This document discusses how the opening sequence for a student film conforms to and deviates from thriller film conventions. Some conventions it follows include using low lighting to set an eerie tone, including violence/weapons to drive the plot, and introducing "good guy" and "bad guy" characters. However, it purposefully omits other conventions like revealing the title at the beginning. The sequence aims to generate suspense and curiosity in viewers by withholding information and using enigma codes.

3.  This shot challenges the conventions of an opening
sequence. This is because all of the main characters of the
film are identified and you see their faces at least once. We
decided to do this as more curiosity is generated into the
identity of the characters. As a result of presenting the
characters in this way, the audience then begins to build
their own stories in their minds as to what they believe
each person is significant for and what the story itself is
going to present. This means that the characters act
somewhat as an enigma code to the audience; they are
constantly asking themselves who is this person and what
is their purpose. A normal opening sequence would not do
this as they would normally base their scenes around the
protagonist as an individual. We preferred to use a group
of people as we believe it is more suspicious and helps the
audience join in with the mental story building of the film.

5.  The use of low lighting in scenes fits the conventions
of a thriller film. The darkness creates an eerie
atmosphere which indicates to the audience that
something bad is going to happen or that a
threatening situation is going to occur. We decided to
shoot our film at around 4pm (during the winter)
when the sun was at a low point and it began to turn
into night. This way, the genre can be predicted
through the lighting. Using dark lighting is also more
effective than using high key lighting for a thriller
genre as it not very representative. Also, it would
seem silly to have a kidnap in broad daylight. We had
to think of the scene realistically and think how it
would represent real life effectively and appropriately.

7.  The use of weaponry and violence definitely conforms
to the conventions of a thriller. We decided to use
violence as this is a key feature for thrillers. This is
because thrillers are usually based upon the harm of
one person in order to get a reaction from another.
This is what we tried to do here. However, the
weapon itself may not necessarily be representative
of thrillers. In our sequence, we decided to use a golf
club as our weapon. This is because we felt it would
be more threatening then using a knife or a gun and
this is because with these types of weapons, people
generally immediately assume death. We did not want
the audience to believe that the character had died,
only that he had be badly injured.

9.  In both thrillers and opening sequences, enigma codes are
used to help generate suspense. This shot shows a note
that is seen at the beginning of the sequence when the
character becomes conscious again. We decided to use
this as an enigma code as it would make the audience
think what is the note for and what does it say. It also
helps to set the scene for the plot by indicating that
someone has an issue with the character and they have
told them in a non verbal way. We decided to conform to
this convention because we believe that creating questions
in the heads of the audience is important in trying to keep
them drawn into the movie. Enigma codes are often used
to keep the audience involved in the movie and make them
want to watch on. We hoped that the use of this particular
enigma code will encourage the audience to watch on so
they can find out just what the note is about and why it
had to be written in the first place.

11.  In our final piece, we decided to have the name of our film as the
last frame. This does not conform to the conventions of a title
sequence as the title is usually the first thing (or one of) to be
seen. We decided to do this because it draws the audience into
the narrative more without actually having the ‘giveaway’ of the
title. If the audience saw the title in the beginning, they would
have guessed what would happen from the start of the clip and
the rest of the film would not be worth watching. Having it at the
end means the audience gets to make their own assumptions on
what they think will happen throughout the clip and then their
guesses can be confirmed or denied at the end via the title.
 The title is also written in red. This conforms to the conventions
of a thriller as red has many connotations linking to thrillers. The
red of the text connotes futuristic danger and also the fact that
there could be death or blood shed. We decided to use red so
that all of these connotations could be addressed subliminally
and helps the audience to understand what the rest of the film
could be like.

13.  In our opening sequence, we decided to use white as our
credit colour. This does not conform to the thriller genre
as white is not associated with thrillers. However, we used
it as a deceptive feature. White connotes purity ad
innocence and we have used in in the sense that it
represents how the gang members approached an
‘innocent’ couple. To the audience, the couple would seem
innocent however they reality is that they aren’t. The use
of white is a good way to make the audience believe that
they aren’t bad people and that they have been targeted.
The use of the white doesn’t indicate to the audience what
the genre of the film is however this is not important as
there are other features in the duration of the clip,
including the title, that give away the genre of the film.

15.  This image introduces the gang members. The use of
gang members within the sequence could be seen as
a convention of a thriller. The gang members are the
‘bad guys’ and thrillers generally have good people
and bad people. These people are effective as they
make the audience think about who they are and
what they want. There are many thrillers that are
based upon the use of gang members (or gangsters)
and ‘Pulp Fiction’ is one of the films where we gained
our inspiration. This image also helps to indicate to
the audience that there are two opposing sides and
that one side is a gang. It also helps the audience to
separate good and evil.

17.  Thrillers aren’t usually happy films and this
can be reflected in my clip. This image shows
a look of fear on the characters face when he
realises that he is being followed by people.
The use of the close up also helps the
audience to empathise with the character and
get a feel for his emotions. This also helps to
tell the audience that the character is scared
about what is happening and further helps to
create the innocence and good guy bad guy
effect.

19.  Thrillers are usually based around a problem that
needs to be solved. This problem is usually the
breaking of the equilibrium and the solving of
the problem is the new equilibrium (Todorov’s
theory). This shot shows how the problem has
been made but doesn’t give any indication of
resolution. Thrillers can also be heavily crime
based and seeing a thug carrying a person down
the road is a clear indicator that a crime has
taken place. This shot also helps to tell the
audience who the good people and the bad
people are and also makes them think what will
happen next and how will it be fixed. This shot is
an enigma code.