Thriller opening (Storyboard)

Treatment

Black backdrop fills the shot. The sound of vehicles passing floods the darkness, a passing car interrupts the pitch black as we are taken to a gloomy overcast. Opening with a pathetic fallacy, clouds cover the sky. Revealed central frame complimented with a long shot, a nerve stricken boy stands. Simplistic clothing masks the complexity of the emotions running through the characters mind. As if his life depended on it, clutched to his chest is a common backpack, the contents of which is masked from the viewer. The boy starts to look around, the camera, using disorientating angles (mixes of extreme close ups and mid shots) is used with a handheld style to show the anxiety of the character as well as the situation.

The purpose behind this shot is to create an exposed insight into the character. By using different points of view/angles to shoot the character we are constantly reminded of the disorientation the character feels. The use of quite a gloomy, natural light enforces the tone and atmosphere of the opening. Revealing quite a slow paced shot to start with, an initial tension is created among the introduction of the character. However, as the scene progresses the pace of the action soon follows suit.

The influences behind our opening come from a number of well-known thriller productions. The first, concerns the use of the visual affect from a handheld camera, coming from the Bourne Trilogy we are trying to recreate the unsteady/uneasy feeling in which is shown within the movies. The slow paced start was inspired by the opening of Casino Royale as we have the suspension from the action. By doing this, enigma is created and the action can be progressively introduced throughout rather than all in one go. The concept of the character running from someone is influenced heavily by the film Chatroom. Coming from a psychological thriller it isn’t your stereotypical chase scene, however the key concepts are still there. Not only does this create thrill within the scene it also helps to establish more of the storyline. Another film influencing our opening is that of Essex Boys. A certain shot that is used within the opening of this movie has proved most useful. The shot I am referring to is that of when two characters are in a car travelling through a tunnel and we see the drivers face shadowed with a cross pattern. This is foreshadowing certain events that are soon to come, instead of completely replicating the shot we have adapted it. We have taken the concept and chosen to place the character in front of a fence. Not only does this give a sense of entrapment, but by shooting him from behind we could also be foreshadowing a life behind bars in the future. The final film we have used to influence our work is used in association with the transitions between shots. In the celebrated style of Layer Cake, in our opening we have chosen to use the environment to transition between shots. For example: Our first shot of a car driving past reveals a boy standing in a long shot. As another car drives past the boy is completely hidden, and as the car drives away the boy is revealed again however this time in a mid shot.

What do directors seek to establish in the opening of thrillers? (unfinished)

With every opening of a film it has to be able to make the viewers interested and into the movie straight away, so then the rest of the movie gets good expectation from the audience. A 'interesting' opening comes from make the audience intrigued to see the rest of the movie, directors use certain techniques to do this such as introducing some of the characters and maybe even show key parts of what the story is about. Another great way is to make the opening have a voice-over which can then talk about about the characters story which works well because if the shots aren't that interesting the voice-over does keep you on track. With some openings all it takes is to thrill the audience, to do this directors use maybe chase scenes or actions scenes etc.

An example of an interesting and thrilling opening would be from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. The film starts off with Bacon (Jason Statham) illegally sell products on the side of a street, which leads to the police noticing and chasing him which has already created a sense of excitement to the audience. The chase is also well shot as it uses a handheld shaky cam affect as he runs towards and past the camera.

The next shot is very creative and unique as it parts of the shot are in slow-motion, for example the second man Eddy (Nick Moran), comes into shot fast from around the corner and hits the wall in slow-motion. These kinds of edit are very well done and give the shot a lot more variety which makes it more exciting. Another part of the scene that uses slow-motion is the part as Bacon throws the suitcase of items towards Eddy which leads to the suitcase opening and the items go flying. Again the use of slow-motion in this scene is great as if it wasn't in slow motion it would of looked a bit chaotic, where as now it looks cool. The slow-motion also works amazing with the music in the background (Ocean Colour Scene - Hundred Mile High City) because of how fast and exciting it is.

L.A Noire: How does it use features of film noir?

L.A Noire is a neo-noir crime video game made and published by the very popular and well known Rockstar Games, the game is focused around a man name Cole Phelps who begins working for the patrol desk in Los Angeles, and the idea of the game is that he gets promoted through the five departments. The game is heavily focused around the themes and aspects of film noir which are shown throughout various cut-scenes and gameplay.

Specifically in the opening, the game uses various features that can be seen in popular noir films such as LA Confidential, where the opening of the film pans over Los Angeles with a voice-over and talks about the people and city etc. The game takes a very similar approach and is almost identical. The music in the background is also a good feature as its quite suitable for the time that the game is based in with its simple piano and saxophone parts. Again the music is similar to the LA Confidential opening music and its the same era.

Even before you get into the game, it shows off even more aspects of film noir with the menu screen. To begin, the menu is all black and white and uses this to bring out and amplify the shadows and lighting, the options that are available are laid out as  if they are a shadow on the wall. This is perfect for the theme of noir as a lot of the time people are displayed as a shadow by the minimal use of lighting when filming and is a great way to show different sides to a character. Its also good to show them as mystery. The menu can also be compared to The Third Man, as it resembles various scenes from the movie, such as the beginning of the chase scene towards the end of the film. The shots are almost identical in the way that the camera is slightly tilted, there's one light source coming from a lamppost, and the use of the vanishing point down the long alleyways. The use of the figure coming from the light and smoke is also implemented into the menu of L.A Noire which uses the car lights to do so.

The costume is a great feature of L.A Noire as they do a great job to get it just right with the era and style. The most common costume in the game is the suits as most of the characters you come to meet are police officers and detectives and in that time and today people working with the law or people with good jobs tend to wear suits to look professional and smart. The other piece of clothing is the hats, which are also worn by nearly all the people you meet in the story. From police hats to bowler hats the variety is key to the specific time period.