Treatment of our movie opening

Scary Movie Two Analysis

One of our ideas apart from pure horror, is also comedy horror; such as the Scary Movie franchises. Here we have analysed the types of techniques used by the producers of this movie in order to fit the horror-comedy genre the movie has.

Scary movie 2 from jovinie_carter

Response to Nightmare on Elm Street and Shutter Island openings

Although these two films are very different being from different decades and have are different types of horror they also resort to similar techniques which is used constantly in the horror films today which our group can use in our film opening. They both use non-diegetic sound to set the tone and amplify the feeling on tension. They also both use different editing techniques to portray the tension whether it is sudden cuts in the different footage or a fade in, fade out to provide the viewers with a psychological/supernatural feel to the movie. They both use the credit timeline to their advantage both using red fonts to signify blood/ anger/ murder. This can all be used in our film opening and will no doubt amplify the impact our film opening into becoming a notable horror opening.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Opening Analysis

The opening scene begins with a fade in shot of a legs walking past a pillar, the figure stops briefly before picking up the iconic villain mask. The non-diegetic sound can be heard of a faint high pitch sound echoing along with the scene, this immediately defines the type of movie which the creators where seeking: a horror thriller filled with suspense and the unknown. The scene cuts to a direct bird’s eye shot of various tools of sharp objects and the audience can see hands moving over these instruments as if to compile them together which occur in the next few shots. In these different shots of the villain creating his tools the audience is given brief sequential shots of Freddie Kruger sharpening his claws and knives. Up till this point the credits displayed have been in a large white font which fades into view and disappears shortly after its appearance. This could be argued that the animation of the font will hint the killer’s behaviour: a sudden appearance in which the killer will strike and abruptly disappear in an abnormal manner. This is to amplify the tension which is slowly building up the display of the title of the film which is illustrated in bold red font against a black background. The non diegetic sound becomes nearly unbearable now as it becomes increasingly louder to facilitate what is to come next. This signifies the foreshadowing of death, murder and turmoil which will occur in the film. The next scene shows claws tearing through a hanging sheet and a ghastly snarl presumably from the unidentified figure screened previously. This also promotes the suspense of the movie as the viewer does not get to view the villain and this signifies that any character which will be shown in the movie could iconographic killer. The scene cuts into view of a woman, her facial code implies she is not familiar with where she is and she is scared of the sudden turn of events. The scene suddenly cuts into an extreme close up shot of the female and we can see her facial expression is one of anxiety and desperation. This convention signifies that she may be the primary victim of the unidentified violent person screen in the previous scenes. The next scene shows an extreme long shot of the female character running down a dark shadowy hallway containing water and very little light. This influences the tone of the movie making it seem as dark and providing it with an ominous feel to this horror film. As the female character stumbles closer to the camera we can see the camera beginning to focus on the female and the rule of thirds is employed here. This suggests that the character will be important in the film or will play a significant part in the film. Although it is a dark hallway, low key lighting is used to create creepy ominous feel for the audience while at the same time allowing the audience to read the character action code which is, out of breath and afraid. This is cleverly done to continually provide the audience with pieces of information and still providing the horror experience. The character turns around to look behind her and the camera still in the same shot pans inwards slowly towards her. This action with the camera signifies an individual creeping up behind the female, this increases the audience engagement as it gives off the impression that the audience is creeping up on this female character once again this increases the tension and in the opening scene of the film. At this point all diegetic sounds have be silenced in order to maximize the horror convention used here. Suddenly a sound heard off screen like an object being knocked over is heard, the female character whirls around to face the person who caused the disturbance in the silence and lets a surprised gasp. The camera cuts to show a sheep bleating, sounds like a creepy laugh from the sheep which continues to move along in the corridor. It cuts back to the female who promptly runs off screen in a desperate attempt to escape the nightmare.

Shutter Island Opening Analysis

Mood Board

| Start your own Photo Books | Create custom Christmas Cards

Our mood board was made to correctly represent the ideas of which our group has come up with for our final film opening product. Although we have decided to abandon the supernatural thriller idea we still want to incorporate a few conventions used in supernatural films into our final product and this is why we have used images from films that are classified as supernatural in our mood board. We have decided to use props such as a knife and possibly a mask to our idea as it will be deal in a stalker/serial killer movie.