THRILLER OPENINGSElliot Stahlmann 5214

Divergent (Burger, 2014)

MISE-EN-SCENECostume: All factions have an allocated dress code and this conveys the power of the strict government as they all conform to this.

Also, the colours of each faction’s clothing connotes their personality. For example, the “Candor” faction are valued for their honesty and to show this they wear white and black to symbolise their black and white point of view and their straight forward honesty.

In contrast, the “Amity” faction dress in bright yellow and red costume, which connotes happiness and peace – for which they are known.

Lighting: the “Factionless” are the lower class of the factions and are always seen in darkness. This contrasts with those belonging to a faction whom are always in light. This portrays the factionless as being of lower status to the others and as being least happy.

The use of low key lighting for the factionless setting portrays the “Factionless” as a poor and gloomy place and connotes sadness

CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS & MOVEMENT

Low high-angle shots: to signify authority and power between differing ranks and status’. Here, Tris is being spoken to by someone of authority within her new faction and this can be seen as the camera essentially forces us to “look-up” to him.

Long shots: help to capture the action of the scene and thus create tension and forces the audience to feel thrilled, displaying dominance and power between characters

Close-ups: allow the audience to focus on the reactions of characters and helps to establish pace of a scene.

Audience can see how a character is feeling in a particular scene or situation and helps to capture the moment for the audience. They can experience the sorrow and the joy as the characters on screen do

SOUND & EDITINGQuick cuts between scenes establishes a fast-paced environment and captures the thrill and tension of scenes.

Soundtrack: starts calmly then begins to fade out. This creates an eerie atmosphere. We the hear crowd murmurs and the film starts with a voiceover. This raises question for the audience, creating enigma and and eerie tone – which is conventional of most thrillers.

Volume: in action-packed scenes the volume rises and this creates a sense of enigma and fear which is common of thrillers. For calmer scenes, the volume of backing music decreases and sometimes for tense scenes, ends. This draws attention to dialogue which can create a tense atmosphere and be used to display dominance over characters.

The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 199)

MISE-EN-SCENE

In this thriller, Props are utilised to portray themes and to hint at the storyline without giving too much away. This can be seen at the start of the opening when we see a single light bulb warm up. This could connote the themes surrounding the thriller such as loneliness and individual power.

Another example of how props are utilised is in the scene below where he grabs his blanket. This suggests that the kid wants to hide and also longs for safety and closure

Additionally, Lighting is key as the low key lighting emphasises the eerie dark tone in the scene (left). It connotes the mystery of the boy’s condition but also foreshadows the coming pathos and danger

CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS & MOVEMENT

The high low-angle shot here demonstrates a sense of inferiority and lack of control that the boy experiences. Also, this hints towards his helplessness and the lack of power he feels as he feels so helpless that he is “looking up” to everyone.

Rule of thirds: this shot considers the rule of thirds where the boys face intersects both left hand cross sections. This brings our attention to his facial expression and we can see his overwhelming fear – this creates tension amongst the audience which is conventional of most thrillers

Camera movement: some scenes involve camera panning. This captures the action of scenes whilst establishing a setting – this can be effective in creating a tense atmosphere as some settings such as dark hallways are eerie and mysterious which are conventional tones for thrillers

SOUND & EDITINGNon-diegetic music: such as pianos and strings can create a sense of mystery and again create tension. In some scenes this is highly effective as it can foreshadow danger and be uneasy and unnerving for the audience to watch.

Quick cuts capture speed and mimic the fast paced beating of a heart. This thus has a great effect on the audience as it forces them to feel panicked and tense which is conventional of most thrillers

Calm non-diegetic music plays when Malcom is talking with his wife. This foreshadows the coming danger as calm or tranquil music in thrillers is often used ironically and so it implies that something bad is going to happen

The dialogue between characters provides the audience with detail and lets them know more about the themes and storyline; the classic “I see dead people” is one that can be used easily here as the thriller clearly is related to seeing the dead

Lucy (Besson, 2014)

MISE-EN-SCENEExpression and movement: Lucy here clearly looks pleased with herself and this foreshadows the coming danger and also the themes of the thriller as she appears to know something that we don’t – conveying the theme of human intelligence and establishing enigma as it raises questions for the audience – what does she know that we don’t?

In this scene Lucy grabs a gun after tricking a man into getting beat up. This again foreshadows the danger that is to come and the violence that later occurs – which is conventional of most thrillers

In Lucy, the setting is urban which is conventional of thrillers as these places are often over-crowded and busy. Here, Lucy is in China and this highlights the coming danger and fast-paced nature of the thriller – as is common for thrillers. This is because natural setting often convey peace and tranquillity and hence less rural and more urban settings convey the opposite

CAMERA ANGLES, SHOTS & MOVEMENTVery low high-angle shots convey authority and power. From our perspective we feel subject to the character as she points a gun towards us. This conveys themes of power and domination and also of violence – common amongst action thrillers

Shaking camera movement portrays fear and nervousness. This, is common in thrillers as it can often create tension and in most cases is used in point-of-view shots as it mimics the unsettled movement of the eye in a panic state of mind.The rule of thirds places

Lucy’s head and arms at the right hand third whilst her hand and the gun are focused to the left third. This draws attention to her weapon and also her facial expression. This establishes mystery and most importantly a sense of danger and violence – all of which are common and vital in action thrillers.

SOUND & EDITING

Diegetic sound of a gunshot in this scene creates a sense of danger and violence and draws our attention to the violence and action of the film that is yet to come. This is after the opening but at the start of the film and so we feel thrilled and exhilarated to watch it.

SFX and editing allows the audience to see the film through the eyes of Lucy. We can experience her gifts as she does and this tells us more about the nature of the film and foreshadows the type of action that is to come in the thriller. SFX are not always used but editing such as green screens are common in thrillers, especially Hollywood blockbuster movies as this can create a better environment for the film and enhance the experience for the audience.