2. All the titles appear using establishing shots; establishing shots are used to establish the context for
a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. Therefore the
audience are able to identify where the setting of the film is (which is New York) as the titles appear
in front of the buildings there. A range of different shot types are used to display these titles such as
long shots, medium shots and close ups and also many low and high angle shots. Once the title
‘Panic Room’ appears the music then becomes a slower pace and becomes a lower pitch than
before, this makes the title more noticed and shows that it is the title as the music appears different
for the rest of the titles. After the main title, the rest of the titles are edited at a faster pace and the
music changes to higher pitch, this connotes a sense of panic and rushing which links with the title.
The fast panning shots after ‘Panic Room’ appears contrasts with slow panning shots from before.
3. There are no clues to predict the narrative of the film as the title sequence only shows the titles but I
think this movie is a thriller due to the use of low pitch intensified music, this a key genre signifier that is
used a lot in the thriller/horror films. Serif Typography is used on all the titles this makes the individual
letters more distinctive and easier for the audience to recognize quickly; serif typography is a key genre
signifier used on thriller film titles. All the titles have been placed between many buildings, this signifies
a theme of restriction and isolation throughout the film. Also as you can see in the second image the
credit has been placed in a shadow and in the third image the letters look camouflage and are blend in
with the building, these both suggest the idea of hiding. And also links back to the idea of isolation.
Also as you can see in this shot you can spot the ‘Jodie
Foster’ title behind, this also relates to the idea of
hiding and lurking which seems to be the theme of the
film by how the titles are presented.
4. It fades in to the opening with the sound of sirens then low pitch intensified music begins as the first
title appears, which builds suspense and makes the audience uneasy as sirens are used in bad
situations. After the title ‘panic room’ appears a non-diegetic ticking noise starts and the audience
can now see the streets of New York, they can see it is busy, has traffic and people are rushing as if
they are in a panic, it seems as if time is ticking and they are about to run out of time hence why they
are rushing and panicking. Them being a panic also matches with the title. The ticking noise is
repetitive, quick and fast whereas the pace of the editing and panning is slow, this connotes that
anyone high up is safe and doesn’t have to rush but everyone on the ground is shown to be rushing
around.
5.
6.
7. • The scene starts off with low pitch intensified music this gets the audience thinking about what
kind of film it is, horror? Thriller?
• Why after the title appear a ticking noise started?
• Why at the beginning of the scene does it start off with sirens? And why do we hear them on more
than one occasion?
• Why is the New York setting so important? Why not have a normal coloured background?
8. A tracking shot downwards brings the audience to two women who appear at the end of the scene
and is on screen for 5 seconds. In that time the audience sees them they are portrayed in a long shot
and are fast walking down a street in New York which contrasts with the whole title sequence before
this because it was an overview of New York, but now the camera is on ground level. The audience
can see leaves falling down from the tree which shows that it is autumn. One woman is rushing
behind the other to catch up with her as she is walking fast this shows she is the leader and has
control over where they are going as the other woman is following behind.
