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OPENING SEQUENCE RESEARCH Media Studies AS

Opening Sequence Research

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OPENING SEQUENCE RESEARCHMedia Studies AS

INTRODUCTION

• For this task, I shall analyse five opening sequences to thriller films of five different sub-genres. This will allow me to have a full understanding of conventions in opening sequences, and more specifically, conventions in thrillers. These films are the following:• The Sixth Sense (1999), a psychological thriller.• The Dark Knight Rises (2012), an action thriller.• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), a political thriller.• Insidious (2010), a supernatural thriller.• Casino Royale (2006), a spy thriller.

• I will analyse certain aspects of these sequences: the mise-en-scene, camerawork, editing, sound and the general narrative.

THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)• Mise-en-scene: In the different settings, there tends to be a single source of light, only partially lighting the scenes,

and is therefore low-key lighting. The light source is also natural to the scene. There is no invisible light enhancement, i.e. extra studio lights. The only light sources tend to be from windows, fireplaces and lamps in the setting. This sets a dark and moody tone with the contrasts from light to dark, and it also adds verisimilitude by only including lighting in the world of the film.

• Sound: The soundtrack doesn’t play too much of a part at the start, however, in the bedroom, where the shadow of an intruder passes and the window is smashed, the soundtrack kicks in to build a tense atmosphere, surrounded by mystery to make the viewer wonder what is going on.

• Editing: In this opening sequence, at the start at least, there is a constant pace. However, this does slightly increase when the bedroom event takes place until the mystery shadow character is revealed with a panning camera. This slight increase in pace makes the viewer more excited and thrilled by the event, however, only a slight increase in pace could suggest that they are leaving the more exciting parts of the film till later for a bigger and better build up and they are using this event on a smaller scale to draw the audience in.

• Camerawork: At the very start, when the female character is seen in the basement, almost sensing that she’s not alone, the camera is positioned in a way to almost look like the audience are watching her, like they’re intruding. A handheld camera angle was also used as a POV of the male character. This could be done in the opening sequence to put the audience in the position of the character and make them feel more relatable; and also to put the audience in the situation with the characters so they can experience the same world.

• Narrative: This is more of a plot designed to play with the characters mentally more than physically, being a psychological thriller. This lack of physical action allows for more conversation in this opening sequence between the characters, possibly allowing the audience to understand and relate to the characters more so that the audience can empathise with them and enjoy the film more. The narrative in this sequence was linear, and there were somewhat sudden changes from a neutral feeling environment to a more tense moment, with something mysterious being sensed. However, this was established from the start when the female character may have sensed a lack of loneliness, so this could have also helped set the tone for the rest of the film.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)• Mise-en-scene: Not that much dark lighting or low-key lighting in this opening sequence, because it is set

in the daytime. However, the costumes used are primarily black, continuing the theme of this darker side and immediately signifying the characters on the plane as the enemies.

• Sound: Soundtrack is somewhat more subtle in this opening sequence and of a lower volume. However, this does change when the fight on the plane begins. The soundtrack increases and builds an action packed atmosphere around the fight. But there are parts again, which similarly have no soundtrack and only diegetic sounds and dialogue in the opening sequence.

• Editing: There is an increase in pace in the opening sequence when the fight on the plane takes place to add action for the audience, however, there are quite a few long takes, that could show a continuity aspect. This could suggest that too many cuts in the opening sequence will increase the pace too much and draw away from building the world in which the film may take place in, and also distracting from the introduction of characters. Maybe this is why there is only a relatively small increase in pace.

• Camerawork: More chaos is added into the opening sequence through camerawork as the sequence progresses, with handheld movements. There are also quite a few establishing shots used to again, help build the world for the film, making it more believable and understandable for the audience. The handheld camerawork could also be used again to put the viewer in the atmosphere of the film, since planes can sometimes experience turbulence, and using a handheld camera movement may relate to this.

• Narrative: This opening sequence was not so intense, instead is tried to mainly introduce the character ‘Bane’ to the audience, however, the atmosphere does build up and the extravagant setting of a crashing plane is quite action packed, matching the genre. But this introduction of Bane may have been done since it is a sequel to the previous two Batman films in this trilogy. Batman is a character we already know, so introduce the new enemy to the audience instead to show what he’s up against.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (2011)

• Mise-en-scene: Again, the lighting used in this opening sequence was from sources visible to the viewer. In the scene John Hurt’s office, there is low key lighting, with only lamps illuminating the room, again setting quite a dark tone for the film. Lighting seems to be key in building the world correctly and setting the right tone for the thriller genre.

• Sound: In contrast to the previous sequences, there seems to be a lot less use of soundtrack. The voices of certain characters are isolated however, and made louder to put emphasis on this, instead of them blending into ambient noise of the setting. This narration included helped introduce the viewers to the basic premise of the film, since political events are often already built and are used in films when the issue has already begun. Also, the use of reverbs on the ambient sounds in the café could be used to build an unnerving atmosphere, since the reverbs suggest all is not sound, and that something is wrong. This is where the soundtrack does accompany the situation.

• Editing: There are quite a lot of long takes and less action, however the pace does increase slightly with the shoot out by the café. This change in pace seems to be a lot more subtle than the other opening sequences.

• Camerawork: There are a lot of smooth pans in the different shots and wide establishing shots to help build the world. The smooth shots may be used to suggest the sophisticated and serious topic of politics, and again, to make sure than enough emphasis is focused on introducing the plot somewhat, rather than distracting the audience with action, because it could be argued as entertaining to some, but it may not open the film correctly to introduce a sophisticated political storyline.

• Narrative: This opening sequence does feature a scene of “action”, where guns are used by a café. However, this is about it. More emphasis is used explaining the setting of the film to introduce the audience and to make sure that the casual audience can understand the setting. But there is still a build up of atmosphere to this fight. This action is not emphasised so the audience still understand the plot, but it may be used to entertain the audience, as the character building could take a while and the audience would get tired of this. They want to be thrilled. But as a political thriller, there is bound to be more discussion over the political matters and the more serious subject, but it still sits in the thriller genre with the action to keep the viewer thrilled and interested. Again, the use of a less thrilling scene could show that a bigger one is being saved for later and this is simply a taste for interest.

INSIDIOUS (2010)• Mise-en-scene: There is very dark and dull lighting in this opening sequence, setting a very dark and eerie

tone for the film, paired with the creepy soundtrack, it fits the supernatural genre that some other-worldly/unknown forces are in control from the start. Again, the increasingly common trend of having light sources only being seen is shown again, with light peering in from the windows. Also, the use of lighting allowed a street lamp to look almost like the head of a figure with a hat on was effective in tricking the audience to think that something was going to happen. Again, paired with the sudden development in the soundtrack, this helps root it as a supernatural thriller.

• Sound: There is a heavy use of soundtrack in this sequence to set the tone, and it is used throughout. The high-pitched alien like noises become increasingly heavy as the sequence progresses, again building the narrative to some sort of big event that may happen, i.e. the reveal of a creepy, ghostly and demonic face to make the audience jump. The music really intensifies the atmosphere whereas silence would still be a little creepy, but it wouldn’t have the same unnerving atmosphere as the music provides.

• Editing: It was all filmed in one take and continued without any cuts. The pace of the camera movement itself seemed consistent, so no increase of pace to make the viewer thriller (possibly since the soundtrack takes this responsibility). The one take shows continuity and maybe doesn’t make the environment seem disjointed, spoiling the build-up to the face reveal. It is almost used like one big establishing shot to build the world as well as make sure the flow of the build-up is not interrupted.

• Camerawork: As aforementioned, it was all one take. The shot was very smooth and it flows with the constant soundtrack used and it acts almost like one long establishing shot. In terms of relation to the narrative, again it is used to build up to the shock at the end.

• Narrative: The narrative is linear, but there is not much that can be told from this opening sequence I think, but it does leave the audience wanting more. There is an introduction to a young character in bed, and then he may be threatened by the demonic face seen at the end. This jump scare should thrill and attract the audience and keep them wanting more. They may also wonder why there is an evil force with the child. Apart from that, the plot seems rather shrouded in mystery, linking to the supernatural genre, encountering forces we may not fully understand.

CASINO ROYALE (2006)• Mise-en-scene: There is a stark contrast between the lighting in flashbacks and the present time in this

opening sequence. The much lighter look of the flashbacks may be used aesthetically. But it could well have been used to show the time that has passed. The present looks like the late evening, and the past could be the afternoon, where daylight is present in the lighter shots. It could also be a mix of both. There is no saturation either. This technique is interesting since the rest of the film is in colour. This could also be another way of showing the time passing, since this also seems to be a past event, so the lack of saturation could be used to signify this.

• Sound: There is a strong use of intense theatrical soundtrack in the flashback scenes where Bond and his enemy are fighting in the bathroom and this becomes more intense and higher pitched when Bond is finally killing his enemy. In the scenes in the office, there is just talking and no ambience. When the male character gets out of the car and walks to his office, the sound of his footsteps is very noticeable. This could signify his presence in the sequence and that he is key to the film.

• Editing: The pace does increase with the fight scenes in this sequence. This again paired with the soundtrack heightens the atmosphere and gives people a taster of what the film will contain. This fight was probably more intense than the other action sequences in the other films since this film introduced a new James Bond (Daniel Craig) so it may have been more important to include this added action to keep the audience wanting more.

• Camerawork: Slightly more shaky shots were used in the fight scenes to show chaos, however, they are more tilted to show this, since a more shaky, handheld shot would cause the audience to see less of the action in the fight, so the camera shake is used sparingly, but appropriately. The other shots in the office are a lot more controlled and smooth though.

• Narrative: Again, this narrative shows a build up in a fight to a climax of death for the enemies. The format used is non-linear, using flashbacks to provide a background to use to set the scene.

CONCLUSION

• There seems to be a lot of similarities between the five opening sequences that I analysed. I could use these conventions to judge how my opening sequence will diverge from these conventions found, and how it also follows them. Here is a summary of what conventions I picked up on:• A clear narrative with a build up to a thrilling event to entertain/capture the audience.• An event with a heightened/more intense atmosphere to also please the viewer and

give a taster of what may be to come.• Often low-key lighting with most sources of light being seen in the frame.• Quite a large dependency on sound, with sequences intensifying the situation with

soundtrack, or placing emphasis on certain sounds.• Isolating voices to emphasise the introduction/importance of characters.• A definite increase in pace when thrilling scenes are encountered.• A certain amount of emphasis placed on introducing the plot/characters/setting to set

the right tone for the film.