Analysis of Thriller Films !

Se7en

Firstly, there is a book's pages being turned slowly and this builds up the sense of tension. The extreme close up of the person shaving off their fingertips, expresses the level of drama and also tension. David Fincher has used this shot to get attention from the audience and make them curious of why this action is taking place. The pictures of the people being stuck down also catch the audience's attention as the pictures and negative and creepy. The person going over words is weird because people usually highlight words on a page, not go over them in black pen, and this will make the audience curious of why this person is doing this and what the meaning of this may be. Also, the extreme close up of the words being crossed out grabs the attention of the audience, as they will want to see what words exactly are being erased, also what else may be on the page. The crossing out of the man's eyes and then face may represent murder/revenge, and these are aspects of the thriller genre.

The slow and deep music is catchy and also adds tension to the opening of the film, and it adds mystery and awareness to it, also the bass provides tension. The use of special effects, such as flashing provides the film with extra mystery and apprehension. As the music speeds up it increases the tension and level of mystery. It attracts the audience more and makes them more aware, and wanting to watch on.

David Fincher uses editing in the opening sequence to make it more effective. He uses 'cutting', where he cuts one shot and moves on to another shot. This is effective because it gives the audience an opportunity to see many actions happening in the shots, another reason why this is effective is because the use of cutting provides more tension and a sense of drama. He also uses cutting to introduce a title which also causes tension.The use of child-like text as the titles with a black and dark background, gives a sense of tension, darkness and non-adult like acts. The contrast of the white writing and black background express a sense of  drama and negative aspects. The text is small and not very bold however, but because of the use of a contrasted background, it makes it more exaggerated. The opening titles appear and then flash, which makes the text bolder, which increases the level of tension. The close ups and extreme close ups give the audience an opportunity to see detail and vital information, which gives them a chance to gain knowledge of what the film could be able.The opening sequence of 'Se7en' makes its audience want to watch on because of the actions in it. They will want to know what the film is actually about, and why this person is doing the things seen, such as cutting up pictures, shaving off their fingertips, blacking out words and much more.

As the audience are unable to see the character's face it makes them unaware of who it could be. However, this increases the tension and curiosity of who this person could be and their morals. The opening sequence introduces the genre 'thriller' as it expresses mystery, murder and crime. The audience may understand the storyline possibilities. Enigma is established by the music and images portrayed in the the opening sequence. It porttrays the sense of mystery, danger, revenge and murder.

Dexter 

The opening starts with an extreme close up of a mosquito on his skin which he splats. The

extreme close up and close up of his skin being shaved shows his power and domincance. The loud sound of him shaving and close up makes the audience aware and also exaggerates what has taken place and is actually happening in the drama. The blood then dripping from his neck also exxagerates what has taken place and represents murder/crime which symbolises a thriller. The cutting of the bacon makes the audience think of skin being sliced/cut and this being an extreme close up emphasises what is actually happening. The sound of him chewing the bacon and frying the egg is an exaggeration of the action, and the deep slow music builds up tension and drama for the audience. The slicing of the orage with the sharp knife makes the audience think of torture and murder as the orange is being slowly cut, and the close up shows the juice coming (squirting) from the orange. This is used because it represents blood squirting from someone, so the close up of it makes the audience aware of this resemblence. When he ties the flossing string around his finger, the extreme cose up shows the importance of his action. The strength he uses to wrap the piece of floss around his fingers shows his power and strength. Also, the way he pulls his laces and shows his power and may make the audience imagine someone being strangled.The close up fo dexter shows his dominance and the fact that he is in the opening sequence shows his importance and strong role in the film.

Most shots are taken with a dark background to cause tension. This expresses the sense of it being a thriller drama. The producer of this drama uses a lot of editing in this opening sequence. They use 'cutting' to put the different and variety of shots together. For example: the two shots of the mosquito on Dexter's arm and then squashed on his arm, show the audience the before and after of what has happened, and therefore give the audience information whilst doing this. This cut also grabs the audience's attention and awareness because of the surprise of the mosquito being squashed so quickly. The producer often uses cuts to show the before and after of an action.

The music in the background reminds me of gangster films, and this links to the drama, Dexter. As Dexter is similar to a gangster, and the opening sequence of the drama shows this. The sequence shows his dominance and power, and that he is the main character in this drama.

The opening sequence uses a natural light which is because it is filmed in the day and the background is often bright, however, low-key lighting is used in the sequence to portray the actions taking place, to express the negativity towards them and to cause tension for the audience.

Specific Questionnaire Case Study !

In my specific questionnaire I used more detailed questions which would help me to get feedback on my queries about the thriller opening I wanted to create, and ideas. I wanted to get feedback which would help me come to a conclusion on what my thriller opening would be about.

Case Study "Psychological Thriller" !

The Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the thriller genre. The thriller genre often has elements of mystery and drama, and occasionally this genre links to the horror genre. The psychological thriller relates to the mind or processes of the mind and sometimes the suspense comes from one character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Thrillers usually focus on the plot rather than the character whereas psychological thrillers focus on the character more than the plot. In psychological thrillers, characters are often reliant on physical strength rather than overcoming their enemies like action thrillers. The suspense in these films usually comes from one or more characters preying on one another’s minds, such as by playing deceptive games with each other.

These are examples of Thrillers:

Case Study on the Director - "David Fincher" !

David Fincher (born August 28^th 1962) is an American film director. He’s known for his dark and stylish thriller movies, such as Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac and Alien 3 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which he received an Academy Award nominated for Best Director. David Fincher's early life began with him making movies at the age of eight years old, and as he grew up he got a job loading cameras for Korty’s Films. He was later hired by Industrial Light & Magic in 1980, where he worked on productions for Twice upon a Time, Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In 1984 he went on to direct a commercial for the American Cancer Society (a smoking advert), because of this role in producing this advert, he quickly brought the attention of producers, where he was given the chance to direct the documentary The Beat of the Live Drum. He continued to direct adverts for companies such as Revlon, Converse, Nike, Pepsi and Sony. Fincher was also interested in the music industry where he went on to music videos and directing them.

General Questionnaire Analysis !

 

My general questionnaire consisted of questions which varied from age and gender to more detailed questions which would help me to decide what my Thriller Opening would be based on and how I would  begin to think of ideas. In this analysis I am going to explore the responses I got in my questionnaire and verify how I am going to use the questions and answers to produce and adapt my thriller opening. The first two questions I put in my questionnaire was 'Are you male or female?' and 'What age are you?'. These questions would help me to find out what the two different genders were most interested in when it came to their interest in films.
Another question on my questionnaire was 'What is your favourite genre of film?', which I learnt that females were more interested in films such as; romance and comedy, and males were more interested in action films, however most people enjoyed comedies the most. From this I learnt that females preferred more soft and mellow films whereas males preferred more hard and tough films. I gave one questionnaire to someone who wasn't ideally part of my target audience, an adult (female). I learnt from this questionnaire that they weren't very interested in action films/thriller films but found romance films more interesting, and I realised that my thriller opening was mainly targeted for young people, my own age.
From the question; 'How often do you go to the cinema?', I learnt that young people go to the cinema approximately once every fortnight, where they watched mostly new films which had been released lately. I also learnt that people mostly download movies from the question 'Do you download or rent films more?'. I learnt that people mostly download films because it is easier then buying or renting them, as it is a much quicker process which sometimes is priceless.
I found that Clint Eastwood was the most favoured film director, as his films often have a very good and detailed storyline, he has won many academy awards. He was favoured because he not only directs and produces his own films but also makes music for them and also because he stars in several of his own films such as; Heartbreak Ridge, Gran Torino, True Crime and Million Dollar Baby. He was also favoured because he appeared in programmes such as; Jonny Mercer - The Dreams on you. Another question I asked was 'Do you prefer films where the opening sequence starts in the day or night?'. From this question I found that most people preferred films where the opening started in the night, as this made it more tense and at ease.

From my general questionnaire I gained knowledge that males preferred action thrillers and females preferred romance and comedies. I also learnt that older people weren't very interested in action films such as thrillers. My questionnaire will help me in my production, as it gives me information on what I should and shouldn't include, and also people downloaded films more than rent as they found it cheaper and a easier process. I will use these responses to help me when producing my Thriller Opening.