Research

Analysis on opening sequences of thriller films

I have decided to analyse another Bollywood thriller. However, this time I am analysing a psychological Bollywood thriller which is different to the one I previously analysed. Again, I will be looking at the music and sound and how it is used to create a tone in the opening sequence. I will then go onto camera and editing to see how the camera creates and establishes the location, setting and how the camera presents the different characters. I will then look at the mise-en-scene and see how the costumes, lighting etc are used to create a theme of thriller in the movie. Lastly, I will look at the title sequence and see if it creates and achieves suspense and also see if it creates a certain type of atmosphere before the movie has begun. 

Karthik Calling Karthik is a 2010 Indian psychological thriller film, written and directed by Vijay Lalwani and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment and Reliance Big Pictures.The film starsFarhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone in lead roles Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah play supporting roles in the film. The film's music was composed by the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, while the background score was composed byMIDlval Punditz and Karsh Kale.

Music/sound
The film opens up with noises of buttons on a phone being pressed. Then, a very upbeat sound comes in, with the noises of the button still happening and going off. This already creates suspense in the title sequence as the tone is thrilling. However, a calming voice then comes in with the music and sound which contrasts with what the audience have just heard. Hearing the voice sing very calmly changes the tone and makes it very soothing and light hearted. Making this sudden change engages the audience into the film as there is slight confusion because of the sudden changes of the sound. Although, you then start to hear whispers and someone saying in a very creepy voice "pick up the phone". This is significant because it again, changes the tone and atmosphere and makes it very dark and sinister. Also, by saying "pick up the phone" in a scary frightening voice it makes the audience think that something bad is going to happen and also gives the audience a more advanced insight of what the film may be about which in this case, would be something to do with a phone. In addition to this, when the film starts you hear noises of the protagonists nightmare. The noises are very dark and sinister as you can slightly hear a child crying out for help. The non diagetic sound that is played on top of this helps make the scene look very scary as the sound is very slow and creepy. When the protagonists wakes up from his nightmare, sad music is played to create a melochloy tone in the scene which makes the audience feel sympathy for him. It then shows him talking on the phone to someone, however, he speaks very quiet and shy which shows he is depressed or upset.

Camera/editing
The camera plays a big part in the opening the film and the editing too. When the film begins, you see into the main protagonists nightmare. The nightmare is of two children, one of which is trying to hurt the other. The camera uses a lot of different types of shots to achieve different things. Firstly, there is a close up of a little boys hand, touching the grass. This conveys innocence as you can tell the little boy is experiencing things for the first time as he is interested in something so simple as long grass. It then goes straight into a long shot of the location, which looks like a very poor location and setting as the buildings are all broken and the grass hasn't been cut. However, the long shot helps show the audience what the location is like. The camera then goes onto a low angle shot of the older sibling, trying to be horrible to the younger sibling. By using a low angle shot it helps the older sibling look more dominant in the scene and displays that the younger sibling is helpless as the camera is looking down on him. The editing also helps make the scene look scary as it cuts back and forth of the older sibling trying to be horrible to the younger sibling and then of the younger sibling trying to run away. This is important because as it cuts so quickly the audience don't know whether the sibling will escape or not. When the film properly begins, the camera is shot at a close up of the man when he wakes up. It then zooms out on him to show his facial expression without being uncomfortably close. You can tell he looks very distressed in this scene by the way he is looking down. The camera then goes on to various long shots, mid shots and close ups of him doing normal, day to day things such as getting dressed, washing his face etc. However, it then goes onto a slightly high angle shot of the camera looking down on him whilst he sits on the bed. The shot also shows his room which makes him come across very lonely and isolated as he is being shot in a big area and he is all alone. It then goes onto a bird eye view of him walking down these very large stairs which also reinforce his loneliness as the stairs look so big compared to him. 

Mise-en-scene
When the film opens up, the lighting is very dark and shows a lot of shadows behind the main protagonist. This makes the atmosphere in the scene come across very dark and sinister which results an ominous tone as the audience doesn't know what will happen. The next shot then contrasts with the previous shot as the lighting is very natural and even though because of the camera the protagonist looks very isolated, the lighting creates a sense of hope as it is bright and creates a positive atmosphere in the scene. The props when the scene opens up are important as they help make the film look realistic. The props such as; socks, bed, chairs, table make the room look genuine and real. The costume the character is wearing is a business suit which shows the audience, even though he does not have a 'fancy' flat, he has a good enough job to have to wear a suit which conveys his intelligence.

Title sequence
I think the title sequence is the most important thing about the opening of this thriller. It plays a very big part on creating a tone and atmosphere. The first thing you see is a a phone inside a phone box, with a dark black background, already creating a gloomy atmosphere. Throughout the title sequence the names of the cast members show up in white sans serif writing. The reason why they are in white is because the images that appear in the title sequence are very dark which is why the writing contrasts with them, helping the names to stand out and be more noticeable. The images that come up in the title sequence stay on the screen for about 2 seconds. This gives the audience time to look at the cast members name that has appeared on  the screen and to look and view the image. Each of the images are significant because a lot of them introduce characters. However, the characters face is never shown properly to create suspense as it is more of a mystery for the audience to work out if they are good or bad. There are several images of phones in the title sequence, this already indicates to the audience that the film has something to do with phones or calling someone. The director has purposely done this to imply, but not to tell the audience a few important key aspects in the film. Each of the images that are shown are never positive or happy. A lot of the images show characters, alone looking very isolated or if they are with someone, one of them is usually looking very angry or sad which creates quite a melonchloy atmosphere in the beginning of the film. The colors in the title sequence are normally blacks, whites, greys and light blues. The white, grey and black are very professional colors which make the title sequence quite professional. However, the blue helps make the title sequence a bit more vibrant as the other colors that are used are quite dull. 

Screen shots:

This is a mid shot of the main protagonist.

Birds eye view shot of the progtaonist.

This is an image from the title sequence. This image caught my attention as it shows his loneliness. 

This is a screen shot of when the older sibling was bullying the younger sibling. As you can see, the setting is very dark and gloomy.

Close up, showing his worried facial expression. The shadow behind him helps make the scene look very ominous.

Overall, I have learnt a lot about Bollywood thrillers and how the opening sequences create suspense. I found out that by implying and hinting in the title sequence of what the film may be about it creates a sense of mystery which engages the audience into the film more. I feel the title sequence is extremely successful in making the film look mysterious and ambiguous. The sound, lighting and digital images all help out too. I have found out that by using dark lighting, creating shadows make scenes look very sinister and dark. I feel as if I have done this task good. However, I feel as if I could of analysed the title sequence more but I did find out enough information from it as I have learnt a lot about how the title sequence creates mystery in the beginning of the film.