This document analyzes the ways in which the opening sequence of a student media product uses and develops conventions of real thriller films. It discusses how each shot establishes mood, characters, and power dynamics through techniques like camera angles, lighting, sound, and props. For example, low angles are used to show a female character's power over a vulnerable male victim. While revealing more of the plot than a typical opening, the sequence uses violence and a dark atmosphere to reinforce thriller conventions and set expectations for the genre.

1. E V A L U A T I O N Q 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

2. S C R E E N S H O T 1
The start of our opening sequence starts with a pull focus shot. This
is to captivate the audience and to draw focus onto the female
character and to signify she is of some importance in our film.
When filming this shot we made sure that the props (the bed and pillows) were dark colours - black and
white - which straight away helps to convey the thriller genre. Typically in thrillers the props used would be
dark/dull colours as thrillers have dark mysterious atmosphere and the dark colours can represent that there
is something to hide and can also show danger.
The female charter has
both red nail varnish
and red lipstick (applied
a little later on in the
sequence). We chose
this as red can
resemble danger but it
can also represent love
which shows our female
character can be
perceived as both a
villain/threat or a sex
object. Danger is typical
in a thriller as they often
contain a lot of violence
and threatening
behaviour and
serious/dangerous
plots.
The title slate was
blended into the
background, in the
pillow. The font chosen
has an edge and looks
‘broken’ and
mysterious. The font is
in block capitals which
we feel fitted with the
thriller genre as thrillers
are normally hard, bold
and fast paced.

3. S C R E E N S H O T 2
We used an establishing shot in our opening sequence; this was to
create a mood and atmosphere for our audience and also show
where our opening sequence will be set.
Although our location is not typical of most thrillers, as typically they
are set in big cities, it does create the same atmosphere as most
thrillers. The location gives a spooky, eerie and mysterious feel; as the
location is run down, isolated and dark.
The colours in our location
are very dull and dark as
the location is run down
and dirty. It has low key
lighting, which helps to set
the correct atmosphere for
a thriller, and it is typical of
a thriller to use dark low key
lighting.
The title slate was faded
slightly so it could sort of
blend in with the
background and not drew
too much focus away
from the rest of the shot
which helps to set the
atmosphere for the rest
of the opening sequence.
The title slate was edited
to move along with the
camera as it panned
along the wall and the
title slate slowly followed
underneath the pipe. It
was edited like this to
make it look more
professional; to show
more skill.

4. S C R E E N S H O T 3
The title slate was again blended into the background,
and it move along the banister as the females hand slid
down; to make it look as if she is pushing the title slate.
(could also help to gives a sense that she is powerful)
The lighting and colour in this frame is very dark and low key. This
create a mysterious and eerie atmosphere which is common in thrillers.
Also the light source at the back of the shot shows how the female is
walking away from the light and going into a darker more dangerous and
mysterious area.
The camera doesn’t show
the persons face, and this
is to keep her identity
hidden for a short while to
help build suspense,
tension and mystery as to
who this character is and
why she is important. As
she is the villain she has
to remain quite secretive;
it is common in thrillers to
keep the identity of the
villain hidden and to not
give their face too much
screen time and it is also
typical of film openings to
use shots that don’t show
too many people or a
villains/threats face as
they don’t want to give too
much away at the very
start so that they can
keep the audience in the
dark and guessing what
will happen.
This shot has foley
sounds of the females
heels as she walks.
Footsteps are commonly
used in thrillers and film,
the sound is used to
create suspense and
mystery and it also helps
to create enigma codes
as the person’s
face/identity who is
walking is not shown so
the audience wonder ‘who
do the footsteps belong
to?’ ‘where is the person
going?’ and the sound is
very definite, bold and
harsh as her heels hit the
concrete which creates an
image that this person is
quite dominant and
powerful.

5. S C R E E N S H O T 4
A low angle shot was used to show the female characters power,
importance and dominance. Low angle shots are often used in
thrillers to show someones power and authority, they are often
used on the villainous/threatening characters.
The female is wearing a dark outfit and this is
to suggest she is hiding something and is
secretive. It is also to show she has a dark
side and is a dangerous and threatening
character.
The soundtrack changes
at this point in the
sequence, it changes
from being fast, bold and
dynamic just after the
door slams. The sound of
the door slamming was
used to startle the
audience and create a
focus as an important part
of the sequence is about
to happen. The slam is
followed by a high pitched
screeching sound which
creates suspense/a
climax for the dialogue
that is about to be
exchanged by the female
and the new character. It
is typical of thrillers to use
sounds that create
suspense and climax for
their action however it is
not as common for a films
opening sequence to
have a climax within the
first few shots.
The shot was used
to suggest the male
victim who is in the
chair is looking up to
the female as she is
threatening towards
him. It shows a
distinct difference
between the two
characters power.

6. S C R E E N S H O T 5
The female has the most
power which is shown
throughout this shot. We
chose to use an over the
shoulder shot to show the
females dominance as she
intimidates and belittles the
male character by bending
down to his level and talking
at him before she slaps him.
The next shot shows good
use of continuity and follows
the 180 degrees rule as it
changes to an over the
shoulder shot showing the
males face, which is
commonly used during
exchanges of dialogue and
used throughout many films
and opening sequences; it
helps to keep the pace and
flow of the sequence for the
satisfaction and
understanding for the
audience.
The location is very run down and dirty, which helps to convey that the male is helpless
and is in an isolated place which helps to show the difference in power and vulnerability -
it is common in thrillers for the characters to be of different power and control and it is
often portrayed within the opening sequence who has the power and who doesn’t.
In this shot the female slaps the male, this shows violence and
threatening behaviour. It shows that the male character is in
danger and has less power than the female; due to the nature of
the action it means it fits in with the thriller genre.
In this shot the soundtrack
was faded out so that the
dialogue was clear to hear,
although it is not very
common for opening
sequences to feature
dialogue - we chose to
include it to help convey
some of out story so that it
would make sense for our
audience.

7. S C R E E N S H O T 6
This shot shows a male victim lower down than the female,
showing that he has less power and status which shows he is
vulnerable - this challenges typical thriller films as the males are
normally the more dominant and powerful.
We used a high angle shot to show that the male is the most vulnerable out of
the two characters, thrillers often use high angle and low angle shots to
distinguish what characters have the power and which characters are less
powerful and in danger.
The colours and lighting in the
frame are quite dull and dark,
this is to help convey the
thriller genre as typically
thrillers are very dark to show
the danger and
mysteriousness.
The title slate is blended into
the background by having it
a similar colour to the wall,
this is to help keep the focus
on the main characters in
the shot and to make the
opening look more
professional as in most film
openings the title slates are
built into the surroundings in
the frame.
The male was positioned in
the centre of the frame and
we used an over the
shoulder shot to show that
he is the focus and that he is
in danger as the female is a
threat to him.
Our male character’s
costume was a messy suit,
as in thriller openings it is
common for characters to be
dressed quite smartly and it
is often that the men would
wear suits and be of a high
status/power. However
because in our opening the
male is the victim we had to
make him fit his stereotype
by making his suit dirt and
untidy.

8. S C R E E N S H O T 7
The location is not typical of common thrillers where the action normally
takes place within a busy city. However it still creates the same feel for
the action as it is mysterious, gloomy, eerie and cold.
The camera is slightly off
of the rule of thirds
however the female is
standing over the male
victim showing that she
has the control, power and
dominance over the male.
This isn’t very typical of
thrillers as the roles are
normally vice versa with
the male being the threat.
However films such as Kill
Bill have powerful,
threatening females.
This shot showed the female slitting the males throat. This is appropriate for a thriller as it is violent,
dangerous and threatening, it creates a tense atmosphere and keeps the opening going at a fast
pace. However in a lot of opening sequences violent action and events such as this would not be
shown till later on in the film so not a lot is revealed but we used it to create enigma codes like ‘is he
really dead?’ ‘why did she do that?’ ‘who are they?’ and ‘what will happen next?’

9. S C R E E N S H O T 8
This reinforces forms and conventions that
are used in real thriller films as they typically contain weapons such as knives
and involve violence, death and blood like we included in our film opening.
Plots in thrillers often contain this as it creates face paced action, mystery and
a dark atmosphere for the audience.
However looking back on our opening it is not typical of other film
openings to reveal so much of the story straight away. Normally
openings build up tension and suspense to then have action in the
climax of the film, we had a climax in the opening - the female slitting
the males throat.
The location adds to the
atmosphere as it is run
down and dirty which
creates an eerie and
gloomy mood whilst the
violent attack is carried out.The soundtrack changes at
this point in the sequence,
as the pace picks up due to
the action occurring. The
soundtrack becomes a lot
faster paced and harder
tone, which makes it a lot
more intense which builds
the tension for the
audience.
The female’s costume is
all black and she is the
villain in our opening
sequence, this is typical
of thrillers to have their
villainous characters in
dark clothing as it creates
a sense of danger. It also
shows they are a threat
and are intimidating and
portrays they are
secretive and have
something to hide.

10. S C R E E N S H O T 9
The knife at the end of the opening sequence helps to
suggest that the film is a thriller as typical props found in
other media products that are presenting the thriller genre
are guns and knives as they are dangerous, scary and
threatening.
The last title slate in our
opening is the director.
Most films end with the
director as the last name
in the title slate sequence;
this is because the director
overseas everything in the
film production, they have
the control over the film
and all the actors and crew
that are part of it. So the
director appears after all
the actors and production
crew as they are the main
person involved.
For this shot we chose to use a pull focus shot as it creates mystery and suspense and it is typically
used in thrillers for this reason. The pull focus shot helps to show something is of an importance
and in this case, it shows that the knife is important and the knife is a serious and threatening
object which shows there is danger within the film and adds to the thrilling aspect of the film.