Soundtrack and sound

Throughout my thriller opening I will be using both digetic and non-digetic sounds.

Non digetic sound:

I will include eerie music throughout my thriller opening to give the effect of mystery and suspense.
I have chosen to use the website www.freeplaymusic.com to get my music from, as it is a source for free uncopyrighted music.
I have chosen 2 possible pieces of music from the website to use in my thriller opening:

1. The Platform - from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7
2. Stardust Collector - also from the album Dark Dimensions Vol 7

Both of these pieces of music have an eerie/suspense feel to them which I think will fit in well with the plot of my thriller opening. I will be using The Platform when we see shots of the two girls and Stardust Collector when we see shots of The Intruder. However, when The Intruder sees the picture of Rachel's mother, Stardust Collector merges into The Platform just as he drops the picture.

I have chosen to use 2 different pieces of music for each set of characters as the girls represent good and The Intruder represents evil. This is shown through the music as The Platform has more of a softer eeriness to it and Stardust Collector has more of a bass to it, making it more jumpy and edgy. It distinguishes the two characters nicely, and as they are both similar in tempo I think they will blend well together in editing and wont seem messily put together.

I am considering putting another piece of music for the last title scene of the opening of my thriller, when we see the title of the film "The Intruder". However, I have yet to find a piece of music I think will fit but will continue to look.

Digetic sound:

I aim to include digetic sounds such as the actors talking, sound coming from the movement of objects and footsteps from the actors walking.

Storyboard planning and storyboard

Before drawing my storyboard I decided to make a list of all the shots I needed to do so I would know exactly what order they need to go in:

Establishing shot of the outside of the house

Titles

View from the curtains - Medium long high angle shot of rachel sitting on the sofa - low light
View from the fireplace - Long walking room shot of rachel walking to the door
Over the shoulder shot of rachel looking at the newspaper, picks the newspaper up
Over the shoulder shot of rachel opening the door - Lex says "Surprise!"
Over the shoulder shot of Rachel saying "I'm so glad you're here" Lex walking into the house.

Titles

Close up of Lex's face - "By the way I ordered us chinese, should be here any minute"
View from the fireplace - long walking room shot of Lex and Rachel walking through the living room - Rachel says "Have you read this about the murders?" Lex says "They still haven't found the guy then?"

Titles

View from patio doors - Long shot of girls walking into dining room
Long shot of girls in the dining room - Lex says "Do we even know any of the girls that have been murderer? It's probably just a story made up to get peoples minds off of swine flu." Rachel says "Yeah. That must be it."

Titles

View from garage - Long low angle shot of killer walking up the drive way
Close up of hand opening the gate
Long shot of killer walking through the gate, past the kitchen window and up to the patio doors. From this view we see Rachel leave the dining room and go into the kitchen to get glasses and stuff, she comes back and starts pouring the wine.

Titles

Long Shot of Lex saying "Oh my god.. The last girl he killed was Sarah Lane? She was in my English! How did i not know this?!"
The killer walks past the patio doors in the background.
Long Shot of Rachel saying "I know, its really scary"
Close up of Rachel "I guess it's not just a story after all." The doorbell rings
Long shot of Lex saying "Yes! Food! I'm starving."
Long shot from the POV of the killer outside the patio doors whilst the girls walk out of the room arguing.

Titles

POV handheld shot of the killer opening the patio doors, he walks in and looks around. He hears the girls coming back and runs into the study.
View from kitchen door - Long shot of girls coming back in the room with chinese. Pan to the patio doors being slightly open and pan back to the girls. Lex says "Rach.. Did you open the patio doors?" Rachel says "I don't think so.." Lex says "You must have, who else would it have been?" She walks over to the table.
Over the shoulder shot of Lex picking up the newspaper and saying "The Intruder?" Lex goes to walk into the lounge with food.
Medium close up of Rachel looking worried.
Medium shot of her picking up cutlery from the table and walking into the lounge.

Titles

Long shot from the view of the wall planner in the office, the killer is moving around the room looking for something
View from the cupboards - Long Shot of the killer picking up a picture
Over the shoulder shot of the picture
View from the cupboards - Long Shot of the killer dropping the picture

Titles

View from the study door - medium long shot - the two girls sitting down eating look towards the door. Rachel says "What was that!" Lex says "What the hell did that come from the study?" She gets up and starts to walk towards the study.
Rachel leans forward and says "Are you crazy?! That could be the.."
Over the shoulder shot of Lex turning around saying "Come on!"
View from the study door - medium long shot - Lex and Rachel walk towards the door
Close up of Lex's hand opening the door

Titles

View from the cupboards - Long shot of the girls entering the room, pan to the open window, pan back to the girls who walk into the room towards the window.
View from the window - Two Shot of girls. Rachel says "Someone was in here.." Lex says "Okay, maybe you were
right.." Rachel says "We need to call the police."

Titles

View from the cupboard - Long shot of the girls walking out of the room
Over the shoulder high angle shot from the POV of the killer in the dining room.
Low angle shot of the killer from where the girls are standing.
Over shoulder shot of the girls screaming
Extreme close up of the killers eyes.

Titles

I then drew my storyboard in detail (Click to enlarge)




























I have added a lot of shots, possibly making my thriller opening longer than it is supposed to be. However, by giving myself more shots I believe it will give me more variety to chose from to put into my thriller opening, and I think it would be better to have too much filmed that I can cut out rather than having not enough and needing to re-film.

Script

It's a late evening in December. Rachel is home alone, sitting in her living room reading a magazine. She is obviously upset as she has just had an argument with her boyfriend. She checks her phone to see if she has any messages and sighs when she sees no one has text her. She goes back to reading her magazine and the doorbell rings. Startled, she jumps and looks towards the door. She gets up and walks to the front door. There is a newspaper on the floor, Rachel picks it up, looks at it and then opens the door, her friend Lex is there holding a bottle of wine.

Lex: Surprise!
Rachel: I'm so glad you're here.

Rachel moves to let Lex in. Lex walks past her then looks back.

Lex: By the way I ordered us Chinese, should be here any minute.

They both walk through the hallway and living room to the dining room. On the way they discuss the newspaper.

Rachel: Have you read this about the murders?

Rachel shows Lex the newspaper.

Lex (reading the newspaper): They still haven't found the guy then? Do we even know any of the girls that have been murdered? It's probably just a story made up to get peoples minds off of swine flu.
Rachel (sarcastically): Yeah. That must be it.

Cut to a shot of the killer outside of the house, he walks up to the side gate and walks to the patio doors and looks into the dining room.

The girls are now in the dining room. Rachel walks into the kitchen to get some glasses and then walks back to the dining room where Lex is still reading the newspaper. Rachel starts pouring the wine into the glasses.

Lex: Oh my god.. The last girl he killed was Sarah Lane? She was in my English! How did i not know this?!

The Intruder walks past the patio doors in the background as Rachel and Lex talk. The characters do not see this however the audience does.

Rachel (scared): I know, its really scary. I guess it's not just a story after all.

The door bell rings and the girls rush to answer it, arguing on the way.

Lex: Yes! Food! I'm starving.
Rachel: Wait let me get some money..
Lex: Oh shut up I'm paying.
Rachel: No.
Lex: Yes. I ordered it.
Rachel: No!
Lex: YES!

When they're out of shot The Intruder comes back to the patio doors and walks through them into the dining room. He tries to close the doors but leaves them slightly open so not to make a noise. He hears the girls coming back and runs into the study.

The girls come back into the dining room holding the Chinese.

Lex: Rach.. Did you open the patio doors?
Rachel: I don't think so..
Lex: You must have! Who else would it have been?

Lex picks up the newspaper.

Lex (sarcastically): The Intruder?

They both laugh, however Rachel seems slightly worried. They walk into the lounge with their food and drinks. Cut to a shot of The Intruder in the study. He is moving around the room, looking for something. He picks up a picture of Rachel's mother, seeming to recognise her. He drops the picture. We then cut to a shot of the girls in the lounge. They hear the sound of the picture being dropped and jump.

Rachel: What was that!
Lex: What the hell.. Did that come from the study?

Lex starts walking towards the study.

Rachel: Are you crazy?! That could be the..
Lex: Come on!

They open the door and walk in. The window is wide open, the picture is smashed on the floor and there are papers everywhere.

Rachel: Someone was in here..
Lex: Okay, maybe you were right..
Rachel: We need to call the police.

They walk out of the room to go and call the police, as they walk out into the dining room they see The Intruder standing there with a knife in his hand. Cut to titles.

Characters/Actors

Characters:

1. The Intruder - The Intruder will be dressed all in black, with his face covered only showing his eyes. This will create a sense of mystery and gives us the opportunity to speculate who the intruder is. It is a classic convention of a thriller not to show the antagonists face, or reveal who the antagonist is until the end and this is something I would like to include in my thriller.

2. Rachel - Rachel will be dressed in a white top and blue jeans. The white top has connotations of innocence and purity - as Rachel is the innocent victim and projects vulnerability it makes sense to put her in clothing that projects innocence. She is naive and less confident than Alexis, she takes things seriously and is obviously scared by the story about murders. Rachel is also a very normal and common name, making the character more believable and relatable to the audience.

3. Alexis aka Lex - Alexis will be dressed in a red top and black jeans. The red top is bold just like Alexis, and has connotations of confidence, strength and bravery - 3 things that her personality and body language promotes. It also has connotations of danger, foreshadowing what is going to happen. She is loud and bossy. It is apparent that her and Rachel are close and have been friends for years.


Actors:

I have chosen real life best friends Abigail Matthews and Jossie Pittman to be the two girls in my thriller. Abigail will play Alexis and Jossie will play Rachel. Using real life best friends means they will make the characters more believable as they're already very close in real life. They are also both good actors that I believe they will bring the characters to life, and as they are both 17 they will appeal to my target audience, making them relatable. I have also chosen Tony Presland to play The Intruder.

Location

The location of my thriller will be in a family home. We will mostly focus on the dining room but we will pass through rooms such as the hall way, the lounge, the study, the living room and the garden/driveway.

Using a family home as a location I think is a good idea because it is a very normal, natural setting that has connotations of warmth and safety, which contrasts with the plot which is far from warm and safe. The audience will be able to empathise with the situation as the fact it is set in a family home makes them think the same situation could happen to them, therefore creating a sense of tension. Setting the first 2 minutes of my thriller in a family home draws the audience into a false sense of security, making them think nothing bad could happen in the characters home, until the characters start reading the newspaper talking about the killer. The audience then starts feeling suspense, wondering whether the killer will strike in this home.

I have taken some pictures in my location in the style of some of the shots that I will use.

Outside of the house -



The Living Room -



The Hallway -



The Dining Room -



The Lounge -



The Study -



View from the garden -

Thriller Name

I have decided to choose the title 'The Intruder' for my thriller. I have found in most thrillers, the title is directly linked to the plot. For example, in the film Phone Booth the whole story was based around a man who is held captive in a phone booth. Other films that have taken this approach are The Sixth Sense, Face Off, Psycho, The Godfather, Fight Club, Panic Room etc.

When discussing the title with some people from my target audience, they were in favour of it, liking its simplicity and connection with the plot. Comments included:

"In some films you find the title doesn't have anything to do with the plot, which gets kind of confusing. I like the way "The Intruder" immediately tells you something about the plot."

"I like the title because it instantly grips you and makes you want to find out more, like who The Intruder is and what impact he has on the film."

"The title gives a sense of suspense which makes you want to watch the film to find out who the intruder is."

I feel the title "The Intruder" is a simple yet effective title and will grip the audience, leaving them wanting to find out more.

Target Audience

The target audience for my thriller is male and female 16-25 year olds. I chose this to be my target audience as people of this age range are more likely to attend a cinema to see this kind of film. I will be casting younger actors (aged between 16-19) to play the 2 girls in my thriller, as younger characters will appeal to a younger audience who will be able to identify with them. This will also make the film seem more realistic, making them feel like this could happen to them.



The certificate for the film will be 15. I have chosen this because films with a 15 certificate have proven to be the highest grossing films at the box office. Also, as it is below the age of my target audience, it makes the film easily accessible to the target audience. This certificate also gives the film enough freedom to be able to include some strong language, scenes of a sexual nature and strong violence.

Treatment

The plot for my thriller:

A serial killer is on the loose, killing young girls in their own homes. The police race against the clock to find out who he is and what the connection is between the girls. As the murders continue, the police finally discover the connection. The serial killer used to be a patient at a psychiatric hospital because after his daughter died he was driven insane by guilt. Whilst he was in the psychiatric hospital the psychiatrist failed to help him, now after being let out he is taking his revenge on the psychiatrists by killing their daughters.


The opening 2 minutes:

We fade into a shot of girl called Rachel who is home alone, upset because her and her boyfriend have had an argument. The door bell rings and Rachel gets up to go and answer the door. At the front door there is a newspaper, she picks it up and opens the door. Her friend, Lex has come round with a bottle of wine trying to cheer her up and tells her she ordered them a take away on her way round.

They both walk back through the living room to go to the dining room where they open the wine, on the way they read the front of the newspaper and start discussing the news story about a serial killer whose been killing girls in their own homes.

When they're in the dining room, we see the killer pass the patio doors, however the characters don't see this. Lex hears the doorbell ring and says it must be the take away and they both run to the door arguing who should pay. Once they're gone, the killer then opens the patio door, eerie music starts playing. As he enters the dining room he doesn't shut the patio door completely as it will make a noise. He hears the girls coming back and runs through a door into the study.

The girls come back through to the dining room, Lex asks Rachel if the patio door was open earlier, she says "No.." and Lex says jokingly "Well it must have been, who else would've opened it?" She picks up the newspaper "The intruder?!" they both laugh and both go into the lounge and sit down to watch TV.

We cut to a shot of the intruder walking around the study looking for something, moving papers around, he then sees a picture of a woman he seems to recognise. He drops the picture on the floor which makes the girls jump and say "What was that?". They hesitate and argue about who will go check what the noise was, obviously frightened. They eventually both go into the study and check, the window is wide open and everything is a mess. They realise it was the intruder. They leave the room to go and call the police, on the way talking about how lucky an escape it was, however as they turn back into the dining room the intruder is standing there with a knife. Cut to black screen, titles fade in.

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I believe this opening is successful as it builds up suspense and entices the audience, leaving them wanting to watch more. The audience want to find out who the intruder was, what he was looking for in the office, why he recognised the woman in the photo and what happened to the girls.

Research Into Institutions Producing Thrillers

Summit Entertainment

Summit Entertainment is an independent American film studio which works out of both Universal City, California and London, England. It was originally founded in the early 1990's and eventually launched by Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward and David Garrett under the name Summit Entertainment LP as a production, distribution, and sales organization in 1996. In 2006 they became fully independent as Summit Entertainment.

After a string of unsuccessful films such as P2, Penelope, Never Look Back and Sex Drive, they finally reached phenomenal success in November 2008 with the film Twilight which went #1 at the box office and made $383,530,753 worldwide. They next bought out the film Knowing, which also became #1 at the box office and grossed $182,492,056 worldwide.

Summit Entertainment have also released successful thrillers such as Memento and Push. Memento is a 2000 psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It shows us two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One story line moves forward in time while the other tells the story in reverse, revealing more each time. Push is about a group of young American's with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities. They are hiding from a secret U.S. government agency. They must combine their different talents and work together for a final job making them able to escape the agency forever.

Memento was a box office success. During its opening weekend, it was released in only eleven theaters, but by week eleven it was distributed to more than 500 theaters. It grossed $25,544,867 in America and $14,178,229 overseas, making the film's total worldwide gross $40 million as of August 2007. However, Push was poorly received by critics but still managed to become #6 at the box office in its opening week, grossing $10,079,109 in 2,313 theaters with a $4,358 average.

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne and is one of the major American film studios working out of New York. Though it initially began as an independent film studio, it became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and Warner Bros. Entertainment in 2008.

The company gained early success with its distribution of the anti-cannabis propaganda film Reefer Madness, which became a cult hit on many American college campuses in the early 1970's. New Line has since distributed a string of successful films such as Blade, Final Destination, Friday the 13th and Rush hour - to name a few. Some thriller films they have distributed are Seven, Snakes on a Plane and The Number 23.

Seven (Se7en) portrays the exploits of a deranged serial killer. His twisted agenda involves choosing seven victims who represent each of the Seven Deadly Sins. The film was generally well received by critics and was released on September 22nd 1995 grossing $13.9 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross $100.1 million in America and $227.1 million in the rest of the world for a total of $327.3 million.

Snakes on a Plane is about an FBI agent who takes on a plane full of deadly and poisonous snakes, deliberately released to kill a witness being flown from Honolulu to Los Angeles to testify against a mob boss. Due to a lot of internet hype surrounding the film, industry analysts estimated the film's opening box office to be between $20 million and $30 million. While Snakes on a Plane did narrowly beat out its competitor for the number one position during its opening weekend, it did not meet these estimates and grossed only $15.25 million in its opening days, a disappointment for New Line. Robert Shaye expressed that he was "disappointed" that Snakes on a Plane was a "dud" despite "higher expectations".

The Number 23 shows us the life of Walter Sparrow, an animal control officer who is given a book as a birthday gift by his wife. The name of the book is 23 and the writer, whose story we see acted out through Walters eyes, is obsessed with coincidences around the number 23. This leads to some horrifying moments for the books hero and soon Walter is also seeing the number 23 everywhere. The film received terrible reviews by critics and grossed a disappointing $14.6 million. However in total, the film grossed $35.2 million at the box office domestically and $77.6 million worldwide.

If I were to choose a film company to produce my thriller I would probably choose a more independent company instead of a big hollywood studio, because I feel my film would have a smaller budget as it wouldn't include any extravegant chase or explosion scenes, it would be filmed in very few locations and would not need CGI or any other expensive editing tools. I also feel using an independent film company would give me more creative control over my film, unlike a hollywood film studio who may want to change my film so they could make it more marketable and turn it into a franchise.

Sub Genres Within the Thriller Genre

There are many sub genres within the thriller genre, these include:

Action Thriller - In an action thriller we usually see an obvious antagonist who is racing against the clock to get something done. The plot usually involves a lot of violence and action scenes which may contain drugs, guns, explosions, etc.

Conspiracy Thriller - In a conspiracy thriller we usually see the protagonist confronting a powerful group of people whose true identity only he or she recognizes. There tends to be a lot of mystery surrounding the plot.

Crime Thriller - In a crime thriller we usually see an account of a successful or failed crime, often focusing more on the criminals rather than the policemen. This sub genre is usually very psychological and involves many crimes such as robbery, murder, chases, shoot outs, etc.

Disaster Thriller - In a disaster thriller we usually see some sort of conflict surrounding a natural or artificial disaster. The disasters usually involved are floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. In some disaster thrillers there are multiple disasters, where we follow the stories of multiple characters.

Drama Thriller - In a drama thriller we usually see a lot of character development and a dramatic plot twist is usually involved.

Erotic Thriller - In an erotic thriller we usually see a thriller combined with erotic elements. It has become popular since the 1980's.

Legal Thriller - In a legal thriller we usually see the protagonist as a lawyer who is fighting for what is right inside and outside of the courtroom and is in danger of not only losing the case but in some cases, their lives.

Medical Thriller - In a medical thriller we usually see the protagonist as a doctor or part of the medicine field working to solve an elaborate medical problem.

Political Thriller - In a political thriller we usually see the protagonist fighting to ensure the stability of the government which has employed them. They include a vast range of plots, rarely legal, mostly designed to give political power to someone, while their opponents try to stop them from getting it.

Psychological thriller - In a psychological thriller we usually see mental and emotional conflict between the main characters. This sub genre has many mystery and horror elements to it. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from multiple characters preying upon one another's minds, often by trying to demolish eachother's mental state.

Spy Thriller - In a spy thriller we usually see an protagonist who is generally a government agent fighting against rival agents such as terrorists or rival governments.

Techno Thriller - In techno thrillers we usually see some form of technology (usually military) that is described in detail and essential to the understanding plot.

Religious Thriller - In religious thrillers we see a plot or protagonist that is deeply connected to religion. This consists of religious objects, places or questions. This sub genre is usually full of mystery and unanswered questions.

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I think the kind of film I'd like to make would be a psychological thriller. I'm interested in combining the mystery and horror elements into my thriller. I would also like to include a character that has some kind of mental or emotional conflict which would be expanded on throughout the plot.

The Introduction of CGI

Since the 1970's films have used CGI (Computer Generated Images). The first use of CGI was in the 1973 film Westworld, and has since found its way into most big budget films.

In the beginning, the first two films to make heavy investments in Solid 3D CGI, Tron and The Last Starfighter, were commercial failures, causing most directors to mostly use CGI to make images that were supposed to look like they were created by a computer. However, in the 1993 film Jurassic Park, CGI dinosaurs were seamlessly integrated into live action scenes that revolutionised the film industry.

It wasn't until the late 80's/90's that thrillers started to use CGI. For example, in the 1999 David Fincher film, Fight Club, they use 60 digital shots. This includes one scene where a condo catching fire at the moment and place of detonation: a gas leak under a kitchen refrigerator. The scene shows bolts of colourful plasma as they invade the kitchen before the actual fire breaks out. This technique brings 3D camera movement to the still images.

If done well, CGI can wow an audience, however it comes with a very large price tag. Between 1995 and 2005 the average effects budget went from $5 million to $40 million, making it impossible to use in low budget films.

Unfortunately, as I don't have a budget for my film and am unable to produce CGI of my own I wont be using CGI in my thriller. However, I think it is a very effective in some thrillers I have seen such as Fight Club and think it can really bring some films alive and entice and audience.

Commentary on 2 thriller directors

David Fincher

David Fincher is an Academy Award nominated director who specialises in the thriller genre. He has directed some well very well known films such as Alien 3, Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, Panic Room and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Early in his career Fincher joined Propaganda Films and started off directing music videos and commercials. He directed music videos for well known artists such as Madonna, Aerosmith, Michael Jackson and The Rolling Stones.

He then went on to direct Alien 3, which at the time was the most expensive picture ever made by a first time film director. This film got an Oscar nomination for special effects but did not go down very well with critics.

Notable thrillers he has directed:

Seven - The next film Fincher directed was Seven, featuring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. It told the story of 2 detective trying to take down a serial killer who chooses his victims based on the Seven Deadly Sins. The film was well recieved by audiences and critics and grossed more than $100 million in the USA and over $300 million internationally.

Fight Club - Fight Club was the screen adaptation of a book by Charlie Palahniuk of the same name, about an insomniac office worker who opens up a fight club for men. It featured actors Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter and Seven's Brad Pitt. The film was one of the most publicised of the year but received mixed reviews and had early disappointment at the box office. As it was badly critiqued by several critics it alienated audiences, leading to it's box office failure in the U.S. However, as time went by audiences seemed to warm to the film and it got the #4 spot on the British magazine Total Film's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time, beaten by Jaws, Goodfellas and Vertigo.

Panic Room - Panic Room follows a single mother and her daughter as they hide away in a panic room in their new house from criminals who are trying to find a missing fortune. It featured actors Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whittaker and Fight Club's Jared Leto. Although the film grossed over $92 million at the U.S. box office, just like Seven and Fight Club it was not well received by critics. Fincher himself even stated that the film was more of a mainstream thriller, describing the film as "basically a date movie".

Fincher is currently directing the film The Social Network, based on the lives of the founders of Facebook.

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Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was a British film maker and producer who developed many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. He moved to Hollywood after having a successful career in the United Kingdom in silent films. He directed over 50 feature films in his 6 decade long career. He is celebrated for his work in the thriller genre and remains one of the most popular and most recognised film makers today.

Notable thrillers he has directed:

Vertigo - Vertigo is a psychological thriller made in 1958. It follows a retired police detective who has acrophobia. He is hired as a private investigator to follow the wife of an acquaintance and uncover the mystery of her unusual behavior. It featured actors James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. The film received mixed reviews at the time of release but has since been celebrated and ranked as one of the greatest films ever made.

Psycho - Psycho is a suspense/horror/thriller film made in 1960. The film follows an encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane, who is in hiding at a motel after stealing money from her employer, and the motel's owner, Norman Bates, and what happened after their encounter. It featured actors Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. Initially the film received mixed reviews, but after incredible box office returns and a re-review that was extremely positive it led to 4 Academy Award nominations. It is now celebrated as one of Hitchcock's greatest films and is highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics.

The Birds - The Birds is a suspense film made in 1963. It is based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. The film is set in a small town in the San Francisco Bay area which is suddenly the home of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few days for unknown reasons. It featured actors Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the area of Special Effects and Tippi Hedren received the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress, in 1964. The film ranked number one in the Top Ten Foreign Films selected by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards and The Association also awarded Hitchcock the Best Director Award for the film.

Near the end of his life, Hitchcock worked on a script for a spy thriller called The Short Night. However, despite some preliminary work, this was never filmed. This was mostly due to Hitchcock's failing health and his concerns over the health of his wife, Alma, who had suffered a stroke. The script was eventually put into a book written about his last years. He eventually died of kidney failure in California at the age 80. His wife and daughter both survived him.

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I would like to take some inspiration from the films David Fincher has made. I am interested in using elements of his thriller Seven in my own thriller. I would like to include the black-screened titles he uses in the opening sequence of Seven, but I would also like to set my film to a similar plot, dectectives going after a serial killer. I think this sort of plot would enable me to put many conventions in my opening sequence and an ongoing murder case would keep the suspense up and make my audience want to watch more.

Analysis of the conventions of the Thriller genre

In thrillers there are many codes and conventions involved to make them believable. I have analysed the different conventions used.


A build up to the action - In the opening scene of any successful thriller the build up to the action starts immediately. To be successful the first 2 minutes of the film has to entice the audience by building suspense, making them want to watch more.

Creation of fear - Fear is created in a thriller by giving the audience a sense of anticipation or an unsettling feeling. This is often created by confusion or doubt over a characters true motives or can be created by unsettling music.

Dark Shadowy Atmosphere - A dark shadowy atmosphere can really add to the creation of fear. Film makers usually choose natural lighting to make it more believable and they subtley try to include typical thriller colours such as red, black and white to add to the atmosphere.

Delay in showing the face of a character - In thrillers the face of the villain is usually hidden to build up suspense. Not seeing who the villain is always makes the audience want to keep watching so they can find out who it is in the end.

Music - Eerie music can add to the suspense of a thriller. Music used in the right way can really play on the viewers emotions, whether it be fast, slow, loud or quiet all music has an effect.

Murder encouraging a suspecting audience - In the opening sequence of a thriller, clues should be put in to make people suspect something bad is going to happen. This will make the audience want to keep watching and find out what is going to happen.

Realistic setting - A realistic setting will make the audience feel uneasy as it shows something unusual, and sometimes scary, happening in a normal every day place. Whether it be in a home, a park, a shopping center etc. the audience will be able to identify with it and make them think this could happen to them, making the film feel more realistic.

Flashbacks - Flashbacks tell us something about the characters past that we did not know before, or can be used when a character cannot remember their past and are trying to recall certain events. They are widely used in thrillers and are usually set in a sepia or black and white tone, sometimes even blurred.

Hero/Heroine in threat or struggle - When the hero or heroine is in threat or struggle it makes the audience anxious and keeps them on the edge of their seats. As the audience has been following the hero and heroine throughout the film they have formed a sort of attachment to them, so if anything happens to the hero or heroine it can really play on the audience's emotions.

Twists and turns - Twists and turns keep the audience engaged in the film and on the edge of their seats. Placing many twists and turns in a thriller makes it more exciting and makes the audience want to keep watching to see what happens next.

Keeping the audience on the edge of their seats - This is very important in a thriller, because thrillers are all about making the audience think. If they knew exactly what was going to happen next it would not be challenging and it would most likely lose the audiences interest. Most conventions are used to keep the audience on the edge of their seats because without suspense you do not have a thriller.

Analysis Of Thriller Openings

Film: Seven
Director: David Fincher

This opening sequence is full of random images of a notebook with a persons hands writing in the notebook and cutting the skin off their fingers with a razor blade. The random images mixed with the titles set up a degree of curiosity. It didn't establish character but may have hinted at the narrative context. It didn't help the audience understand location, character and purpose. We see images of a notebook being written in by someone, making the audience think this person is planning something, however we cannot see this person which makes us think he is the villain as a delay in showing the villains face is a convention of the thriller genre. Scratchy font and eerie music is used to make the audience feel uneasy. I felt this opening sequence came across more like a horror film than a thriller.

What I liked:

• I liked the random images mixed in with the titles, this was very effective in making the audience curious about the plot.
• I liked the fact we only saw the villain's hands, not his/her face, as this created a sense of mystery.
• I liked the scratchy font and eerie music as this made the audience feel uneasy and set them up for the mystery of the film.
• I liked the fact the opening sequence looked more like a horror film than a thriller because this made the film seem scarier and set up a feeling of suspense and eeriness for the rest of the film.
• These are all conventions that I would like to use in my thriller opening.

What I disliked:

• I disliked the fact we didn't get any back story or information about location and purpose. Although I think this was done to create mystery and suspense it would have been nice to know a little bit about the characters or plot before we got into the film.

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Film: Hostage
Director: Florent Emilio Siri

This opening sequence is completely animated with a 3D effect, very different from Seven. There is a theme of the colours black, white and red. Red has connotations of blood/murder/death. There are also a lot of guns/snipers giving the audience an indication of the plot, making us feel this film will be very much based on violence and murder. The eerie music and slow camera movements makes the audience feel uneasy and sets up a feeling of suspense. We see the camera weave through buildings, possibly giving the audience some idea of location.

What I liked:

• I liked the animated 3D effect, I liked how different it contrasted with conventional opening sequences of thrillers.
• I liked the use of black, white and red. It was a very simple yet effective use of colour to set the tone of the film.
• I liked the way the eerie music and the slow camera movements made the audience feel uneasy and thought it was very effective.

What I disliked:

• I didn't like how it was very weapon-focused. I feel like this is a very unoriginal way to set up a thriller.

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Film: Face Off
Director: John Woo

This opening sequence starts off with a flashback of the villain, Nicolas Cage's character, attempting to shoot the hero, John Travolta's character. We know this is a flashback because of the sepia tone effect used. The use of slow motion and eerie music sets up a feeling of suspense within minutes of the film starting. The fact this opening sequence is in daylight is very unconventional of a thriller, usually the opening scenes would have quite dark lighting to set the mood whether it be fear or suspense. It is set in a very normal environment (a park) which makes the audience feel uneasy as it suggests this could happen to anyone.

What I liked:

• I liked the sepia tone effect used in the flashback as it clearly defines this scene as a flashback, and is then used throughout the film for flashback scenes. Using an effect like this shows the audience clearly when a flashback is happening.
• I liked the way they use slow motion and eerie music set up the suspense, this is something I might like to use in my thriller.
• I like the fact this scene is in daylight, although it is not a conventional aspect of a thriller I like how it is different and immediately sets the films individuality.
• I like how the scene is set in a normal environment, playing with the audiences emotions as it shows us this could happen to anyone.

What I disliked:

• I didn't like how we saw the villain as soon as the film started. I feel like it may have been better and added more mystery if we didn't know who the shooter was straight away. However, this is used to set up the rest of the film so we know the hero's motives.

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Film: Panic Room
Director: David Fincher

This opening sequence consists of long establishing shots of the buildings surrounding the area where the film is based, New York. This contrasts with the rest of the film as it is mostly set in a claustrophobic panic room. The opening credits are set around the buildings in a metallic font, the way these credits are placed give it a 3D effect, as if they are actually part of the buildings/surrounding areas. It is set in daylight, which is unconventional of a thriller, and again contrasts with the rest of the film as it goes on to be set in very dull/dark lighting. The use of eerie non-digetic sound along with the long drawn out shots of the buildings creates suspense, making us as an audience expect something is going to happen. However, this opening sequence does not give us any indication of what is going to happen in film and does not introduce any of the characters. I found this opening sequence to be very similar to Hostage.

What I Liked:

• I liked how the credits were placed, I found the 3D look very effective and liked the way this wasn't obviously conventional of a thriller.
• I liked the way the non-digetic sound and the long establishing shots drew the opening out, creating mystery and suspense.
• I liked the fact it was set in a natural, light setting as this is also not conventional of a thriller but gave the effect of drawing the audience into a false sense of security.
• I liked how the opening credits contrasted with the rest of the film.
  

What I Disliked:

• I disliked the fact the opening did not give us any back story on purpose or character. Although I'm sure this was done to entice the audience into wanting to find out more, I personally did not like this.

Out of all of these opening sequences my favourites were Seven and Face Off. I think I will use a lot of the conventions they used in my own opening sequence. I would like to mix the random quick cut images and titles from Seven with the unusual conventions and back story elements of Face Off. I would also like to include a possible flashback and not show the villains face.