Opening of a thriller
Children of Men
Within this clip we learn a lot about the local setting and surroundings. The audience are first introduced with the production companies name. First 'Universal's' symbolic logo appears this is because it is the bigger production company, like music record labels there are a bigger production companies which are higher up from the independent production company. 'Strike' is the independent production company for this film, a small sequence appears the logo however it isn't as recognisable as the 'Universal' logo which is known so well. After the production companies are established the titles appear- white writing with a black background. The contrast of colours are sufficient and allow the audience to clearly see the importance of the production team.
A black screen is shown to the audience whilst non-diegetic sound of a news report is heard over the top. This is a sound bridge as the camera flash cuts to a high angle shot which shows the community gathering round listening to the news. The high angle is used to represent 3 things: the TV itself is sat higher up on the wall, therefore shows the community are looking up to watch the TV; the camera is looking down at the people to show they are at a lower statutes and are very focused into what is going on; finally this angle allows us to see what the characters a wearing, the majority are wearing suits to suggest they have high work ethics, the proxemics between the characters are very close therefore it shows they are in a busy location. Busy locations are a high target for a thriller setting as what happens has a bigger effect on the environment around them as well as the individual.
The news story is read by a female reporter who has a very stereotypical formal English accent, this suggests to the audience that they are England but more pacific London due to the population show in the first shot. The news report which was read is very emotional and heart breaking, it is the first elements of the film which suggests it's a thriller, 'The youngest boy on Earth died'. The news story is very peculiar because he died at the age of '18 years and 4 months', in reality people die every day and despite how old there are they aren't broadcasted on the news however this particular story is. Deago (the boy) was stab suggesting violence. With the title 'Children of Men' it is suggested that there aren't many children is in the area and if the 18 year old is the youngest child the generation of children are dying. This is quite a terrifying news story which is introduced straight away allowing the audience to create the genre of thriller, the scary storyline is a convention of a thriller film therefore it fits in with this genre.
The suggestive main character is seen pushing through the big crowed of people, this suggests he doesn't care about the issue going on within his society. He is too shown wearing a suit suggesting he has a higher class job. As he wakes is way to the street a subtext reads 'London, 16th November, 2027' therefore setting the audience geographically. A long shot is used here to allow the audience to see the traffic and types of vehicles. As the film is set in the future it worries the audience as they are unknown weather this could actually happen in the future. The vehicle technology juxtaposes the impression of the future. Stereotypically society think there will be flying cars and hoover boards however in this scene we see they have gone back to the older ways of transport such as carts and vintage motorbikes, this subverts the stereotype of the future however adhere's the thriller conventions as stereotypically thriller films include elements of vintage run down objects such as cars and old houses as they look and sound creepy and are an easier target..
A panelling shot is used as the camera adjusts before a bomb goes of behind the main character (ambient sound), this reinforces the elements of danger within the area. A hand held shot is used as if people where running to the scene to see what had happened, this hand held shot is also used to show chaos. In a thriller film it is vital to show chaos and distress as it allows the audience to connect to the storyline as well as create a busy but uncomfortable atmosphere.
The title of the film is then appeared. From this first scene as an audience we can see the conventions which are stereotypically found in a thriller film: danger, suspicious behaviour and a negative atmosphere therefore allowing the audience to understand the genre of a film. Some thriller films could be a hybrid including other genres such as si-fi however I think I would like to keep the genre to just thriller as I could make the conventions very clear. My thriller 2 minute opening will need to include the conventions found within this clip as well as other thriller conventions, in order to insure it looks like a thriller film I will need to look and study other thriller clips to get a full understanding of thriller openings.
A very detailed commentary on the opening of this sci-fi thriller. Well done for recognising how the future, as we would expect it, has been subverted, thus contributing to the conventions of a thriller.
ReplyDeleteHow would you say the protagonist (the main character) has been established as different to everyone else? Why is this important in the opening scene?
Also, it is important to look at WHAT exactly is established in the opening scene - what information is given to us and how much action do the audience see? it's good to know this so when you plan your own opening, you don't over or under fill it.
Miss M
The protagonist stands out t be different because he doesn't acknowledge the news story as make as the other characters within this scene he comes across as before mentioned as a business man however because he isn't showing any acknowledgement it is suggested he could possibly know something about what's happening. It's important that he is different to the other characters and he stands out because it allows the audience to understand within this time period that he has some sort of importance to the film as he is having individual shot placed of him and the camera is following him and not the other characters.
ReplyDeleteWithin the first two minuets there is a storyline and one type of extreme action. When creating my scene I could include a type of action however due to budgeting it would be difficult however a storyline such as a news article could be put in place to set the basic storyline of the film straight away.