Thriller Film Comparison***

As part of the evaluation process in terms of my own thriller opening success, I will compare the final version of my thriller opening to the opening I had analysed as part of my research; Se7en. By comparing it to an existing successful thriller opening, I will be able to identify whether my own thriller opening would be deemed successful in regard to the thriller genre as a whole, as well as the film industry. Throughout the analysis I will focus on the micro elements such as mis en scene, cinematography, editing, sound and character representation. By addressing all of the main aspects of each opening, I will be able to efficiently compare the two openings to establish the success of my own.

Cinematography

The opening sequence to the thriller 'Se7en' conforms to the generic conventions of a thriller film by using close up shots. Close ups shots are typically used to emphasis a moment as it encourages the audience to look at something specifically. The use of a close up in the context of the opening sequence is significant in reflecting the 'psychological' aspects of the film. By having a close up of someone scraping the skin off of their fingers, the audience become aware that 'someone' (antagonist) is not deemed psychologically normal or stable. It makes the audience focus of the skin coming off of the person's fingers which makes them feel on uncomfortable as it conveys the intensity of the person's lack of 'normality'. It also suggests that the person takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others which once again, is reflective of the narrative and therefore implies to the audience that violence will take place.

In comparison to the Se7en opening, my own thriller opening also conforms to the generic convention of using close ups. When the victim has been touched on the shoulder by the antagonist, she turns around and screams; in which a close up shot is used. The significance of a close up shot is vital in encouraging the audience to build a relationship with the victim. When realising that the antagonist is behind her, her facial expressions convey clear fright and shock and by using a close up to frame this, her emotions are intensified to the audience, thus making them focus on the victim's emotions. By having to do so, the audience are made to feel on edge, as they begin to empathise with the victim and therefore feel uncomfortable when she is threatened. Similarly to the opening sequence to 'Se7en', I have effectively used a close up to intensify a specific moment in the opening, as well as creating the conventional effect such shot has on the audience as they are made to feel disturbed. By conforming to such convention, my opening sequence is successful in terms of the cinematography used as it is similar to existing, successful thriller openings.

Editing

In terms of editing, the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre by using a 'montage'; in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. Each of the short clips are taken from the antagonist writing in his diary, which is heavily evident in the actual film and therefore is reflective of this. A montage is typically edited using fast transitions and therefore the editing of the opening sequence connotes the chaotic and unstable mind set of the antagonist through its fast pace. By representing the antagonist is such way, this makes the audience feel on edge and uncomfortable in regards to such character, another convention of the genre. Lastly, the audience receive a a lot of information at one time because of the montage editing which in turn, may make them feel slightly distorted and on edge to anything 'out of the ordinary'.

Although the opening sequence to Se7en uses montage editing, he narrative of my opening focuses on the victim thinking the antagonist is in her house and therefore slow paced editing will be more suitable. By having slow paced editing, suspense is built throughout the opening while the victim is looking for the antagonist. It suggests to the audience that a climatic event will occur as a result of the suspense built which will make the audience feel on edge. To elaborate, when the victim hears a noise from another room she goes to check what the cause of it may be in the bathroom. When walking through the corridor and going to open the bathroom door, slow paced editing is used to build suspense as it prolongs the revealing of the antagonist. This makes the audience feel on edge as they are unsure as to what will happen next. Although I haven't used the editing style evident in the Se7en opening, I have still conformed to generic convention. By doing so, I have also created the desired effect on the audience that is often associated with the thriller genre; feeling on edge. Therefore, my opening sequence may be deemed successful in terms of editing styles as slow paced editing is used in other successful thrillers such as Prom Night.

Sound

The sound used on the opening sequence is highly conventional to the thriller genre for many reasons. The first being the pitch of the sound, as it is very high and almost sounds very similar to screaming. Because of this, the sound creates a very disturbing atmosphere as it appears that there is background screaming, which implies an upcoming disturbing cause. Therefore the audience are made to feel on edge due to the eerie atmosphere created. Furthermore, the sound is also conventional in that it fluctuates and changes in volume. This is a convention of the thriller genre as the sound becomes unpredictable; it will be quiet one second and then loud the next. The unpredictable nature of the music makes the audience feel on edge as the change in volume makes it jumpy and irregular. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it effectively manipulates the emotions of the audience into feeling on edge. However, there is also a monotonous beat included in the soundtrack which sounds similar to a heartbeat; throughout the sequence the 'beat' increases in speed which may influence the emotions of the audience are heartbeats typically speed up when frightened, which may influence them to feel so.

In comparison to the Se7en opening sequence, the sound used in my own production is very similar in terms of style and convention. Conventionally, sound used in thriller film fluctuates so that it becomes irregular and unpredictable to keep the audience on edge, as well as fluctuating at specific points in the narrative to stress a moment. In my own production, I used a storm soundtrack throughout the entire length of the opening to create an eerie atmosphere. The storm highlights the vulnerability of the victim as it is unsafe in both the house and outside, cutting her off from any comfort or escape. The storm fluctuates at specific points in the narrative such as when the victim opens the door that is predicted to have the antagonist behind it. By having the sound increase in volume and pitch, this moment is stressed which makes the narrative jumpy, thus making the audience feel on edge. Although I have used different sound in my thriller opening, the style in which the sound is executed is conventional to the genre and evident in the Se7en opening.The fluctuations in the sound make it irregular which makes the audience on edge and therefore the sound in my thriller opening may be deemed successful as a result.

Iconography

The thriller film 'Se7en' falls into both crime and psychological sub-genres, and therefore uses conventional iconography such as weapons. In the opening, a weapon is evident in the picture as a man with an arrow through his head, which implies to the audience that the narrative will consist of violence or possibly torture. Both of these are regular themes that are focused upon in the thriller genre, as they make the audience uncomfortable and on edge. Such iconography is also reflective of the antagonist as it suggests that they are psychologically imbalanced in order to do such act. Furthermore, this also highlights the conflict between victim and antagonist as it suggests a similar/possible outcome between such two characters, thus building suspense.

The opening to Se7en uses iconography such as weapons as the narrative is based on graphic and violent crimes and therefore effectively reflects the narrative.  My production is focused on the psychological aspects of the thriller genre rather than crime and therefore weapons are not suitable iconography to include in my opening sequence. Although my iconography used may not be considered conventional, it plays a key role in creating a conventional effect on the audience. At the beginning of the sequence, the victim is on her phone and laptop which are methods of communication. However, they suddenly stop working which disables her from contacting anyone for  help. This effectively cuts the victim off from any external help which therefore isolates her. Therefore the audience feel more on edge as they are made to feel that the victim leads an inevitable path of being captured by the antagonist. Conclusively, the iconography is not conventional to the thriller genre as it is not typically associated with it; however in using such iconography I have been able to create an isolated victim in which the audience can empathise with, which is a convention of the thriller genre. Therefore the iconography can be deemed successful in terms of it's effect on the audience.


Character Representation 

In the opening to Se7en, the identity of the antagonist is not revealed to the audience which is conventional to the genre. By having the identity of the antagonist hidden throughout the audience are made to feel more on edge as they suspense is built in the run up to the revealing of said identity. It creates an enigma as to who the antagonist is which keep the audience engaged to find out. Although aware of the percussions of the antagonist, the lack of knowledge in terms of their identity makes the audience more vulnerable, as they are not all knowing like the antagonist. This is an effective and conventional method in which thriller films typically make the audience feel on edge. The sole indication of the representation of the antagonist is the frame in which someone is scrapping the skin off of their fingers, which the audience assume is the antagonist because the person appears distorted, mentally unstable and takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others; qualities that are associated with a conventional antagonist in the genre.

In the opening of my thriller, the audience only see the victim. Grace is a conventional character often found in the thriller genre, particularly because of her gender. Females are often portrayed as the victims in thrillers, who are victimised by male antagonists. Conventionally, the male antagonist is portrayed as threatening and powerful whereas the female victim is represented as weak and vulnerable, thus heightening the audience’s empathy for the protagonist, and creating an innocent representation. Her innocent representation is also reinforced by her costume. The victim is wearing white, a colour that connoted innocence and purity. Conventionally, victim often wear white to reinforce their innocence and vulnerability to the audience so that they can build a relationship. The victim also appears to be a typical teenager in that she is on her phone and laptop, talking to her friend. This creates a representation of the character which the majority of young adults can relate to, as they have probably been in a similar situation at one point. Her representation overall appears to portray a typical teen who is innocent in the situation.



From this comparison do you think you opening is successful and conventional to the thriller genre?

Overall, there are many similarities that I have identified in both my opening and the opening to Se7en. This alone would suggest that my opening is conventional to the genre, as it is very similar to an existing thriller film in terms of the micro elements. Not only this, but my opening sequence has created a similar effect on the audience, that the opening to Se7en had. Through prior research into the thriller genre, I can also notice that such effect is evident in other thriller such as Prom Night and Scream. Therefore my opening appears to fit in with other thriller films, suggesting that it is conventional to the genre. In terms of success, this can be measured by the effect the opening had on the audience as it is vital that it not only engaged the audience, but manipulated their emotions into feeling disturbed and on edge. Theoretically, by including conventions of the thriller genre, my opening sequence should also effect the audience in the desired way as a result. For example, by using slow paced editing, a convention of the genre, this should build suspense that leave the audience feeling on edge. Therefore it is logical to assume that the opening is successful as not only have I compared the conventions evident in both opening, but also the percussions of such convention.