Vanessa is introduced at the start visiting her parents' gravesite, establishing her as sad and innocent with bright lighting. Sam appears halfway through with low lighting, surprising the audience and making him seem suspicious. Different music tracks are used to reflect the characters - soft music for Vanessa and intense music for Sam. Camera shots like close-ups and low angles on the characters are meant to add tension and establish their roles. The opening sets up the main characters and their contrasting personalities to engage the audience and set the tone for the thriller genre.

1. LouisPrice
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge the forms and
conventions of opening sequences?
Opening2 minutes
Titles
My filmistypical insome waystoan openingsequence andvariesinotherways. Forexample Iused
titlesina similarwaytomost films because thiswaythe genre iseasiertoidentify.These titles
include:director,casting,productiondesigner. Thisisalsogoodbecause the style of the titlesis
importantas itwouldhelpreflectthe film.Soinourproductionwe usedwhite textwitha fontwe
thoughtwould emphasizethe scene andmake itstandout to the audience andsoit didn’tblend
intothe surroundings,thiswouldhelpmake itapparenttothe audience thatitis a thrillerfilmthey
are watchingandthe audience couldunderstand the storywill developintosomethingworse.But
the textiscrucial at the endas it tells the audience the name of the filmandthe factit isbold with
the black backbackground meansit will stickinthe audiences mindandtheywillknow andgeta #n
ideaonthe filmbythe title.Thisworkswell asthe blackbackgroundcan show darknesssoitmay
leadthe audience tothinksomethingbadmayhappento Vanessasothe dark backgroundmakes
the title of the filmstand out andleavesmysterytothe film.
Audio
Withthe music, we useda steadytransitionfromone piece of musictothe nextthiswouldshow itis
a peaceful scene inwaysbutnotin others, we chose totransitionthe musicbecause thiswayit
wouldnotjumpfrompeaceful musictothe unsteadyandintense music. Forthiswe used2 different
tracks, these 2 tracks reflectthe charactersandwhat theyare like,forexample the one trackisa
softpiece of musicto showthat Vanessaisan innocentgirl andis reallysadbasedon the eventstold
inthe scene,andheavymusicisusedtoshow that Sam is a suspiciouscharacterandit couldshow
the audience he issomeone tobe aware of and worriedabout. ThisI hope wouldmake itmore
interestingforthe audience.
Lighting
The lightingistypical of some openingsequences,asbrightlightshave beenusedaroundVanessato
make herappear sadand thisway the audience canclearlysee thiswiththe brightlights and
innocentthiswill reflectonthe audience andmake themfeel sadasa sad story isbeingtold.Then
there islowlightonSam, thishelpsshow the audience he isastrange character and that nothing
seemsrightwhenhe appears. Thiswouldhelpreflectthe sadnessof the scene asit isall aboutdeath
and thiswouldshowonthe audience andmake thememphasize withVanessaasshe wouldbe
goingthroughthese sadeventsalone.
Main characters
Justlike anyfilmin ours, the maincharacters are introducedtothe audience inthe first2 minutes
thiswill help the audience todevelopabrief ideaasto how the filmmaywork.Thisis goodfor our
productionasit shows2 differentpersonalitiesandshowshow theymightcrosspathslaterinthe
film.Thisalsogives anideaof howthe charactersare and how theymightturn outlaterin the film.
In our productionVanessaisintroducedrightatthe start she is seenvisitingherparentsatthe
graveyardwiththe fact she appearsat the start can give the audience achance to make an opinion
of herand see whatshe islike andhowher character maychange.WhereaswithSam he appears
half waythrough the scene andthere are noshotsto indicate thathe isapproachingthe scene he

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justappearsand withthisitcan surprise the audience andthismeanstheywon’tbe able todraw up
an ideaof himas theywouldbe takenbyhissuddenappearance.
In some cases,brightlightisusedtodraw the audience in.We have useda differenttechnique in
that lowlightisusedas itis meantto be a sad scene at the start of the film. The low lighthelpsto
showto the audience whatthe scene isaboutor how it may workand setsthe tone for the film.
Throughoutthe 2 minutes,lowlightisusedon Sam,as he isverysuspiciousanditmakesthe scene
seemmore intimidatingorintense andthiswouldhelpshow mycharacterwell.Inone shotof the
female characterthe sun is inthe shot,thisshot isusedto show that withthe sad eventstoldinthe
scene the audience canclearlysee howupsetshe isandthisreflectsontothe audience andthis
showsthe audience she isstill aninnocentperson,thiscouldalsosuggesttothe audience that
because the sunlightshowsbrightnessinthe scene thatthere ishope forVanessaandthiswill
reflectlaterinthe productionandsomethinggoodwillcome fromit.
In the openingof a filmalot shouldnotbe toldinorder to getthe audience straightawaywitha bit
of mystery,thisisusedinourfilmandmakesthe audience wanttoknow more as theydon’tknow
howVanessa’sparentshave died. Aswell asthisthe audience will notknow why Iam there
watchingherand they will notunderstandthe connectionbetweenthe 2characters. Thisplaysinto
the fact that most openingsequencesusuallystartwithanequilibriumwhere everythingisnormal
and there are no suspicion’sinthe 2minute opening. However, withourfilmwe justhave the
disequilibrium, asnothingisnormal asa teenage girl haslostherparentsverysoonand there isan
oldman watchingher.
Conventionsofthrillerfilms
In a thrillerfilm manycamerashotsare to be usedthishelpsbreakupthe scene thiscan add tension
if there are fastchangesof camerashotsand fast movement.The scene wouldbe more intense with
many2 secondshotsand manypanningshotscan be usedat a fastrate to add tension,thiswould
make the scene more intense anddrawthe audience inmore tothe scene. We usedthisaswe have
includedclose upshotsof Samto make himappear more menacingtothe audience andusedmore
longshotsand lowangle shotsonVanessa to establishhow isolatedandinsignificantshe isinthis
scene
Intense musicisa convention inthrillerfilmsthishelpsaddsuspense tothe scene andthe tone and
general soundof the musichelpsshowitisa thrillerfilmthatthe audience iswatching.Thiswould
be shownwith dramaticmusicthat is veryfastpacedand veryintense,possiblywithlotsof drums
and eerie pianomusictomake the scene more unsettlinganddraw the audience in andmake Sam
standout as an irregularfigure thiswouldmake the sadscene more intenseandaddsmore mystery
to Sam because the audience mayalreadyaskwhyhe isthere?Butwiththisstyle of musicit will
make themthinksomethingmayhappenbetweenthe protagonistandantagonistthatwill surprise
the sudience.we usedthistoreflectwhatacharacter islike,usingsoftandpeaceful musictoshow
Vanessa’sinnocence,andusingintense musicwithaheavytone wouldshow Samto be a bad person
and thiswill make the productionmore enjoyable andthe differentstylesof musicwillshow how
the characters will clashwhentheydocome face to face.
In many filmsthe audience isintroducedtothe maincharacter andthisalwaysoccurs inthe first2
minutes. Inourfilmwe have a teenage girl andanold man.Thisis where Iconsideredbinary
oppositesandwiththisitwill be more interestingforthe audience asitisan oldman goingaftera
younggirl and thiswill showhowthe charactersdevelopinthe production.Inthe opening2minutes
Vanessaisintroducedrightatthe start she is seenvisitingherparentsatthe graveyardwiththe fact

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she appearsat the start can give the audience achance to make an opinionof herand see whatshe
islike andhowher character may change.WhereaswithSamhe appearshalf waythroughthe scene
and there are no shotsto indicate thathe is approachingthe scene he justappearsandwiththisit
can surprise the audience andthismeanstheywon’tbe able todraw up an ideaof himas they
wouldbe takenbyhissuddenappearance.
In a thrillerfilmthere are differentmoodstothe film, equilibrium, disequilibriumandresolution,in
our filmthe equilibriumiswhere the audience seeVanessavisitingherparents,itisasad scene so
the graveyardwouldhelpemphasize this. all isgoodinthissequence until Samappears,thisispart
of the disequilibriumwhere thingsgointoa bador disturbingstate,he makesthe scene seemmore
intense ashe isappearingoutof nowhere andiswatchingayounggirl ina suspicioussetting. This
wouldplayonuntil the endof the filmwhere everythingmaybe overandthisleadstothe
resolutionandthe protagonistovercomesthe antagonist.
Lightingisanotherkeyaspectas there couldbe brightlightstoshow whothe heroisor toestablish
a happyconnectionbetweentocharacters.Or insome casesdull or no lighttoshow a character is
evil orto clearlyshowa sad scene. Inourproductionbrightlightsare usedonVanessato try and
establishahappyconnectionwiththe her.Low lighting isusedonSamto show he is an irregular
character and that he isquite suspicious.Thiswouldplayoutthroughthe restof the filmwhere
brightlightsare usedthroughouttoshow Vanessawill overcome Samandall will workoutinthe
end.