Research

Analysis on opening sequences of thriller films

I have decided to analyse a completely different type of thriller. I am going to analyse a film called frozen which is an American film. The film is about three skiers stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death. I am hoping to find out if the opening of Frozen is anything like the Bollywood thriller I analysed. I will have to look out for the same things such as: how the music and sound sets a tone in the opening, how the camera and editing present characters and how the camera uses shots to establish the location and characters body language, how the mise-en-scene creates a type of atmosphere within the opening and if the title sequence has any relevance or creates suspense. 

Frozen is a 2010 American thriller and horror film written and directed by Adam Green and starring Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, and introducing Emma Bell.

Music/sound
Firstly, the sound in the title sequence sets a very sinister tone in the movie as you hear a large sound of lighting and thunder which is scary for the audience. The scene opens up with only diagetic sound. The diagetic sound is of the equipment rustling and creaking. This creates a very ominous tone as it sounds scary and mysterious as the audience does not know what is going to happen. After this, the non diagetic sound comes in, the sound is very upbeat and fast which create a very positive tone in this scene which is very different to the diagetic sound which was heard before. All of this happens very fast (in the first minute) - This is significant because it is exciting for the audience as the scene and tone has changed numerous times which is very thrilling. The diagetic sound in the background helps make the scene look and feel more realistic as you can hear people talking and people skiing. This helps make the location and story line more believable for the audience.

Camera/editing
The film opens up with various close ups of the electronic ski equipment being moved. This reinforces the ominous tone as the close ups of the metal rustling make it look like something will break or something bad will happen. The camera then switches to a long shot of the mountains to establish the location they are in. This helps the audience see and view where they are and what the atmosphere is like.The director did this because the audience could get a more advanced insight of the scenery. The camera then focuses on people on the ski lifts. This already tells the audience that the ski lift in the movie plays a big part because of the amount of shots the director has used of it. The camera then switches to a mid shot of the three protagonists. The director cleverly uses close ups of them all, one by one to show their importance in the film. The camera shoots each character at eye level and over the shoulder to show the audience that they are all equal and as important as each other.

Mise-en-scene
The lighting is very dark when the film opens up. This is because the director wants to achieve a sinister tone and atmosphere in the start of the film. However, the next shot juxtaposes as he lighting is very natural, not too bright but not too dark as it is in the middle of the day. The lighting is also helping making the scenery look realistic because it is very natural. The clothing on the characters is mostly the same, large jackets, trousers and snow boots. This is what the audience would expect them to be wearing as the film is based on a ski resort. All the ski equipment such as the ski lift, cafes etc helped make the shots look authentic and realistic. It also gives the audience a more advanced insight on what it looks like when you go skiing.

Title sequence
The title sequence is very simple in Frozen. It has some interesting parts such as when it says which company made the film it has vibrant colors such as a bright blue. However, it then goes straight into telling us the main cast members. It has a black background with white writing. Even though these two colors contrast, neither of the colors are vibrant which kind of makes the movie come across depressing. The font is in serif which makes the title sequence look very elegant, sophisticated and professional.

Screen shots of the film:

Overall, I have learnt a lot about how the camera and sound help create tones and different kinds of atmosphere. The camera played a big part in the beginning of the film as the close ups of the ski equipment created a very ominous and dangerous tone which resulted in the audience feeling worried but engaged in the film as they want to know what will happen next. The sound off the equipment creaking also helps creating an ominous tone as the audience know that something bad or negative will happen. The Bollywood thriller I analysed created and achieved the same tone and atmosphere. Although, the Bollywood thriller used different types of sound and camera shots to achieve the same effect. I now know that I should try different shots, music and props to see which one will suit my story line best. Doing this also helped add to my knowledge of sound as I had to look carefully at the diagetic sound and I now feel as if I have a more advanced understanding. I feel as if I have done this task good as I have found out a lot about what the camera and sound achieve. However, the title sequence did not help add to my understanding. I now know that I should look and analyse extra title sequences so I can see how they create suspense or if they create a tone at the start of the film.