Thriller opening analysis by Aleks

“ I was really into horror movies when I was a kid and I used to get frustrated when they’d hold back the monster to the very end. It occurred to me to get an idea of the killer before they finally catch him. We wanted to get the audience curious about what this guy is going to be. He has to be super, super evil.”

- Kyle Cooper the designer of the opening

CONVENTIONS.

Some thriller conventions include;

-Montage of shots-Quick cuts-Dim/Low key lighting-Shadows-Protagonist vs Antagonist (usually male)-Eerie music-Fast paced music-Breathing-Heart Beat-Creeks

Through sound effects and music

CAMERA SHOTS AND MISCE EN SCENE.

Motif established.

Through this brief close up the word ‘God’ is focused on, while the image is just one of many for the audience it is visibly a significant aspect for the character.This shot parallels the idea of John Doe (the antagonist) as overzealously religious as well as playing God; punishing people for their sins.

Extreme close ups are used to bring about a sense of partial vision; focusing solely on the characters hands and the props used, in turn effecting misce en scene by making the setting an enigma.

A selection of disturbing images

flash on screen, some for less than a

second; enough to shock the viewer.

The extreme close ups of the person shaving his fingertips brings about a feeling of pain and self harm, undeniably resulting in questions. The hands also seem to be those of a male, following the conventions of a thriller.

EDITING.

The frequent use of jump cuts creates a feeling of unease amongst the audience as well as that of time passing, signified further through the use of the journal and the flicking of its pages and the fingertips of the antagonist ; first shaven, then bandaged.

Editing of creditsIt must be noted that nor the title or the names were laced in a computer effect; Animation was created editorially with each name taken separately, scratched on a scratchboard and scanned; an animation was created and then exposed to varying light resulting in 15 or so different cuts per name.

Double exposures are used, mainly when showing time passing, with for instance the blacking out of words in newspaper clippings, showing how a lot of time and work has been put into this plan as well as the characters mentality; he’s fully engulfed by these tasks; his life revolves around them.

The main actors names are placed on a solid black background bringing more emphasis on them compared to the secondary actors who’s names overlay the stills on screen.

Credits

It’s unavoidable to mention that while Kevin Spacey plays a key role in the film his name is not mentioned in the credits. This is done on purpose, creating a sense of mystery; (which IMDB defines as a genre of this film: ‘mystery, drama,crime,thriller’)If a thriller loses its sense of mystery, with all being laid out for the audience on a plate, it rids it of a major part of the experience; the assumptions, red herrings, all going to loss.

LIGHTING

The use of lighting places emphasis on the main focus of the opening; the hands.With the distorted shadows of the hands through the pages

POST PRODUCTION ASPECTSIn relation to our own opening; some things to take note of.

‘Chekhov’s Gun’‘‘Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there.’’

(All props used in the opening are used to build the character of John Doe.His notebooks and scrapbooks all come up as part of the investigation and the conundrum of his shaved finger tips is vital in the main narrative.)

Story Board

A fragment of the story board for ‘Seven’ 1995