Thinking about my Genre

In order to gain more insight in my chosen genre, I have analysed 3 film openings in my chosen genres (Thriller and Horror). As my film is more of a Thriller film than a Horror, I will study the Thriller genre to a greater extent than the Horror genre.

The opening credits of the film "Se7en"

This film opening is clearly a Thriller, as it is unclear and encourages the audience to think. Also, there are a lot of enigma codes in the opening credits which will be relevant to later events in the film. The soundtrack immediately creates an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience, and the low key lighting used in the scene reflects the rest of the film's narrative. The white writing used in the titles creates a ghostly eerie feel to the film which allows the audience to realise that there will be an aspect of Horror in the film. The appearance of blood and razor blades in the film's opening strengthens this, as blood and tools used for violence are usually seen in Horror films.


The opening credits of the film "Vertigo"

This film immediately makes the audience feel uncomfortable through the slow ominous music. The clip is unclear in meaning, as only the woman's face is shown in an upwards pan. When the scene adopts a red hue and the woman's eye widens, the audience are given an impression that the woman in frame will face violence and death during the film's narrative. The swirl that appears in the woman's eye makes her appear demonic, and it seems as though her purpose in the film may revolve around her having some kind of super power which she uses to do bad things.


The opening credits of the film "Scream"

This film is clearly set up in the beginning to be a Horror film. The innocent beginning with the light hearted acoustic background music allows the audience to settle in the film and relax, allowing the second half of the opening to shock the audience. Immediately, the white title turning red holds connotations of blood and violence. When the knife is shown in the hand of the girl, we as the audience are made aware that the girl will be killed throughout the film's narrative. The high key lighting makes the female appear ghostly and builds on the impression that she will be killed. The sudden change in the tempo and intensity of the music acts as an action note and indicates a murder will soon occur.

I plan to study these films and use techniques in these film openings in my own film's opening.