Evaluation 1By Marcus T-R

What makes a thriller opening sequence?

In our media project we were required to create a thriller opening so we had to think about conventions of thriller movie them apply them to ours. Things like:

Narratives: Kidnapping, Nightmares, Chasing, Missing People, Mass Murders, Mysteries.

Characters: Criminals, Heroes, Killers, spies, military personnel, victims and over curious/paranoid people the kind of detective type people.

Themes: End of the world, mass murders, crime, chase or quest, obsession, paranormal, entrapment, mass existence, environmental, terrorism issues.

Settings: Urban Gritty, Suburbs, unfamiliar territory, big cites, countryside (loads of space) warehouse, forest.

Iconography: Fast cars, Terrorism, fast paced editing, numbers & puzzles, darkness, weapons, abandon place, low-key lighting.

Theme: Mysterious Killer

Narrative: There is a serial killer on the loose who is do the remake of a film which is based on a true story. Which is threaten the lives of the whole town and the women the original film was based on.

Setting: A Suburban town

Characters: Majority of the main characters are either teenagers or law enforcers maybe this why the film was targeted at a age rating of 15

Theme: Mysterious Killer

Narrative: a boy is kidnapped and he mentally flashes back to try retrace the stages and motives before his kidnapping

Setting: A Suburban Town and Warehouse

Characters: All teenage cast to complete the whole fast paced feel.

Our opening, you see the boy getting kidnapped but you can’t see the kidnappers faces for this keeps the mystery. We used hoods & mouth masks to hide the identity

Where as scream opening has a full face mask with a cloak to hide the identity of the killer but it also used to keep the mystery of the killer identity which is a common convention with thriller movies, the mystery.

Theme: Avenging Death

Narrative: In a future where gangs run the streets of London, and the main priority is food a young try to this things the non-violent way until they leader Rager is murdered so his younger brother goes around seeking to avenge his death by the hands of a shank.

Setting: A Future Slum London ruined by gang life in our present.

Characters: the cast are mostly teenagers which is good for the movie tends to have a very fast paced jumpy and alive feel making it a good representation of teenager life

Theme: Mysterious Killer

Narrative: a boy is kidnapped and he mentally flashes back to try retrace the stages and motives before his kidnapping

Setting: A Suburban Town and Warehouse

Characters: All teenage cast to complete the whole fast paced feel.

In the opening of Shank it begins with a very momentous moment in the movie with the main character being chased down by gang members on a motorbike, after the chase it becomes aware that this is a flashback sense for the next scene is a day prior to the chase. In thriller openings it is good to start with something up-paced and highly energetic to set the pace and excitement off the unexpected for the film.

That is why with our opening with started with something as hyped and lived as a slap to the face to immediate draw attention from our audience. We also had used a flashback scene in the opening to highlight a important moment in the film thriller movie do this because they is always more to what you see in a thriller so flashbacks fill that gap or open it wider.