Screen-shot inspiration for our film.

After we had looked at a good variety of different film openings in the genre of our film, we then had to use the research we had gathered from them to inspire our own film openings.
We then had to find screen-shot examples of different films, that had inspired us in each element of media language.
These screen-shots and analyse are shown below.

Representation

The film, Wanted, inspired us because it uses a female protagonist which is unusual for thriller films, as males are usually seen as the protagonist characters,

The idea of the female being the main character is effective as it makes the narrative more interesting. We decided to use a predominately female cast, in order to create the idea of breaking the stereotype in our film. I think this will also help us create a unique selling point for our film. 

Titles and Graphics

 We liked the font in Se7en, because it has a creepy effect and sets the mood for a thriller film. It puts the audience on edge as they are not sure what they are seeing and suggests the idea of mystery.
We decided to use a similar type of font as it would fit in well with our film because we want it to jump around and put the audience on edge. This title also uses numbers effectively. Our title also has numbers and therefore we decided to use a similar technique to this is order to incorporate numbers into our titles and graphics.

Camerawork

Extreme close ups give the impression that there is mystery in the scene. This has been done successfully in the opening to Dexter. We think we could use this similar technique in our opening, with the use of extreme close-ups.

Fish Tanks uses a hand held camera for their opening scene. We like this effect because it makes the film seem more realistic and if we use it in ours, it will give the effect of someone following. It will also help reinforce the idea of our film mixing the two genres of thriller and social realist together.

An establishing shot was used in the opening of Scream in order to show the setting. We will use an establishing shot in our film to show the creepy area the character is in and allows the audience to see more of the setting. 

Sound

The Scream opening uses mainly diegetic sound. This makes the film more realistic and allows for silences to create suspense. We will try to use the effect of just diegetic sound in our film, in order to grip the audience into the film and make them focus on the narrative. It will also help to build by suspense and mystery in the film.

Mise en scene

Typical thrillers use low key lighting to create an atmosphere full of suspense. This is true of The Prestige opening. We will use low key lighting in our opening, as it will create the right atmosphere for the film. The location of the opening is also in a dark and spooky place, similarly we will use a dark location for our film.

In our film, we want to bring in an element of social realist. To do this we will use urban clothing. Fish Tank was a good example of urban clothing, as the main character was kitted out in hoodies and trackies. We will take inspiration from this in the clothing of our characters.

Use of props creating an enigma code in Scream, was quite effective in drawing the audience in and creating a level of mystery and suspense over the opening. We decided to do this is our opening through the use a mobile phone, as we think it will cause the audience to question what is going on.

Editing


Fish Tank opening scene uses continuity editing. This creates an element of social realist again because nothing is being missed out. The audience sees everything chronologically. We want to use continuity editing in our film to merge the two genres of social realist and thriller together. It will also allow the opening to flow together easier, allowing us to establish narrative. It will hook the audience in and create a level of suspense over what is happening.