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Good Points
- Sound is really different and effective- Love it!
- Good location
- Dog is cute
- Good sound track- contripuntal sound makes it more creepy
- Contrast of the scene adds a sense of mystery to the opening
- Really like the use of close up shots are the beginning as this leaves the viewer in suspense and creates tension which is really effective
 - The combination between the diegetic and non diegetic sound is effective and builds up the tension for the audience
- The camera angle being on the side when the girl is laying on the floor is effective as it brings the audience down to her level which shows a connection between the girl and the audience which is effective
- OMG!
- camera work, angles, sound and concept are all really good
- nothing bad to say, amazing
- Brilliant!
- loving the actress (mum) and dog
- sound, camera angles, lighting, everything is brilliant!
- brillian opening, enough is given out to the audience without giving too much away
- in the last scene the tension is built excellently
- not a bad word to say about it
- good use of lighting in the barn- very dark and mysterious
- the soundtrack is excellent, it really fits each scene perfectly
- good use of camerashots, had a good variety of different shots

Improvements
- Talking on the phone/ voicemail was a bit cheesy
- titles disappeared a bit too fast
- a few more shots of the barn location could have worked
- unsteady shot in the kitchen scene is not as effective compared to others which are well shot
- i thought the tiger proguction abel didnt bleng with the theme the titles created, perhap a change here?
- it seems more like a horror than a thriller because of the way the scene ends.

Final Cut Disconnected

Taa Daa! :D

Thriller Film Panes

 

(Order from left to right, down a level and left to right again)
Image one: Thriller Conventions: This screengrab shows the shadow of the Antagonist who has kidnapped a teenage girl.

Image two: Thriller Coventions: This screengrab gives the viewer a sense of voyeurism.

Image three: Costume: A mid-long shot of the charater Jade's costume, with tears and mud all over her clothes.

Image four: Props: Jade is talking into a pink mobile phone.

Image five: Title: 'Disconnected' in a slightly distorted font.

Image six: Lighting: This pane shows how the barn in dimly lit.
Image seven: Location: This screengrab is of the barn location, it is dark and dirty.We chose this image because it gives a good feel of the overall scene and it shows a large amount of the scene. We also really liked the lighting and angle of the shot.

Image eight: Camera work: A close up of Jade's hands bound up over a bloody handprint.

Image nine: Camera work: This screengrab is a point of view shot from Jade watching the kidnapper about to smash the phone.

THE TEAM

Best and Worst Thrillers

The Top 5 Thrillers voted for on IMDB are;
1) Goodfellas
2) Fight Club
3) The Dark Knight
4) Inception
5) Pulp Fiction

The Bottom 5 Thrillers voted for on IMDB are;
1) The Hellcats
2) Way of the Vampire
3) The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II
4) Shark: Rosso nell'oceano
5) Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace

Our favourite Thriller films;
Michaela = Inception & The Taking of Pelham 123
Alistair = Shallow Grave & The Day After Tomorrow
Holly = Shutter Island & Premonition
Bekki =Leon & Taken

Analysis of Taking of Pelham 123

Taking of Pelham 123 is an action thriller. It is about the train, Pelham 123, being hijacked by four armed men requesting money. The film is about one man, the protagonist, saving the people as hostages and getting the money to Ryder in time.

Camerwork
At the beginning there is a establishing shot of New York city high rise panning around the tallest buildings. It then moves to a high angle looking down on different streets of New York, with taxis and crowds f people, moving to a close up of the subway sign, showing the location of the movie.
They use lots of fast zooms and quick, stiff movements for side to side. This makes the scene disorientating and confusing.
There are many long shots and mid shots then a sudden close up on the faces of the hence men, showing their importance in the film and making them stand out to us.
When the location moves to the office they use a slow pan mid long shot to show the new location. Then over the shoulder shots during the conversation.
They use some hand held when in the crowds of people to make it seem that we are really there in the crowd ourself.
Then there is a close up of the gun then a high angle long shot of the subway.
At the end of the opening it goes back to the high angle of New York high rise.

Sound
At the beginning there is only the sound of a train moving and then a long beep. This then suddenly changes to ambient sound with quiet train sounds in the background. When the film goes to the crowds of people the soundtrack suddenly starts. it has heavy base sounds and fast tempo with some rapping, there are still sounds of trains moving. The music stops just as suddenly as it started when it changes to the office where a quiet ambient sounds starts with office noises e.g. talking, papers moving and quiet beeps. There is a loud guitar sound when change of location then it all stops with a sound of a loud train beep.

Editing
There are lots of different editing techniques used in this thriller which is one of reasons I find this such a great film. At first the production titles come on screen it seems to grow in size. The picture starts as a small square in the middle of the screen and slowly moves forward, drawing as in. During the establishing shot titles come on to the screen with a sliding black bar. The black bar covers part of the shot, below the bar the shot of the city flickers and the city turns dark. The titles them self flicker is well and change colour from whit to light blue then back to white. When changing from the city high rise to closer shots of the city two footages of the same piece of city, one bright and one dark, are merged together in a flicker then cuts to the next scene. The scenes  change quickly with cut transactions however when there is a close up on Ryder's face the footage is slowed down, making our attention focus on him. A black screen slides on from the right with the film name. Behind the name small blue bars slide past that look like train windows zooming past. In the office the main transaction used is a cut however after the establishing shot of the office a wipe is used which follows a man walking past the camera, this creates a very good effect. The main transaction used in the subway is a fade mixed with a zoom. The black bar is used again here for the names of actors. Another name appeared on to the screen by a slide and it looked as if it were being pulled on by the passing train, and another is sliding forward through a tunnel, this also looks like a train.
When there is a change in location there is a very fast montage of images that blur together before settling on the office. All of this is in parallel editing. To end they have a simple black screen with block white writing say the time '1.58 pm'
Lots of the editing is done to link or fit with trains, they do this to show the importance of the trains and to show what the basis of the film in based on.

Mise-en-scene
Pace - The pace of the opening sequence is very fast when in the streets and subway, this builds up tension and confusion on location and the people. In the office location the the pace is slower showing the normality in everyday working life for these people.
Costume - The hence men are wearing similar clothing. Ryder is the lead man therefore looks the worst. He is wearing a black hat, long black coat and sunglasses, therefore hiding most of his face. He is also holding a black bag which we do not know the content. The other hence men are also wearing the same type of costume however theyare not n black showing that Ryder is the most important out of the 'bad guys'
In the office everyone is wearing normal work clothing, shirt with ties and smart trouser or skirt. This shows the normality in this situtation.
Props - The whole opening is centered around a train, with things linking to them and images of the train itself. Also the bag that the hence men have makes it mysterious.
Colour - In the office the lightng is lighter with a blue tint to it, making it seem calm and technical. The subway is dark, grey and slightly dingy. This shows the difference between the two locations.
Body Language - The Hence men are all standing very still waiting for the train, showing that they are waiting in anticipation however they look as if they are calm and know what is about to happen. The people in the office seem very relaxed as they are in a comfortable location and everyday work, not knowing anything strange is going to happen.
Location - There are two location in the opening which are the main and nearly only locations used in the film. There is the office and the subway train.

Group 48 review - Mise en scene

Group 48 showed appropriate use of mise en scene to show the types of characters and different locations. The first location in a dark barn created an eery and scary atmosphere for the veiwer. They used the location effectively to get the best out of it, and this was very effective for the viewer. The Second location showed a cosy and family home, which was a real contrast to the first location. The props were used well to give a realistic feel to the story line. Although there wasnt many props used, they were used very well and effectively. The two charcters shown in the opening, the protaginist was wearing ripped up dirty clothes to show how she was vunrable, and the second character was the mother or the protagonist. She was shown wearing mumsy clothing giving a laid back and caring impression. Light was used effectvely in the barn, to show confusion for the veiwers that created a good sense of scariness. The titles that were used in group 48 worked well with the main idea and story line. Overall their work was very effective and well put together creating a great lasting effect for the veiwers.

Thriller Director - Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle was the director for such films such as 127 Hours, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. He is one of the seven directors to win the Golden Glode, Director's Guild, BAFTA and Oscar for the same movie, Slumdog Millionaire. Some of Boyle's tade mark moves are that he uses the opening shot is usually a shot from the middle of the movie, often uses electronic music, kinetic camera and bright colourful landscapes.

"This is a film about how precious life is. And it's only precious because of other people. It's not precious in itself, which is what we sometimes think - we think the will to survive is an individualistic thing. ... But it's actually connected to other people. And that's what the life essence is really about - it's always about other people, even in the loneliest places."

Rough Cut - DISCONNECTED

Rough cut Analsis:

Logo Research

 looking at various logos of production companies, we played around with words and came up with TIGER DOOR PRODUCTIONS, a bit of a play on the 'lionsgate' productions.
Holly drew the tiger and we scanned it onto the computer where we edited the background and text on photoshop.

Research for intro music in thriller

For the beginning of our film we wanted something a bit eerie but urban, combining classical music like piano or violin with drum beats and bass.

A great example for this is Kanye West's song Runaway

Font

 
This is the font that we decided to use for our titles,we chose it because of it computer geerated appearance.

Analysis of the opening of thriller 'Premonition'

'Premonition'-

 

Premonition is a 2007 American drama film/ physchological thriller directed by Mennan Yapo and starring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon, in which Linda Hanson (Sandra) lives the days of a very event full week in non chronological order. on Wednesday she discovers her husband has been killed in a traffic accident, but when she wakes up the next morning he is still alive.

Analysis-

In the opening sequence of this film, the micro elements, sound, camera work, editing and mise en scene, are used to relate the film to its 'thriller' genre.

Firstly in the editing of the film black screens with white text on top was used, with eerie and mournful music in the background, the white text stands out on the dark screen, it is also in a fairly simple font which makes it easy to read, the text fades in and out, the final two credits are the starring actress' name and lastly the name of the film 'Premonition' so it sticks in the audiences mind, these credits appear to flash before fading to black. then the diejetic sound starts whilst the black screen is still visable so the audience can hear clicking and banging sounds, this effect has the audience guessing as to what the noises are, the black screen then fades to the clip, which is a high angle shot of a woman with her hands over her face sitting in the front passenger seat of a car, at first it seems that she has been kidnapped, we soon learn that the sounds were simply the clicking of seat belts and the bang of car doors, the woman is then guided out of the car by her husband, this is where we discover that she has her face covered as she is being led to a surprise.

there is a sepia effect over the prologue of the film, this helps to show that it is a scene from the past. the music behind this scene is very happy, in contrast to the eerie music with the black screens, because the couple is portrayed to be very happy and in love. many of the shots of the couple are from a distance giving the impression of voyeurism, this is also shown through the use of hand held camerawork. when the scene changes from the past to present day the transition is a fade to white screen which resembles a bright white light, which is often associated with death. during the transition we hear church bells chiming in the background, we later relate this to the bells that chime during Jim's funeral later in the film.

the next scene is of the mother driving her children to school, there is no music however we hear children laughing and playing in the playground, these sounds represent innocence and youth. the setting, narrative and costume in the opening sequence are very everyday and ralateable, the routine the mother goes through in the morning is conventional of a housewife, the costumes of a suit for the working father, a conventional sheriffs uniform for the sheriff, school uniform for the two daughters and the dressed down clothes for the stay at home mum. we are shown the housewife working in the home with the use of tracking shots to replicate us following her.

the editing of the film on the whole is continuity editing however there is the use of montages later in the film, and in the opening sequence, whilst Linda is on the phone, parallel editing is used to show each of the womens' reactions. there are more credits over the top of the clip, they are in the same font, colour and size as the first credits at the beginning so the the 'house theme' is continuous.

there are reaction shots in both the scene on the phone, the scene with the sheriff and the scene with the answering machine, the camera is aimed at Linda and we hear the answer phone in the background, so we can see her reaction to what is being said. A sense of voyeurism is again created with the high angle tracking shot of the car, as if we were watching her from a distance, like spying o her. there are many conventions in the opening scene which relate to the films thriller genre and death theme, for instance the use of orchestral music, bright white light and the point of view shot of crows flying an the crow sound effect are elements associated with death and funerals. there is a tracking shot as Linda is running down the road, however the first thing we see is her shadow which is fairly eerie, we also hear footsteps and panting/ heavy breathing, these effects are associated with thrillers and at first the audience may assume that she is being chased, however the camera pans upwards to show her jogging and we learn she is simply exercising.

there are alternating over the shoulder shots paired with reaction shots during the conversation between Linda and the sheriff, at the end of the conversation when Linda is informed that her husband has died her eyes glaze over and she zones out, this is supported with the use of indistinguishable background noises, and an echoing effect on the sheriffs voice suggests distance in her thoughts. no artificial lighting is used in the sequence, it s all natural, to try and in keep with the everyday and real life narrative.

Analysis of a Thriller opening: Leon

Leon: A 12 year old girl, Mathilda's whole family is killed while she's at the store and as she arrives home sees the men who killed them still at her home and to save her life she decides to walk past and pretend to live at her neighbors home, Leon her neighbor turns out to be a professional assasin who reluctantly takes care of her and teaches her his trade.

Camera Work:
The establishing shot at the begining is a of a large space of water and the camera then pans across it, then crossing over some trees and the pan gradually becomes slower and lifts up to show an skyline of New York, it then continues with a faster speed and cuts to the busy streets in the city where the camera is unsteadily panning through them just above car height. This scene gives away the location of the film as the camera lifts up to reveal a banner reading 'Welcome to Little Italy'. The camera then pans in closer on a shop titled 'Supreme Macaroni co.' The next shot is a close up of Leons hands gentally placed around a glass of milk on the table, this adds tension to the scene. The next shot is really usefull; it's a close up on Leons eye, but his eyes are hidden with his black lensed circle framed glasses. The glasses don't only add mystery to the figure as it's hiding his eyes, but they also act as a mirror for the viewer, who will be able to see the reflection of the man sitting opposite him putting a cigarette in his mouth and then the next shot is a close up of the man lighting the cigarette in his mouth and the camera pans up very slightly but the mans features are hidden behind the smoke from the freshly lit cigarette, once again adding mystery to the identity of the two men. They utter a few words in italian that also add to the mystery. A mid-close up is then shown of Leon but half his face is blocked from the unfocused shoulder of the man opposite from him. Another close up then shows the man putting out his cigarette in the little glass ash tray on the table. A close up is used on the mans mouth as he says 'Let's talk business'. The man then slides a black and white photo of a man in a car, unaware that the photo has been taken, into the possible point of view shot. The shots then switch between close ups of the two mens faces and the photograph as they speak. The close up of Leons hand around the glass of milk is used again and he picks up the glass, then a close up of the other mans eyes show his eyes following Leons movements, then a close up of Leon drinking the milk is used and finally a close up of when he puts the empty glass back down beside his hand. In a point of view shot a close up of the picture is shown as Leon puts his hand on the photo and slides it away, a reflection in his glasses also shows him doing this.

Many of the shots in the opening scene were close ups, used very skillfully to add tension and mystery between the two men, especailly as close ups don't show all of their features and techniques are used to block them such as; smoke from the cigarette, black glasses, over the shoulder shot close up etc. What i think is really skillfull and interesting about the way the close ups were used is that even though the viewer wasn't shown a full shot of what was going on, they managed to build the scene up bit by bit with big and small details, almost like a jig saw of little pieces put together to show the viewer the full picture.
Also very clever is the use of unsteady camerawork as it pans through the streets as it makes the veiwer feel almost apart of the film, like they're actually there in the street and glancing up when the camera lifts up.

Sound:
The overall soundtrack in the opening is very soft and calm. The soundtrack commences with simple soft notes as the credits appear over a black screen and a single high pitch violin is then added as the camera pans across the water. As the camera rolls over the trees to the New York City skyline more detail picks up in the music and by the time the camera is panning throught the city's busy streets it has become quite complex with pipes or flutes used too but still quite calming. I think this music is well suited to the opening becuase the music is at it's simplest point as the credits appear on a black screen and then as more location is revealed to the viewer, more qualities start to rise in the track and like it's a transition of simple to complex in the music as it is visually from the sea to the city streets.
The music dies down as close up of the man opposite Leon is shown and only ambient sounds are present along with the dialogue from the two men. Tense music then builds up as a clear decision has been made as Leon picks up his glass, the sound of Leon putting his glass down is exaggerated an slightly echoed to add more tension and a final impacting effect.

sound effects used include:
- a cigarette being lit
- dialogue
- a cigarette being put out
- a photo being slid into and out of the shot
- leons hand touching the glass of milk
- sound of the milk being drunk
- the glass being put down on the table


Editing:
The credits and titles are all in a simple white font, with all the names in capitals. The titles fade in and out on the black screen and also along the establioshing shots of the location. When the camera reaches the skyline of New York the title 'LEON' flashes onto the scene, filling up most of the screen and fades away after a couple of seconds, The titles continue through the streets until the camera reaches the little shop.

The majority of the transitions int he opening are cuts, there is only one fade transition which is appropriatly placed between the entrance of the little shop and the close up of Leons hands against the glass of milk.

editing techniques used:
- shot reverse shot is used when Leon is sharing dialogue with the man opposite him.
- as Leon picks up his glass of milk and drinks it, a reaction shot is used of the man opposite him as his eyes follow the glass.
-Match on action is used when the mann lights his cigarette.

The pace at the beginning is slow in the establishing shots and picks up as the camera goes into the restaurant and speeds up more as the two men are having a conversation.

Mise-en-scene:
Lighting: In the establishing shots of the sea, tree's and city the lighting is very natural and bright creating an everyday environment. In contrast to the outside shots, in the small restuarant the lighting is lower and artificail, creating a more tense and serious atmosphere.
Set/Location: The storyline is set in New York, shown in the establishing long shot of the City skyline, in Little Italy, shown by a banner in the street saying 'Welcome to Little Italy' and then even deeper into a restaurant named 'Supreme Macaroni co.'
Costume: the wardrobe for the film is made up of casual everyday wear from the 90's, as the film was brought out in 1994.
Colour Design: Outside the restuarant, nutural colours are used to create the city and inside the restuarant an orangey/red colour design is used.
Props: A glass of milk is the first thing the viewer sees of Leon and acts almost like a full stop because as they finish their conversation, Leon finishes his drink. The other man has a lighter and a cigarette and i think this gives him more of a respectable position. Leon is wearing black lensed circle framed glasses which hide his eyes and add mystery to his identity and show the reflections of what he is seeing. The black and white picture is of a man in a car, a possible target, who appears unaware of the photo being taken.
Body Language: The men come across as ver calm and serious as they talk. Little hints and details such as when the man both lights his cigarette and puts it out and how he casually slides the photograph into view indicate that he is in charge.

Conventions:
Leon is an action thriller, conventions include:
- The narrative centres around the crime of Mathilda's family being murdered and her wanting and gaining revenge.
-Micro elements build up the suspence and tension in the film.
- The protagonist, Leon, now has a weakness, an achilles heel that will be his downfall which is that he cares for Mathilda.
- Leon is put in a complex situation where there appears to be no escape, he manages to escape from it but is dragged a little back in and is killed saving Mathildas life.

An analisis of a thriller opening. The Day after Tomorrow

Camera
The first shot we see is a pan over icy water. Setting the scene and location.
Establishing shot after the pan, helps to set the scene more, which then revolves around a small camp.
Close up of an American flag, which then pans down to show to men from behind.
Mid close up, coming from the side, of both men. They are dressed in large coats.
One man (Jason) is appears to be younger than the other. The older man is operating something, then Jason steps up to do the same, hinting that he is an apprentice of the older man, or is being taught by him.
Mid close up of older man's hands as he picks up a silver tube, emphasising the importance of the tube as a prop.
Third man is introduced inside a small room, with a mid close up, he is using some form of scientific microscope instrument, hinting that the men are scientists.
Close up of a drill spinning and breaking the ice, followed by a mid close up of the ice cracking, hinting that the two re connected. A tracking shot, which then turns in to a pan/rotate up follows the crack as it spreads across the ice, towards Jason.
Brief close up of Jason's face, which quickly cuts to his hands as the drill suddenly shoots down.
Close up of Jason as he looks over his shoulder.
Mid long, high angled shot if Jason and cracking ice, making him look weak and venerable.
Reaction shot of third man, and older man in single mid close up.
Tracking rotate as the third man steps towards the door.
Over the shoulder shot (from third man) of Jason.
Reaction shot of third man.
A quick mid long shot of Jason as the ice breaks, which quickly cuts to a crane long shot of whole camp.
High angled mid shot as the older man and the third man try to save Jason, which becomes steeper and pans forward in to a birds-eye view of a huge hole in the ice.
Close up of third mans feet as he jumps over the hole.
Mid shot from the side of third man jumping.
Close up of his feet as third man lands.
(shot reverse shot)-Over the shoulder reaction shot from third man of older man.
(srs)-Reaction shot of third man.
(srs)-Reaction shot of older man.
Pan over hole in to a birds-eye vies of third man.
Long shot of third man hanging and ice collapsing.
Over the low angled shoulder from third man of the other two.


Editing
Simple black and white text is overlaid as the titles are displayed during the ice pan.
Continuity, slow paced at first, but becomes much faster when the ice starts to break.
Cuts are used to make it flow easily.


Sound

Before any visuals (excluding text) is shown, a faint tune, of a choir singing with classical string instruments is heard in the background. This gives of a mysterious atmosphere.
The ice cracking is slightly exaggerated to emphasis it more.

The Day After Tomorrow is a disaster thriller and it has many conventions of one, firstly, a disaster thriller revolves around a disaster, either natural or man made, during the opening five minutes it this becomes and obvious theme as the men nearly die due to collapsing ice. Another convention supported by this film is the use of continuity editing, that uses cuts and gains pace throughout the scene. This is often use because it builds suspense and grips the viewer while not confusing them with rapid scene changes or disorientating jump cuts.
Also, disaster thrillers usually start with some sort of scientific tests, which we can assume is happening here due to the scientific equipment, such as the microscope. The tests are usually being carried out in a far,m distant place, usually a very harsh environment. In The Day After Tomorrow the opening scene is set in an icy area, presumably near the north or south pole, this is used to give a feel of isolation, and, as those conducting the tests often discover a warning of the natural disaster, it stops them from warning the rest of the world.
The opening credits of thrillers usually try to make as much tension as possible, using dramatic text and colour types, however, in The Day After Tomorrow the text is simple, and the text colour black or white. The music though, ties back to the usual conventions as the choir/classical string style music is strange, mysterious and quickly builds as the scene progresses. Thrillers also often like to identify the heroes and the 'red shirts' (a term that means characters that are only there to die so as to build tension and present a sense of the danger the protagonists are in in the viewer) quickly, usually by placing the 'red shirts' in mortal peril and having a hero save the day, we see this in the opening of The Day After Tomorrow, as one man, Jason, almost falls to his death while the other two have to save him. Thrillers also use age as a guide to who the heroes are, in a disaster thrillers, the youngest scientist in a project is usually the least experienced and the first to go, The Day After Tomorrow supports this as Jason, who appears to be the youngest, is the first to be placed in danger.
The Day After Tomorrow seems to support this, as all the characters we meet in the opening sequence are obviously scientists. Another thing about most disaster thriller heroes is that they tend to be American, which we can easily see in this opening as it features an American flag, which is emphasised with a close up of it.

David Fincher - Thriller Director

David Fincher is a successful thriller director, he has directed films such as Se7en, Fight Club, The Game and Panic Room. When he was 18 years old he went to work for Korty Films where he worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981 - 1983 however left there to direct his own television adverts and music videos. Fincher then made it to directing films by founding Propaganda in 1987. 


Fincher has some trade marks that he uses in his thriller films such as a single inserted frame, for example in Fight Club he used several single frames that flashed on the screen in the middle of a scene. He also uses he characters as silhouettes during a scene in the shadows so you cannot make out their faces such as Kevin Spacey in Se7en. Fincher's films often end in suicide whether it be attempted or successful. They also often have green or blue tinted colour temperature and low key lighting. And his most used shots are low angles and wide shots.


Here is a list of all the films David Fincher has directed so far in his career;
- Alien 3 
- Se7en
- The Game
- Fight Club
- Panic Room
- Zodiac
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Social Network
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

"People will say, 'There are a million ways to shoot a scene,' but I don't think so. I think there're two, maybe. And the other one is wrong." - David Fincher.

Analysis of Thriller - After Life

After.Life

After Life is a psychological and supernatural thriller. The name suggests a supernatural however while watching the film there are 'mind tricks' involved as you do not know whether the girl is alive or dead or in the afterlife.

Conventions

For psychological

-Anna wakes up and is being told she is dead however she is breathing and talking therefore we do not know the truth about her identity.

-Anna has the trauma of her life and the car crash which she still has nightmares about.

-She is not sure if she is real or not. 

For supernatural

-The antagonist is said to have an ability to see people between life and death.

-There is a plot twist at the end where we do not know if this is true or if he is the one killing them.

Mise-en-scene

Props - The first scene the antagonist only has four items, a flower which he puts on the dead man's suit, and a needle, medicine, and a camera on a table. The next scene there are very little props as they are in a apartment where the only prop used is a cigarette. The scene changes again to a school where there is are chicks in a class room which also makes diegetic sound. As this is parallel editing the scene flicks from Anna to Mr Hutton. Anna has props such as paper, pen and also a pot of pills and Mr Hutton has a coffin and a board showing his profession.

Costume - Anna - a red under garment. The colour red was a good colour to choose as it stands out from the rest of the white apartment and is also the colour associated with death and blood. She later has on working clothes of a school teacher of dull colours.

Paul - wears a suit for work which also has dull colours apart from a blue tie which stands out showing he has importance in the film.

Mr Hutton - He is also wearing a suit with all the colours different shades of grey showing his relation with death.

Body Language - Mr Hutton also stands up straight with pride as if he were better then others. Paul is more slouched however is trying to reach out to Anna by putting a hand on the glass she is showering behind. Anna also stands up straight however more with tensions then pride however there are times when she seems to each up, this is when she slouches against her desk.

Editing

-The opening of this thriller uses parallel editing, showing the protagonist and the antagonist in their lives before they have met each other. 

-The main transition used is a cut. When the filming goes from the antagonist to the credits there is a flash dissolve to a white screen using a flash from a camera as a link. The same transition is used to go back to the storyline.

-The credits are red writing on a white background where they dissolve slowly in and out of focus. 

-A dissolve is used each time the filming goes to a different location. Making the change in location important.

Camera work 

The different distances of the camera goes from one extreme to the other, this makes you anticipate as you feel someone bad is about to happen, it also makes you disorientated. The different angles of the shots lets you see who is the important character in the scene for example at the very beginning of the film there is a low angle shot of the antagonist and a high angle shot of a dead man who he is talking to. This shows that the antagonist has the power in this situation has control on the man in the coffin. In a lot of the shots there is a small amount of movement that could be described as hand held however it is too smooth and precise to be. The movement seems to follow the movement of a character, this also makes it disorientating and makes you feel as if you are really there watching them. They also use some slow zooms. Here is a list of some of the shots in sequence;

Cantered low angle

extreme close up

close up high angle

Pan of body

birds eye view close up, zooming out moving to side

...

establishing shot

over the shoulder

extreme close up

slow zoom

hand held

extreme close up

establishing

long shot 

over the shoulder

...

tracking 

extreme long shot

long shot

extreme long shot 

close up 

extreme long shot

close up 

Sound

At first there is no soundtrack which makes the scene creepy as the only sounds are diegetic such as foot steps, water dripping and a sudden camera flash is well as speech. After the camera flash the sound track begins with the credits. The sound track is mainly played by the piano in a slow minor key which makes it mysterious, upsetting and very eerie. There is also heavy breathing and cymbals this adds to the feel of the music. The music then turns quiet however is still played over the footage and non-diegetic sound for a little while until it stops at the change of location. When the soundtrack starts again it is very quiet however builds in volume for a few minutes until it then stops to the sound of echoing footsteps and lights fuzzing then sparking out.

Filming Analysis

Good Points 

• We had our actresses assigned long before our filming began
• We didn't have to retake many shots because most were successful the first time.
• We had all props close at hand from planning.
• Our actresses had previous experience in amateur dramatics so they were confident.
• We worked well within our group and took on different roles to best fit our personal skills.
• We already had two locations available which were perfect for our scenes.
• Our two locations were easily acssessable as they were owned by members of the group.
• We had effective costume and make up.
• We got all the shots we needed from the shot list.

 Bad Points

• The actress who played Jade got very cold, her arm actually going numb due to the unheated location used for the hideout scene.
• We had to wait for it to get dark before we could film the kitchen scene, to avoid continuity errors.
• Some of the shots in the hideout scene were too dark and had to be manually lit with a torch or edited in Final cut to make them visible.

Target Audience

The target audience for Disconnected would be teenagers and young adults. This is because conventionally thrillers are aimed at this age range. Younger children may find scenes disturbing.we are going to appeal to our target audience through the micro elements.

Focus test.

Certificate Rating

Our chosen certificate for Disconnected is a 12 because it conforms to the criteria of a 12 film from BBFC, which include:

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.

Drugs: Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.

Horror:Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.

Imitable behaviour: Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free.  Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language: Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language must be infrequent.

Nudity: Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.

Sex: Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme: Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.

Violence:Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification.

Story board

How we'll get high marks.

-Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate:
During the house scenes, we have already thought about this, as we have planed to have a few shots of centering around the phone. Because we want the audience's focus to be on the phone, the only prop in the for ground ill be the phone. During most of these shots we will also have the mother in the background, so as to communicate how oblivious she is to the phone call.

During the kidnapper's hideout near all of our shots will be close ups, or extreme close ups, of Jade (Holly), this means that the rest of the room is generally hidden from audience view.

-Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate:
This one may be a slight problem, as a lot of our shots will be close ups/mid close ups of Jade. However, although the shots in the house are close ups of the phone, they are also long shots of the mother, also, because the shot distances have to be appropriate, and most of the time the most appropriate shot for our scenes would be close ups, then we still fit the criteria.

-Shooting material appropriate for the task set:
Seeing as we will only film previously planned material, which is all task appropriate, we will be able to avoid inappropriate content.

-Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting objects and setting:
As said in the first point, during the home scenes, we will make the phone the key prop, so will dominate most scenes.

The walls of the house are yellow, which communicates a happy and positive atmosphere, which would contrast the greys of the hideout. The clothes of the mother also give off a homely feel as she will be wearing a red apron, blue jeans and a light green jumper., all these articles of clothing and colours are friendly, and the apron gives off that she's stero typical mother.

Jade will wear ripped leggins and a white top. The white top shows her innocence.

Font Research

Test Shots

 

The video above shows different shots, transitions and sound that we may use for our thriller opening. 

When editing the shots together we need to make sure the black screens inbetween shots are shorter then the film it self and so they keep the interest of the viewer withour being boring. In this video we have used a 'Fade in, Fade out Dissolve' for all transition between black screens, on the video this gets very repeatative however as there are going to be less shots in our opening we are going to keep the 'Fade in, Fade out Dissolve'

We tried different angles for the shots as we could not decide which would look the best, after watching through the test shots we have decided on which angles and distances we now want. For example, an extreme close up of Jades eye instead of a close up. a birds eye view shot of Jade lying down and with the phone next to her instead of a a straight angle from the floor. We also tried two panning shots, one using a tripod and the other hand held we decided to go for the use of a tripod.

The sound in this video is of 'Audio Track 33' which is of ambient sound, it was not long enough to fit to the end, therefore we had to have another to the end, however it does not truly fit as it goes quieter after building up the tension. In our opening we will either have a different sound or we will cut it so that the tension stays the same. 

In our thriller opening the kidnapping scene will be darker and Jade will be wearing torn and muddy clothes.

Analysis of Production company & Film comparison

For our Thriller Project the production company that would distribute our film would be 'Lions Gate Entertainment' as they do a range of films from comedy, such as 'Dogma' to horrors like 'The Descent' and thrillers like 'Crank' and 'Gamer'.
Because Lions Gate Entertainment has a wide audience from producing various different genres in film, this would come to our advantage as people will trust Lions Gate with previous films they've enjoyed.

Our Thriller opening is similar to the film 'Taken' which was produced by 'EuropaCorp' in 2008.
 'Taken' is about a former spy who relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade.
Our film is similar to this film because a girl has gotten kidnapped and all the mother has left is a voice mail, and struggles to find her daughter with barely any help from the detectives, and in 'Taken' the daughter is kidnapped and her father takes matters into his own hands to find her.

Call Sheet

Location
- Kayla's house, Isleham.
-Alistair's pig sty, Isleham.

Props
- Mobile Phone
- House phone
- Rope
- Washing up plates

Kit
-Camera
-Tripod

When to Film

 

Film the kidnapping scene on a Tuesday.

Film the kitchen/house scene on a Wednesday.

Why Thrillers Thrive

The public visits the cinema to see life reflected on the screen, however not real life which we experience but life with a difference or 'thrills'. we feel that we need these 'shake-ups' to make life iinteresting, but not experiencing them first hand, so we experience them artificially, so that we feel safe and secure. although we feel involved in the experience, and feel the characters 'thrills', in a well made film we not only spectate it we participate in it.
the audience thrives on thrills, the cinema thrives on the audience, the director thrives onthe cinema and everybody is happy.
however horror films are very different to thrillers. thrillers are wholehearted and exciting, the authentic thriller will live and thrive and the horrow film will die.

Action and Crime Thrillers

Sonic mood board

Why thrillers thrive

Summary of 'why thrillers thrive' article.

The majority of people who go to the cinema to see thrillers, don't go to spectate the film but to participate in the film while watching and that's the main way people can be filled with adrenaline, without having to be put in a dangerous situation themselves. A thriller is designed to thrill people by showing the audience something scary like a plane crashing from the safety of their seats fully knowing they're secure. Blackouts can be used to unnerve the audience when something dangerous or worrying has just occurred and thrillers can convince the audience there's danger with good camera shots and editing. I feel like the article was a little bit bias when talking about horrors when compared to thrillers, as it stated that thrillers ''will live and thrive''whereas horrors ''will die'' because the public at the time the article was written had rising opinions against horrors being created and the person who wrote the article said that the public is ''healthy-minded'' making that a reason why they feel horrors were ''bound to fail'' but i don't feel that is a supported enough reason against horror films, and their prediction that horrors would fail was quite wrong as today horrors are a big section in the film industry. But despite the bias view on horrors and thrillers, the article mentioned that the main difference between horrors and thrillers, put simply, is that thrillers are created to excite the audience whereas horrors are designed to scare the audience.

Script

 Jade: (Whispering) please pick up, please please pick up

Mother: (voicemail Service) Hey you've reached the Camden Residence, sorry none of us can reach the phone at the moment
Jade: (voice mail Service) MUM!
Mother: (voice mail service) guys shhh.. im trying to record the voicemail, oh i will just do it later, (hastily) please leave your message after the tone... GUYS!
Voicemail service: BEEP

Jade: Mum, help me, please, im scared, please mum help me, you need to tell someone, im in a barn, i dont know where, theres two men, im so scared, mum, i love y-

Potential Risks and Hazards

Why "Thrillers" Thrive

We, as people, like to experience thrills, some would try things like B.A.S.E jumping or skydiving, but most try the experience it in the cinema. Thrillers show us dangers, that in real life would terrify us greatly. People rarely get to experience the sort of things they see in thrillers for real, and rarely walk away after wards if they do, so for a well made film, people don't watch it as much as experience it as the camera work often places the audience in the danger zone. The other part of a thrill is where the character, who has won our sympathy, is in danger, like when Charlie drowns in Lost.
Neither of these can be as fully achieved on stage as they can on screen with the simple fact that the cinema can do more. On stage you can only hint at danger, as for the danger to be seen by the audience it would have to be real, while the screen has many more tricks up it's sleeve, such as CGI and green screen.
Thrillers and horrors are two different things, both place characters in danger, but horrors do it so much more violently, not trying to thrill the audience as much as terrify them, the problem with this being that, although we like to be scared a little, most healthy minded people don't want to be completely terrified, so most horrors need to tone it down a tad, which removes some of the scary and exciting elements, where as a thriller doesn't. As a thriller can go all out they will always survive longer than horrors.

Location Photographs

Kitchen
The kitchen location is where the mother will be washing up and singing, contrasting with the kidnapping scene where the girl will be. Here are some photos from our found location...

 

 Kidnapper's place

This is the location where the girl is being held. It's darker and less inviting than the kitchen. This are some images from the location we'll use (we'll move some of the stuff out of the way).

Shot list.

 BARN. KITCHEN. EDITING.
Compose
1. Black screen
2. Black screen with added pale blue coloured text (Tiger Door productions)

3. CU Jade's muddy bare feet

4. Black screen, with text (directed, edited and produced by....)

5. CU knees

6. Black screen, with text (Holly playing Jade)

7. CU of bound hands

8. Black screen with text (Michaela's mum)

9. CU of the corner of her mouth

10. Black screen with text (balaclava actors)

11. CU of eye

12. Final Black screen

13. Mid-long shot of girl on floor

14. Mid shot of torso, phone in shot next to face ("pickup, pickup")

15. Mid Long shot of kitchen, mother at sink washing up, outside of house
16. Long shot of kitchen, mother at sink washing up, inside, turns radio up
17. Match on action radio turn up

18. Mid shot torso of girl, phone in shot, distressed

19. Long shot kitchen from hallway, phone ringing, mother singing

20. CU of the phone lighting up as it is ringing and shot of it beeping and voice mail service

21. Over the shoulder shot of girl on the floor, with the phone in view 

22. Mid close up of girl from the front, leaving a voice mail.

23. Half way through the voice mail message, cuts to kitchen CU of phone.

24. Over the shoulder shot of Jade looking at kidnappers in doorway.

25. CU tracking shot of kidnappers feet moving towards mobile phone.

26. CU of kidnapper's foot crushing the mobile phone.

27. Black screen with title 'Disconnected'

Thriller Pitch Feedback

- No need for a gun, effect can be acheived with the use of camera work.
- Refrain from cutting between scenes as much.
- Have the music continuous over the parallel scenes.
- Shoot from floor level.

Thriller Pitch - Disconnected

Disconnected is a crime thriller film, the story line follows a daughter who has been kidnapped by two men and a mothers struggle to find her child, with the seemingly useless help of the detectives.

Camerawork
The scene opens with a black screen with titles, with low bass tones with the sound effect of a house phone ringing. The title sequence fades in and out of close up shots of the girl, Jade, on the floor tied up in a dirty empty barn. The girl is lying on the floor with a battered phone close to her face. The scene then cuts to a shot of the girls mother in a clean colorful kitchen, washing the dishes with her back to the camera. It cuts back to the girl in the barn, who is trying to call her mother and is whispering to herself 'pick up, pick up, pick up' and a close up of her fingers crossed. Back in the kitchen the house phone is ringing but it's clear the mother can't hear as she's singing to Bob Marley on the radio, and the audience can hear the voice mail that the girl is leaving her mother. The voice mail cuts short when one of the kidnappers walks into the shot of the girl on the floor and crushes the phone while the girl is halfway through saying 'i love you'. The screen quickly goes black when the boot crushes the phone and the lyrics in the song 'everything little thing is gonna be alright' echoes and then the sound effect of a disconnected phone service.

Location:
The kidnappers are based in an abandoned barn, and the mothers scene is held in a family home kitchen.

Costumes/Makeup:
Jade:
-bruised and bloody face and body, bags under her eyes to suggest she hasn't had much sleep.
- her clothes will be ripped and stained.
-no shoes
 -white top and black leggings.

Mother:
-yellow rubber gloves.
-apron
-glasses
-slippers

Kidnappers:
-balaclavas
-black clothing
-big, black boots.

Props:
-house phone

-mobile phone
-hand gun

-rope
-washing up & dishes
-radio

Soundtrack:
the soundtrack throughout the opening will be of low bass tones except in the Mothers kitchen where diagetic music is playing (bob marley - three little birds). sound effects include: phones ringing, radio static and disconnected phone service.

Analysis of the use of sound in different thriller openings

1. Memento Opening:
the title sequence in Memento is made up of stringed instruments, such as violins to build up tension towards the opening scene. The slow pace of the music brings out the very tragic and mournful tones in the minor key, the music gives the feel like soemthing traumatic has happened. As the opening progresses the music supports the scene smoothly with bass and timely beats.
The sound effects include: The Polaroid picture being shaken, the camera taking the photo, the gun being shot and loaded, the sound of the blood mving up the wall, things that have fallen to the floor (such as glasses) moving backwards, a man shouting, the narrative of Leneard speaking, the movement of the key in his hand, the picture sliding off the countertop, the man chewing gum, the door opening, background dialogue and distant cars.

2.

Our Thriller Film Plot

Our Thriller conforms to the subgenre of Crime thriller.
Our film opening starts with an eerie, slow and mournful soundtrack, there is a black screen with titles, which cuts quickly between that and shots of a girl bound with ropes, she is dirty and slumped against a shed wall, she looks distressed. Then the scene is of a houseproud woman cleaning her kitchen, doing the washing up, the music is happy and cheerful. then her phone rings, however she does not hear it straight away, there is then parralell editing with both the mother getting on with the washing up and the the girl (her daughter) in distress with loose  ropes on her in the shed with a phone to her ear, she is whispering, begging her mother to pick up the phone, there is no one else in the room. by the time the mother eventually hears the phone the phone has gone to voicemail and it stops ringing, so she goes back to the cleaning. shot of the girl scared when the voicemail comes on. then there is a shot of the phone, with the voicemail coming from it, with the mother in the background, however she cannot hear the phone. the shots cut between the mother washing up and the girl in distress.

Use of sound in our own opening sequence

In the opening to our thriller film we plan to use a variety of both diagetic and non diajetic sound effects as well as soundtracks.
The possible sound effects we will need include:
- a phone ringing,
- a disconnected phone tone,
- distant birds ,
- gun sound effects,
- voice mail,
The sound tracks we will use are:
- An eerie, mournful and slow sound track at the beginning of the sequence, behind the titles and shots of the girl suffering,
- An upbeat and cheery peice of music for the scene where the oblivious mother is cleaning in the kitchen,
- Followed by a very contrasted soundtrack to accompany the traumatic scene with the girl and the two men after she leaves a message for her mother.

Thriller Opening Sequence Ideas, Alistair.

Insert name here- A scientist, pouring chemicals, have shorts of liquid dripping down, on to the camera. Basically he's trying to find a cure for something, but ends up making a chemical that makes people go insane. The whole sequence will be him, in a lab, mixing chemicals and doing tests and things like that. At some point throughout he'll answer a call on his mobile.

PDS-(psychological) follows a survivor of a terrorist attack at an airport in which his brother was killed. He is needed to find the identity of the terrorists, but suffers from post dramatic stress and selective amnesia (he's blanked parts of the attack). The opening sequence  will be him, in a small room, sitting behind a table, alone. There would be a couple of flashbacks showing him and his brother in an airport, and people in balaclavas come in. 

Thriller Opening Secquence ideas

Idea 1:
A woman is at home in her kitchen making soup, there is then a close up of a bottle of blue liquid labled, toxic, she pours it into the soup. the scene then cuts to when her husband gets home and serves himself some of the soup, the wife peers around the door to spy on him eating the soup. the opening ends with him dead on the kitchen floor. the wife then rings the police but doesnt say anything on the line, before fleeing the house.

Idea 2:
The scene starts with a normal family, a wife and two children, eating dinner around a table, the wife is clearly worried, but tries to act normal to the children, after the meal is finished we see her peering ut the window, and clutching her phone, the scene ends with a shot of the missing husbands phone in a drain on a street with loads of missed calls from 'The Mrs'

Thriller Opening Sequence Ideas

Idea 1
- A Runaway - A girl runs away from home and finds mysterious gypsies on the outskirts of the city. There would be hand held camera running through the town center and through alley ways, with fast cuts back to her family and home showing her mother and the police in panic. This would be a Action Thriller as she is going on a journey to a new and scary life with gypsies. The music would be mainly a loud drum bass, building up tension.

Idea 2
- Skitsofrenia - A girl would be talking to her friend having a normal conversation, when someone else comes up and asks her who she is talking to, when she looks back around her friend is gone/disappeared in to thin air. Her friend then gets her to do dangerous and stupid things but her friend was never really there, she had died five years ago. This would be a psychological thriller as it is all in the mind and the flaw is that she is seeing her past friend.

thriller opening ideas

1. a girl is captured by two men wearing black masks over there faces, the girl is taken to a shed/barn and they force her to call her mother saying she's fine and shes just staying at her friends house. her mum then calls her friends mum who tells her that she isnt there.

 2. a postman discovers a door is open and inside the house is dead body in the hallway, and an investigation is launched. 

Analysis of previous students thriller openings

'Out of the loop' Thriller opening by: P1-03

Positive comments:
-well used mise-en-scene. Appropriate use of costumes, classic looking suit. Silver locked briefcase adds a serious atmosphere. appropraite use of location, grand arcade.
-The titles that overlay are quite appropriate for the clip, digital looking.
-match on action is used frequently and well.
-use of fast forwarding very effective.
-steady shots held when appropriate.
- use of hand held camera really effective.
really appropriate soundtrack and effects.

Criticism:
-Use of scope view effective, but it doesn't match to the prop gun used as there's o scope on the gun.
-the gun prop is brightly coloured becuase it's a toy gun and makes the opening appear a little less serious and in-effective.
-Laughter is heard while filming the character walking throught the grand arcade, ruins the atmosphere.

Marking Criteria

Level 3: (36-47 marks)
There is evidence of proficiency in the creative use of many of the following technical skills:
-Holding a shot steady where appropriate.
-Framing a shot including and excluding elements as appropriate
-Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate.
-Shooting material appropriate to the task set.
-Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, props and setting.
-Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer.
-Using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set.
-Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
-Using titles appropriately.

Level 4: (48-60 marks)
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
-Holding a shot steady where appropriate.
-Framing a shot including and excluding elements as appropriate
-Using a variety of shot distances as appropriate.
-Shooting material appropriate to the task set.
-Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, props and setting.
-Editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer.
-Using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set.
-Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set.
-Using titles appropriately.

Crime Thriller Conventions for Fargo.

Conventions included:
-Events in the film revolve around a crime.
-The main character is an ordinary man in extra-ordinary situation.
-Following the criminals story rather than the 'good guys'.
-Something goes wrong with the original plan.
-One approach to crime thrillers is containing two henchman and adding a slightly humourous element by having inadequate pair of henchman with an especially dodpey henchman who is clearly subordanate to the other.

Characters:
-Jerry Lundegaard is first introduced and is the main character, he has an ordinary job at a car dealership and is need for money. This need for money has caused him to see two dogdey henchman to kidnapp his wife for ransome from her father.
-Carl Showater is the dominant henchman and appears to get a little aggitated by the other henchman. The two henchman are introduced in the bar.
-Gaear Grimsrud is the second more dopey henchman who is always smoking.
-Jean Lundegaard is then inttroduced when Jerry comes home, she is first seen in the kitchen and is seen alot in the kitchen, most likely to depict her as a very stereo-typical wife.
-Wade Gustatson is Jerry's Father in Law and he's first introduced watching the ice hockey on the television and appears to be detatched from Jerry as he says hello.
-Scotty Lundegaard is the teenage son of Jean and Jerry and comes across like he doesn't really care much for being with his family as he leaves his dinner to go to macdonalds.

Memento Analysis

Thriller Conventions of Memento:
-Stream of conscioussness: unreliable narrative of Lenard's internal thoughts talking to the audience, asking questions.
-Set of Intrigues: Leonard tattoo's himself with the important information of his wife's murderer all over his body because he has no other way of remembering and so has to follow these clue-like enigma's.
-The protagonist has an Achilles heel of not being able to store new memories, which makes him vulnerable and easy to manipulate as well as being potentially dangerous. There is writing on his hand which indicates that he needs to remind himself of important information, which links to the title 'memento'. He also has cuts and bruises on his face indicating that he could either the victim or the attacker and he will be unaware of these cuts unless he glances in a mirror.
-The perception of time is distorted by being played in reverse and the scenes are placed in reverse order to create a point of view effect on the viewer as if they are seeing life how Leonard would.
 -The close up of Leonards hand holding the photograph of a dead man in the beginning scene creates a voyeuristic feel, as if the viewer is being let in to something secretive.
-The black and white scene indicates the clip is a flash back which is technical device used in thrillers.

At the beginning of the title sequence there is a blank screen with moving titles coming in and out of view, suggesting how new memories come in and out of Leonards mind.

The music that introduces the scene is quite tragic and dramatic which represents the tension that builds straight away in the opening sequence.

The disorientating opening signals to the viewer what to expect in the rest of the film.