Introduction to cameras

Tight big close up of Luke's face, this shot also incorporates the rule of thirds, in the sense that his eyes are in the top third of the shot.

The lighting cant be too bright because then we would just get the persons silhouette but here the lighting is captured perfectly

A shot of feet in an interesting way

                                                                                                       

This is a wide shot as it has been taken as far back as possible .

An Over the shoulder shot

RESEARCH - Thriller opening

A thriller pretty much always starts with the production companies showing their logos. The intro should be used to create suspense, this is done mainly through music. The type of music that is played can really give the reader an idea of what sub-genre the film is. The intro of a thriller usually involves creative cuts and camera work, for example in the opening for 'Mesrine', different shots of the same person have been edited in the same frame. The speed of the the cutting also creates suspense in the sense that the faster it is then the more thrilling (lol) it is.Throughout an intro it is very common to see producers, directors and stars' names going through the screen in different ways for example fading or scrolling down.

The man in the picture is Jacques Mesrine. The intro is in the video below. I uploaded this because i like the way it is edited. There are multiple camera shots in the same frame, so there is a sort of template with squares in which the different clips are put in. It shows a character in different time periods but in the space of about 20-30 second. So this compresses the characters actions in the space of half a minute to about 5 second. I like this because it shows all of the suspense in the characters face in several different moments in a short period of time.

RESEARCH-Thriller Openings

In general a thriller opening should contain suspense along with a sense on mystery and uncertainty. The opening should show enough to entice the audience, but have to be careful to not give away the plot. It should introduce the character and theme of the film.

The music should set the mood whether the tempo is fast or slow it contributes to the atmosphere.The lighting can vary due to the fact whether or not they may want to build up the plot or go straight into it. The editing is either quite fast or slow transitions, depending on the approach. 

The titles tend to scroll in either from different angles of the screen, or through fading within transitions. They can either be cut into the film or over the film, with the colouring usually white over a black background. The order the titles appear can also vary, however they usually begin with the production company then continue to director, producers and actors. 

Panic room begins with shots of New York Skyscrapers and has quite a slow build up, the accompaniment is a harsh violin and a constant  ticking, which may give the idea that their is little time. Dialogue only begins when the characters are first introduced, this 

RESEARCH- Conventions of a Thriller Film Opening

A thriller opening should start by introducing the production company. It goes on to including other companies tat are associated with the producing of the film. it then goes on to showing the cast and director of the film, these two vary in order of importance. Both the production companies, cast and directors can be shown in different ways, the most common way in which they are shown is being cut into the film. It should also introduce the key character or theme, even if it does it in a subtle way, which a lot of thrillers do. 

The opening to a thriller should essentially include suspense, mystery and excitement. For example, I uploaded the opening to Donnie Darko conveys mystery very well.  It starts off with very eary music and tracking of the dark scenic nature. The fact that it goes from this to someone lying on the floor (Donnie Darko) seems quite disturbing, and gives us the idea that clearly something weird has happened or going to happen. The music then changes to quite sad violin music with a females voice singing in the background, which makes the scene seem sadder and kind of spooky. The close up of Donnie Darko conveys his mysterious and spooky emotions along with the mise en scene and the fact that he's lying on a road. 

RESEARCH - Good thriller opening.

A thriller opening should generally include a mysterious ora . A good opening would not give away the plot but be enough to engage the viewer to want to proceed in watching . Many contain some sort of music to contribute to the atmosphere , it ranges from a slow violin type to create eerieness which is normally present when its creating contrast , for example in the 'Stepfather' peaceful christmassy music is used which contrasts to the dead bodies found around the house , or a fast scary drumming music which creates suspense in more hectic scenes. 

The titles can be presented in many different ways but should maintain the same order ; 

-The Ident

-who its produced by 

-distribution company 

-director 

-the stars involved 

These can be shown by a simple scrolling but this tends to look more old fashion or a more modern fade in and out way . They can appear by cutting into the film or by going over the top of the film.

I have uploaded the extract of 'The stepfather ' . i chose this because as you watch it you see a man go about his daily routine and all seems normal but the music played in the background which is slow and eary creates suspense and allows us to figure that something is not right. As he goes downstairs into a quite dull looking room , he puts on a radio playing peaceful godly music . However we then see a dead boy at a table , instantly the room gets darker and the camera turns in such as angle as to see his face . The music also becomes more vigorous and throught this scene , whenever we are shown one of the dead bodies the lighting goes dark and louder music overpowers the peaceful music which contrasts whats happened .