Our thriller will open with our production name, as this is the conventional way in which most films start so that the audience know which production company the film is by. The production name will be in white font against a black background, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. The contrast of black and white is often used in thriller films to represent the contrast of good and bad. It also suggests a lack of life due to the missing colour, which may foreshadow the narrative. The positioning of the font is slightly off centre, to appear distorted to the audience which implies the lack of stability and equilibrium in the narrative.
Then, the opening scene will start with the victim (Daisy) shown on the laptop and phone in her bedroom. She is talking to her boyfriend and telling him that she is home alone, making the audience aware of her vulnerable state of isolation and therefore starts to build a climax. She then hears a door shut in the hallway but assumes it is her Mum returning. However when she calls out to her Mum, she doesn't receive a reply and consequently blames her hearings down to paranoia. This creates an enigma for the audience as to what the sound was from the hallway was, and how did it happen if she is home alone, furthering the climax. While this occurs, credits are over the scene in white to symbolise the character's innocence. Camera shots will include mostly mid shot, as this opening section of the scene portrays the stability of the protagonist prior to the intrusion of the antagonist, and therefore the cinematography and editing will reflect this show the alteration of ‘equilibrium’ to ‘disequilibrium’.
After this, the power in her room cuts off (including light, phone and laptop) suggesting to the audience that there is someone present, as the darkness of the room connotes the darkness of the villain's personality. It also furthers her vulnerability as she has lost contact with people therefore lowers her chances of escape and builds tension. She holds the phone to her face, the light reflecting on her face will symbolise the innocence of her character. She then goes to the hallway to check if someone is there creating more tension. Credits over scene again. The camera will follow Daisy so that the audience feel as if they were in the same position, which builds suspense as they feel as vulnerable as the protagonist.
The victim checks the hallway for the sound she heard previously while in her room. The camera will emphasise her lack of ability to escape through tightly framed shots. Slowly, the victim walks in to the hallway, checking around the corner of where she can't see which creates tension as she is unaware of what she will see. Slow editing is used to build tension. The audience are again reminded that she is alone in her house from process and therefore recall her vulnerable state and make them feel empathy for her. Credits over top of each scene.
After hesitating to open the bathroom door due to the tension of the emotions felt by the victim, she then turns the bathroom light on and relieves her emotions so the audience are made aware of them. She begins to talk to herself, attempting the calm herself down and suggests that she is mentally disturbed and affected by the events around her. She also puts her hair up, suggesting she is distressed and paranoid and further develops the empathy felt by the audience. Further credits over the scene. The camera will follow Daisy’s movement to create disorientation through sharp, quick movement.
After this, the victim holds her head in her hands displaying her misery and panic, this consequently progresses the audience's empathy and relationship with her. She then goes to the sink and wash her face with water to 'cool' herself down from the stress felt. After, the victim grabs a towel and wipes her face. As a result of this, her eye makeup becomes very smudged, suggesting the victim has also been crying due to her vulnerable state. This scene effectively creates empathy for the character and her emotions are fully displayed to the audience through the events described above and therefore matures the relationship between the two. Credits over the scene. The cinematography is simple, following the movements of Daisy to highlight her lack of mental stability at this moment.
The victim attempts to call her Mum on her phone to come home as a result of her defencelessness in this situation. However, the audience then hear that the phone call goes straight to answer phone, suggesting something has happened to her Mum which further builds the tension and isolation of the character. The victim is shown as distressed by this and after, the door appears to slam by itself. This again, creates an enigma as to who the suggested character is within the house. There aren’t any credits so the audience focus on this scene.
The victim then opens the bathroom door, and then slows herself down when walking down the corridor to intensify the tension built while approaching her bedroom. As a bedroom is a location the audience can relate to, this suggested invasion causes disturbance with the audience and makes them become involved with the climax in this scene. The camera then zooms into the victim's hand when opening the door to increase tension. The victim is then seen walking in to the bedroom and the audience can also see her reflection in the mirror. Credits over the scene.
The victim then turns around and screams in fear of the unknown character's presence. The facial expression of the protagonist appears very shocked and scared to highlight the impact of the hidden antagonist, which the audience are able to engage with. Again, the audience do not see who the antagonist is so that this creates an enigma to keep them on edge and lack knowledge. After a climatic build up, the suddenness of the scream makes the audience feel on edge, which is conventional of the thriller genre. The build of the relationship throughout the opening causes the audience to also feel afraid as the victim does.
The opening ends with the title obsession, which is suggestive of the narrative of the film. The style of title is explained in the Credits blog.
You have provided a very good recount of your opening sequence, explaining what you want to create for the audience and why; however, this explanation was not necessary as you simply needed to state the narrative in detail, mentioned cinematography, sound and editing used throughout!
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