, it is the position of the teenage girl that the audience are put in. Here, the audience are made to feel like voyeurs. Before we reveal the character behind this point-of-view shot, all that is shown remains to be the feet. This builds an element of suspense.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Whilst producing our media product we have learnt a lot about the technology used to produce a piece of film and have also learnt the IT key skills through programmes such as blogsites, and how to transfer different types of media (film, music, credits) onto our production. We used a number of software programmes during the filming and production process such as Final Cut Pro where we downloaded, edited and changed the flow of the thriller opening to make it as good as possible for the viewers. We also used Garage Band to create music to mix in with the action and create a sense of tension. The programme Live Type was used to create the credits and use certain graphics to give the thriller opening more realism. We used different types of hardware as well such as the camera, where we could learn basic functions such as zooming in and out. We used the tripod during still shots so it wasn't shaky but we didn't use it during point-of-view shots to create more emphasis of tension. The equipment enchanced our thriller because it made it more conventional and believable as it had eery music, fast, point-of-view shots and credits.

7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

We have both progressed since our preliminary task because when we first filmed our thriller opening, it appeared too rushed and the camera shots didn't emphasise the quickness of the opening of the thriller. The unpredictable weather made it hard to film and the storyboard didn't seem conventional of a thriller because not much of a storyline was given away to the audience. We have been able to work more co-operatively with each other and worked with people from other groups and they also received help from us. Time management was important because since we decided to scrap our first thriller, we used our time efficiently to spend more time on editing and the thriller opening overall. We have learnt how to use the different types of equipment - hardware and software. We have learnt a variety of different shot types and used these in our thriller opening (e.g. panning, close-up) and looking back I feel that our end product is as fulfilling as the task because we have learnt better to work as a group and improved our knowledge with equipment used in media.