Research - Inception opening sequence analysis - Task B

In the very opening scene of Inception (2010) Christopher Nolan we see huge waves crashing against a rock, whilst dramatic music is playing in the background. This is used to create tension, almost all thriller begin like this to get the viewer hooked and on the edge of their seats. You can also hear the crashing of the waves in the background, this is also to create tension.

We then get a close up of Cobb ( Leanardo Di Caprio), this is an initial introduction of the main character and you can get a good look at his face and the emotions on his face. After this it goes from his face to two children playing on the beach. Which leaves the audience thinking who is this character and they may become intrigued. At this point the music changes to something more soft and less dramatic a kind of calming effect and the waves aren't crashing as much and are more like calm natural waves.

After the initial scene, we are then introduced a new character who pokes him with a gun who is clearly a part of an organisation. You can tell this by the all black uniform he is wearing and their is a small symbol in the middle of his cap. This makes the audience even more fascinated and he then shouts to someone dressed in a similar uniform in Chinese. This reinforces the idea that he is a part of an organisation and then the use the gun as a prop makes you believe that they are serious criminal organisation.

The next scene is inside a room, there looks very ancient and authentic Chinese with a lot of ancient artefacts and the ceiling is covered in Chinese lanterns. We then go from this scene to a new scene in the same room just at a different time with the same people. 

 At the start of the scene there is an establishing shot to show everyone involved in the scene, setting the scene. Throughout the scene they do not break the 180 degree rule, they do this to try and avoid confusion. In this clip they use a lot of shot reverse shots to show who is talking at a certain point and then it moves on to a different person when they reply. The close ups in the clip show the emotions clearly of the characters in the clip. They do this to show the three important characters in the clip. Whilst doing this it constantly keeps the tension rising within the scene, because they are trying to sell him the idea of Inception.   

The shots are very slow pace as the majority of the scene as the characters are  having a conversation. Switching from one character to the other, this effect doesn't build up much tension at all. The editing in the first scene is very basic and slow, not building up much pace. 

Ideas to take from this opening scene

The very first scene is a great tension builder with the crashing waves and dramatic movie which work very well with the thriller genre and is very important in setting the scene ready for the rest of the film. 

The shot reverse shot in the long conversation is a great addition along side the close ups of who is speaking makes it very clear who is speaking when and who is involved in thew conversation. 

It also uses a lot of close ups to really show the emotion of each character, which is essential in a thriller so it is easy to tell what each character is thinking/feeling.

Research - Shutter Island opening sequence analysis - Task B

Shutter Island is a psychological thriller directed my Martin Scorsese. It was released in 2010 and stars Leonardo Di Caprio as the main protagonist who plays Edward "Teddy" Daniels, a US Marshal travelling to a remote island which houses a Hospital for the criminally insane and he is investigating the disappearance of a patient. 

In the opening sequence many different conventions are used right from the start.There are many conventions of a thriller that is inc luded in the opening title sequence of the film. The opening starts playing  non-diegetic eerie music which adds suspense, this goes along with the dark and creepy shots that are being showcased. All of this is already putting the viewer on the edge of their seat by immersing them completely in a sense of mystery. Suspense is also being constantly increased by the rising and decreasing volume generating. 

Dark colours are also used throughout the opening sequence with lighting being used scarcely and with not much backlight this is to add to the creepiness that partners well with the sound and the setting. In the shot you can clearly see that it is set in what looks like a medieval prison. Aside from the bricks and lighting it could very well be a medieval prison and the bricks also add to the already present trapped feeling that is being created.  

A tracking shot is used at 0:17 that moves through the large gates as if you were a prisoner having to look upon the daunting walls and gates that are used to ensure the prisoners don't escape. A lot of fast paced cuts are also used to a variety of different close ups which help add to the mystery of what is going on because none of them fully showcase what is occurring. For example between 0:13 and 0:17 it appears as though a hand is lifting up some of the floorboard to perhaps reveal a secret entrance, however it is hard to tell. Also at 0:50 another hand is shown lighting a match and these very well may be the same pair of hands but again we don't know so the audience are wanting to find out what is going on. 

There is then also a long establishing shot at 0:10 to make the surroundings a lot more clear to the audience and to really showcase that this could potentially be a large prison which may add to the fear that is already being built up. A fade to black is then used to edit away from that shot which also adds to the build up of tension and is done on the rise and fall of the music. 

Research - Se7en opening sequence analysis - Task B

In the opening sequence of Se7en (1995) Fincher we begin by going through what appears to be a daily routine of Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) whereby he starts off reading an old tattered book. Throughout the whole film there is not much light and most scenes are dark and eerie. The opening scene is no different the dark and suspicious nature of the room is from the low key lighting. Throughout this scene we can hear voices, dogs barking  in the background from outside mainly shouting these are all examples of diegetic sounds and allow the audience to guess that he is probably in the city. There is another noise coming from this scene, the screech or a high pitch static noise a similar sound ti that of someone screaming so immediately it adds a dangerous feel to the scene.

The title credits add a tone of suspense and uses loads of close ups to help add the suspense. The first close up is of some flicking through a book however the focus is primarily on the book and the background is blurred out so we cannot see who is reading the book Adding an element of mystery. Switching from one scene to the next very quickly keeping the audience of the edge of their seats, next we see the end of someones fingers as they scrape away the skin from their fingertips adding a gruesome edge to the title scene making the audience wonder who it was and why they were doing it, everyone wants to find out what is going to happen next and continue watching. We then see the same person picking up another book. The whole scene uses dull colours like black, white, grey and brown and then towards the end there is red, everybody associates red with the colour of blood and danger, and idea that is dominant in thrillers and this specific film.


The camera work in the opening titles are amazing, the constant, quick movement from one clip to the next keeping it at a high pace adds suspense and thrill. All the shots are either high angle shots looking down giving us a point of view of someone,they are blurred out or even just shows small glimpses of hands. Throughout the title scene the viewer is almost begging to know who is doing all this and what exactly are they are doing. A great thriller always keeps the audience on the edge of their seat and asking questions this does exactly that. You get the idea that most of these aren't that important, because you never get a long time to look at them and they are always very confusing.

The editing in this sequence is very fast paced to add suspense, transitioning from one clip to the next. Often fading out from one clip into the next. The editing does a great job in adding to the mood and feel of the film and genre. The scene involving a black highlighter pen is slowed down and spent are lot more focus on this highlighting it's importance. The actual credits follow the thriller genre as they are messy and use a basic colour like white. The font used looks like it is hand written and they appear to flicker on the screen similar to an interrogation scene light bulb that flicker on and off to add suspense. 

Things my group should take from this film

Fast paced and constantly flicking from one scene to another.

Always adding mystery and thrilling the audience by making them curious and asking questions about props used throughout. 

No focus on who the characters are at this point and leaves them quite open to wonder about who they are, or what they will become. 

Research - Summary of seven - Task A

Summary of Se7en

The set for se7en is in a city that is not specified, however it appears to be similar to New York with a big city vibe to it. As you follow Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) as they chase a Pyschopath (Kevin Spacey).

The title of the thriller refers to the seven deadly sins:

Gluttony

Greed 

Sloth 

Envy

Wrath 

Pride

Lust

The detectives follow the footsteps of John Doe as he causes the death of seven victims being  patient, brutal  and careful. We don't see John Does face until he turns himself in right before the climatic ending, which shows he is a shady and mysterious character. The two detectives don't get on until the wife of Mills invites over Somerset. She then confides in him and meets him at a later point to inform him of her pregnancy, which Mills doesn't find out about until she is dead.

The final victim isn't someone that John Doe has directly murdered, he provokes Mills into shooting him and completing the seven deadly sins.

Research - What makes Se7en a thriller? - Task A

What makes Se7en a thriller?

Thrillers use tension, supsension and excitment, the genre depends on adrenaline rush using suprise, anxiety and terror. Their are many sub genres under thrillers including: comedy thriller, crime thriller, Erotic thriller and spy thriller. Common themes throughout thrillers involve kidnappers, murders and ransoms.

Se7en follows a similar plot to most thrillers in that the main storyline involves a mystery that needs to be solved, in this case the mystery of the seven sins.
It also follows the quest for the "good guys" in their desire for justice and morality, with Mills and Somerset fighting for the justice of the murders of the seven victims (imbd.com).


Se7en also has a climatic ending in where Mills in a force of rage murders John Doe for cutting off his wifes head, which is exactly what John Doe wanted him to do. His whole plan is unraveled at the end. 

Research - Conventions of a thriller - Task A

A thriller typically is a battle between and antagonist and a protagonist where there may have been  an upset or an event that has lead to this battle which doesn't always have to necessarily be a fist fight, it could be psychological warfare.

 A list of typical conventions can include but is not limited to:

• Dark/low key lighting
• Quick cuts between shots
• Tension
• Suspense
• Mystery
• Variety of angles
• Antagonist usually pursues the protagonist
• Tension building non-diegetic music
• Fast paced
• Plot twist
• Violence

 A typical main character who plays the protagonist is usually a strong, innocent male who the audience will make a connection with and will emotionally invest into. Then the antagonist may have his/her identity hidden from the audience or from the other characters to create a sense of mystery. A good convention to use is the idea of mystery that is often found in thrillers and the antagonist may wear a mask or have something else similar to conceal their identity.

The storyline should be always building tension and suspense up to a moment where it can be broken perhaps when their is a fight or when the protagonist and the antagonist come together in other sorts of ways. The dialogue should be done at a fast pace to help with this building of suspense which is then broken at the correct time. Often the characters and plot should be portrayed as being average humans so that the audience believes that what is happening in the film could happen to them. Usually the protagonist is the character that is selected to be one that the audience can connect with. Whereas the antagonist may be a super villain in the sense that they have a lot of money and power and are seen as a character that can make things happen.

A lot of the cinematography and the camera work should be used to illustrate the already set conventions. Camera angles such as close ups and extreme close ups can be used well to show emotion in faces clearly so that the audience can make even stronger connections to the characters. Shots that contain the antagonist should be fast paced so that the identity of the character is hidden even more and the mystery surrounding them is ever present. These fast paced shots will also fit in with the tension building that needs to occur.

The editing that is typically used when putting together a thriller is one that entices the audience into building tension and keeping suspense at high levels. To achieve this often the editing may start slow and then build up to something more fast paced and build with the suspension.

Prelim Task - Review of the finished product

If we were going to do it again we might change around who did what part, becuase one of the team wasn't a great actor and caused us to re-do a scene. Also in the editing stage we would have added more sounds in for next time to add a more thriller effect. Our scene is very quiet and could do with some eerie music or sound effects. I would try to add a shot reverse shot in with the interrogation or a over the shoulder shot.

The best part of the clip is probably the interrogation scene up until the water throwing where there is a very obvious re-film thanks to a lighting change, but other than that it is a good scene. Also the build up to the interroagtion scene is good, because it has a fast build up and the close up of the door handle and the slamming of the door is a great transiton between the hall scene and interrogation scene.

The costumes and props were a great addition to the clip and give us a more professional look. The police uniform is essential so that it is very obvious from the start of the clip who is a police officer and who is the suspect. Also the use of shoving the prisoner around helps.

The scene is a good length and has enough speaking in to fulfill the criteria. Altough next time we will probably try to get a better set, becuase the classroom wasn't the best. We were quite limited in what we wanted to use and next time will use sets from outside of school to make it look more professional.

Prelim Task - Editing

We took turns editing each section within the group. After sorting out all the clips we were using from the filming we had to upload the files to the editing software. We had to look through what clips we needed and name them what they were, because straight after coming off the camera you can't tell what clip they are. Next we had to put them in the right order ready for editing. After this the clips were finally ready for editing.





We used a lot of quick transitions in the build up to the interrogation scene. The hall way scene which also used a pan to show the front view of the police officer and the suspect. Then it shows the back of them as they are walking away. It then quickly transitions to a close up of the door handle and then the door being slammed shut on the other side.







One of the key aspects we stuck to was the 180 degree rule whereby you keep the filming in a field of 180 degrees, it was done in the actual interrogation scene. You do this so you don't confuse the audience with 380 degree spinning so they may feel like they can't tell what is going on. Whilst using it in the interrogation scene we thought it would be important for the interrogators and the suspect to always be in shot and at the centre of the screen and attention.

Prelim Task - Filming

We started the filming for the Prelim task with the view that we could get it done in one afternoon, however that didn't work out, because of some poor acting we had to re-film a scene. In the long interrogating scene when we first filmed it was the longest scene and right at the end one of our team laughed so we had to re-film. When we re-filmed, because we ere using a classroom we had to move our lights and camera so they aren't in the same place and you can tell where we re-filmed. If we were doing a professional job then we wouldn't of had that problem, however we had to deal with it and tried our best in the editing stage to make it a smooth transition.

As you can see we did have a very dark scene to create a eerie and suspicious atmosphere, as typical of a thriller you cannot see the full face clearly of the suspect it mainly in the darkness with the light coming from behind him and the shadows being dominant on the wall in the background. Many of the scenes took more than one attempt to film, because obviously we are not professional actors and we did make mistakes even though it was a pretty simple scene. We had to re-film the water throwing scene thanks to the unprofessional nature of ourselves. So we had to re-film on another day, because the jumper was soaking wet and we didn't have a back up plan for that day. Perhaps we should have had a plan B but it worked out fine filming it on a separate day although it wasn't perfect.

Prelim Task - Planning

To start off with we gathered our group together and began mindmapping ideas we wrote down any little ideas we had to try and get an idea as to what we wanted to do our clip on. In the end we came to the conclusion that it would be best to do an interrogation scene, because of the resources we had.

After this we had to set the scene by choosing where we would be filming so we just used an empty classroom and hallway and made it look more sinister by dimming the lights. We also borrowed some outfits and props from the drama department to make our scene look more realistic by borrowing the police hats and handcuffs. Another prop we used was the pictures that were laid out on the table as a use of evidence against the criminal. We also used a spotlight in the interrogation scene as the only source of light and had to plan where abouts that would be placed for the best effect. 

 Something else we used was a storyboard to help map out and summarise our ideas to what we we're actually going to use. This helped when we came to decide what dialogue to use,because you can see who is going to say what at the specific time frame. The storyboard also helped with deciding what bits we were going to use from our mindmap and pick out the best bits and string them together. Also whilst we were filming we had this handy so we could refer back to it and make sure everything was going as planned.