The coursework brief I was assigned was to make a film opening sequence. The chosen genre for my opening sequence is thriller.
There are many theories behind how films should, and do, work.
Certain genres have certain enigma codes paired to them. Thrillers are usually depicted in films by contrast of lighting and concealing information.
The image shown here is of the protagonists feet in the second scene of the sequence. However, from the image we cannot determine whether it is male or female. The light cleverly creates a good contrast on the object in focus which makes the audience gradually piece together what is happening in the narrative. The lighting and concealing of information is an obvious enigma code of the thriller genre. As we see here in a still from the The Others.
The director has used light really well to allow us to see the figure sitting at the top of the stairs, however the shot is vague enough so that information is concealed and we are therefore left piecing the rest of the story together.
Another horror/thriller signifier is blood and general violence.
Although it is hard to make out there is blood clearly visible on the wall of the shed. This example of violence is a strong enigma code of the thriller genre. Other films we see this in include the Saw series and Hannibal.
The use of blood here allows us to clearly see that the film is a horror/thriller based film.
Tzvetan Todorov suggested that all films, and especially opening sequences, start with a base of equilibrium in society. He suggested that this equilibrium is then broken and it is the protagonist's job to restore order. This is called the disruption.
My opening sequence starts with the equilibrium of someone's daily routine.
The equilibrium is then broken as we are introduced to the protagonist. It is clear that this girl being locked up is no ordinary occurrence we can then assume that this is the disruption that the protagonist has to conquer.
These two images also highlight two of the binary opposites in our sequence.
Obviously you have the binary opposite of male and female characters and clear representation of good and evil.
However, it goes deeper, you have the opposites of comfort and dis-comfort between the two characters with the kitchen being a well modelled living space compared with the dingy area that is a shed.
From watching the entire sequence we can assume who the villain is, however it is only late in the sequence when we find this out.
The man seen in the start of the sequence is only recognisable as the villain when we seen what he has done, or what we assume he has done.
Not only does this shot lead us to the disruption in the sequence, but it is also when we first see the man as a villain.
The shot clearly goes back through his house and into the shed at the end of the garden.
We, as an audience, are then introduced to this. Although we know very little information about the person, we can see that they are tied up and obviously a victim or hostage. The fact it is in his back garden makes us assume that he put her there and can guess at him being the villain.
There is no clear evidence that the kidnapped female is the protagonist from the opening sequence, we may be able to guess as she is introduced early on, but the fact she is a victim maybe suggests she isn't. On the other hand, the film Quantum Of Solace, released in 2009. Shows Daniel Craig escaping after being captured. He is clearly the protagonist later in the film, but has to resolve an initial disruption before anything can happen.
From watching the entire sequence we can assume who the villain is, however it is only late in the sequence when we find this out.
The man seen in the start of the sequence is only recognisable as the villain when we seen what he has done, or what we assume he has done.
There is no clear evidence that the kidnapped female is the protagonist from the opening sequence, we may be able to guess as she is introduced early on, but the fact she is a victim maybe suggests she isn't. On the other hand, the film Quantum Of Solace, released in 2009. Shows Daniel Craig escaping after being captured. He is clearly the protagonist later in the film, but has to resolve an initial disruption before anything can happen.
The form my opening sequence takes is one with a series of title screens that evenly break up a montage of clips. The titles work well to break up the lengthy and at points quite boring narrative behind making a cup of tea. They keep the audience interested for longer until we see the more exciting and fast paced 'action' in the sequence.
My opening sequence conforms well to conventions behind opening sequences. We are eventually introduced to two main characters who are in-fact the protagonist and the villain.
However, the location shot in the opening sequence is not one that will appear a lot in the full film but will appear for short pivotal scenes. Although we can still scope how the rest of the film will pan out.
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