Other AS Media Opening Thrillers

Other AS Media Opening's

We looked at pass AS Media opening's of a thriller. This allowed us to see the standard and get a few ideas from others as well as give back critical feedback.

The first video we looked at was called ' Inner Evil', the overall film was good with a clear storyline. Throughout the 2 minute clip there were a few elements of strong editing such as continuity editing, panel shot and flashbacks however the editing technique which I felt had an effective effect was the slow motion when the flash backs were in process. The slow motion was showing the girl being grabbed however the effect which was given was quite sever as it showed the girl really struggling. The slow motion also allowed the image to double as it moved, this shows that the girl is trying to break few and the slow motion shows her facial expressions as she struggles to get air. This effect is good when trying to show an emotion of struggle but can also build tension as we (as an audience) are unaware of what will happen next. The title's of the film were at the end of the clip, even though the title is clear it makes the clip look a little like a trailer, to avoid this from happening there could be a few seconds after the title to show it is a film as it is continuing. A close up shot is used of the girls face when she is on the floor this is effective because it's not so close that we can see just the scar but it's close enough to show the pain she is going through as well as the injury she has on her forehead. The soundtrack which played throughout the 2 minuets was very effective because it linked with the mise-en-scene as well as set the mood. The sound was very slow but enchanting with louder elements which makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they are unaware when the need loud clap of sound will accrue. These loud claps accrue when the girl is having a flash back, the sound symbolises the sudden dark things which happen to her as the sound itself is dull and sudden. I like the idea that the music suddenly changes when she has a flash back, this is something to consider when creating my thriller opening because the music needs to match well with the video in order for it to give the right effect like it has done here. Despite the soundtrack being effective the same song was played through out and the sound became unaffected and too continuous, another thing is when the girl is walking out the door the light from the room vanishes and it becomes dark due to the camera focusing on the light which is coming through the door. To improve of this the camera needs to be focused so when the door opens it doesn't refocus. The overall film was very affective and a good influence on my film such as the slow motion editing which I will take into consideration when making my opening of a thriller.

The second film opening I looked at was called 'State of Mind'. This film opening wasn't as good as the first one however it does include a few elements in which I could use when creating my own piece. At the beginning of the scene the boy wakes up, and open's his pink floral curtains, the film genre is thriller therefore the house objects are stereotypically plain and settled however the boy had pink curtains which made the scene look slightly comical because the colour of the curtains were out of place from the stereotypical genre colours as well as the mood. Despite this the sound track which is playing in the background is quite repetitive and sounds a bit like a music box, music boxes are seen to be creepy and some even haunted therefore the music builds the tension to make the atmosphere scary. I like the sound track used however the voice over which is too added isn't very clear because the music is so powerful therefore the music could be turned down slightly when the voice over was present. When the boy was leaving in his car a high angle shot was used, this was effective because allowed us to see what car he had as well as allowing us to understand were he is going, the surroundings of his house are also shown through this shot therefore setting the location to the audience. This angle also makes it look as if someone from his own house is watching his suggesting he isn't safe in any area even the comfort of his home. Editing is used very well when he is walking in the street, he visualises his stalker walking down the road however a 'match on action shot' is used as when he bumps into him and turns round it is a different person walking away. This editing technique is very subtle which is effective as a few will pick up on this as they see the person change, however I feel this is quite a significant moment therefore I feel the change within the clothing on the two characters should be bigger as they are both in dark clothing therefore they look quite similar as the shot isn't massively long. At first I didn't even notice the change however after it was pointed out to me it became clear however I feel it should have been more clear from the start. The storyline of this opening is very clear however as first in the first scene it looked as if the 'stalker' was his friend though this substitution was corrected quite early on in the clip. Again the titles are at the end of the clip which makes it look a little bit like a trailer, to prevent this a few seconds of footage should be shown after to make it look as if the film will carry on.