Titles (Thriller Examples)

Title Sequence

Title sequence is an important part of the film. It is shown at the beginning of the film setting up the mood and revealing the genre of the film. There are the main titles that comes up in the title sequence:

• The production company ident
• The director's name
• The main actors starring the film
• The name of the film
• Producer

Some title sequences might also include:

• Cast and crew members

The titles does not necessarily comes one after another as I have named them above. Their order depends from editor or any other important person within the film.

There are some examples I would like to go through:

Panic Room

This film's title sequence goes as follows:

• The production company ident - Columbia Pictures
• A Hofflund/Polone production
• The main actors starring the film - Jodie Foster; Forest Whitaker; Dwight Yoakam; Jared Leto
• The name of the film - Panic Room
• Cast members
• Producers - Gavin Polone; Judy Hofflund; David Koepp; Cean Chaffin
• Writer - David Koepp
• Director - David Fincher

SE7EN

• Production company - New Line Cinema
• Producer - Arnold Copelson
• Director - David Fincher
• The main actors - Brad Pitt; Morgan Freeman
• The name of the film - Se7en
• Cast members
• Writer - Andrew Kevin Walker
• Producers - Arnold Copelson; Phyllis Carlyle
• Director - David Fincher

Lord of War

• The main actor - Nicolas Cage
• The name of the film - Lord of War
• Other stars - Jared Let; Bridget Moynahan; Ian Holm; Eamonn Walker; etc.
• Cast members
• Producers - Nicolas Cage; Norm Colightly; Andy Grosch; Cris Roberts
• Writer/ Director - Andrew Niccol

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

easel.ly

Evaluation Question 5

To see a video version please visit the page below

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Evaluation Question 5 by dianavysniauskaite98 on GoAnimate

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 7

Screening/ Audience Feedback

We asked four people at the age of 16-18 to watch our thriller opening  and give feedback. There were two males and two females. We were more than happy to get feedback from them. Here are the questions we have asked them:

• Did you understand the plot?
• What did you like about the sequence?
• Was there anything you didn't like about the sequence?
• What would you add/change?
• Was the music affective? How?

The audience was clear about the plot. There were five main things that the feedback showed the audience liked; 

1. A variety of camera angles within the sequence
2. Different camera angles used to represent actions and movement of the main character
3. Intensity
4. Fluidity
5. Effective music

The only critic that we got was the fact that we need more diegetic sound within our sequence.

Hitlist Final Product

Introducing our group

Our group is not large and is only made up of girls.
There are four people in our group:

Arsena

Naomi

Courtney

and Me :) (Diana)

Our ident is made up from our first name's initials.
NACD, which stands for
Naomi, Arsena, Courtney, Diana

Designing/Making Title Sequence

Title Sequence

Two members of our group, Arsena and Naomi, has done the editing of title sequence by using Adobe Premier Pro. at the same time they had added music and titles on our thriller opening and in that way finished our final work's first draft.

Mise-en-Scene

Mise-en-Scene 
''In The Scene Or Frame''

The setting where a media text takes place.

The elements of mise-en-scene are:

• Settings and Props
• Costumes, hair and make-up
• Facial expressions and body language
• Lighting and Colour
• Positioning of characters and objects in the frame

Denotation and Connotation (colour):

Denotation - the literal description of an idea, concept or object.

Connotation - what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object.


In film, the colours are usually thought about as they work on the subconscious mind to create mood. As, for example, in film 'We need to talk about Kevin.
In this film colour red is used a lot as it creates tension and foreshadows the ending of the film.

The colour red in films are usually connotated with danger. 

Facial expressions and body language:

Facial expressions is the main aspect in a film as it allows to understand the emotions and feelings of a person. For example, fear, confusion, happiness is mostly shown through facial expressions by using close up shots in a film. 

Body language is also is one of the most important aspects when talking about emotions. Body language, the way the person is standing, walking, moving around can give out what he feels.

Positioning of characters in objects in the frame:

 Positioning of character is showing the importance of character within a frame. Focus and blurring out as well helps to understand, as if only one character is in focus that might mean he is the main character in a scene or character might be the one who is talking.

When a shot is in deep focus both foreground and background are in focus. This allows the audience to choose what they want to focus on, as for example in a film 'The best years of our lives'. 

The Birds

The Birds

The birds by Alfred Hitchcock is based on a few media theories that I know. However, this film is also challenging a few. For example, as there are usually a stereotypical hero and villain in a film, this film is different. The 'villain' in the film are The Birds. The hero, whatsoever, is not a stereotypical hero. Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) was a hero to his family, however he did not save anyone else where as in stereotypical hero-villain film the hero would usually save everyone.


I believe I can put this film in a category of The Hermeneutic Code (keeping the audience in suspense and questioning). My decision was based on the film's plot which does not allow the audience to understand the reason of the behaviour of the birds and see further towards the end of the film.

Another media theory I am going to talk about is Todorov's Narrative Theory that can be applied to most of the films (if not all). This theory is based on the idea that films' plots are following five simple steps most of the time. This movie is one of the ones that are.

1. A stage of equilibrium
2. A disruption of that order by event
3. A recognition that disorder has occurred
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5. A return of a NEW equilibrium

These five steps can be interpreted in any way. This film is following the steps in this order:

1. The film starts with Melanie Daniels (Tippe Hedren) doing her everyday duties. She goes to an animal, mostly birds, shop. This is where she meets a man, Mitch Brenner, however, after a short talk they goes different ways.

2. As Melanie gets interested in this man she decides to make him a nice surprise by following to his hometown and bringing him to birds that she secretly leaves in his house. However, as she is leaving the house by boat, she's attacked by a bird.

3. As the attack happened once Melanie and Mitch does not take it too seriously. As the attacks repeats more often, the birds starts attacking in groups and Mitch's mother Lydia Brenner (Jessica Tandy) finds a dead body, the couple decides they need to be the way more careful.

3. The family decides they need to hide in a house as it seems the safest place to stay in. Mitch, as the only man in the group, feels the responsibility to protect his family and starts nailing up the windows. However, as the attempt to hide from the birds does not work, Mitch decides that he needs to lead his family away from the town.

4. A new equilibrium starts as Mitch, Lydia, Melanie and Cathy Brenner (Veronica Cartwright) gets into the car and leaves the town full of birds behind them.

First Draft

First Draft: Hitlist 

Movie Psycho

Psycho

Psycho is a well known and probably the most known film from Alfred Hitchcock's collection. This thriller is not only thrilling but mysterious as well. 

'Psycho' not only follows the rules set for thriller movies but also follows most of the media theories as well. Firstly, Roland Barthes' Enigma Code:

In my opinion, the category 'Psycho' should be picked to is The Hermeneutic Code (the voice of truth) as the film itself keeps the audience in suspense and questioning about how else can the story line go.

The second theory is Todorov's Narrative Theory: 

This theory is based on five stages and I would probably agree that 'Psycho' follows most of them:

1. A stage of equilibrium
In this stage of a movie, Marion Crane is shown in her normal day, working. At that point there is nothing, that could be called unusual, happening. She leaves the work earlier than usual because of a headache, however, no one could tell that this kind of action is suspicious. Even knowing that she takes a large amount of money with her, the audience could not think about her as if she was a thief as she works in a company for a long time and is trusted.

2. A disruption of that order by event
When it looks like everything is going just fine, Marion Crane decides to run away with a large amount of money given to her. She is not sure whether she should do that, however, she does not turn around and goes missing.

 3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred
As the audience see a detective starting to solve the case, they realises that the film character already accepts the situation and believes something is wrong.










4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
When the audience starts seeing Lila and Sam, then there starts the attempt to clean up the mess that is going on. As they are going after Marion and the detective, they understand that something wrong is going on and they want to figure out what.







5. A return or restoration of a new equilibrium
The new equilibrium starts as Norman Bates is being arrested and that gives the audience an idea that he is no more a worry and no one else is about to be hurt by him.

The last media theory I would like to add is Laura Mulvey's - The Male Gaze 

This theory is mostly based on Laura Mulvey's opinion that most of the films are showed through the eyes of a male.  I believe that 'Psycho' does kind of follow this theory as when talking about the gender roles in the film, women where not as important. Even knowing it starts with Marion as a main character, she is actually not. The movie is interestingly made and there is basically no main character in it.
The women in the film are represented as weak and the film makes it feel like women have to be kept safe and looked after. For example, when Lila and Sam decided they had to check the Bates Hotel, Sam did not agree that Lila should go with him as it could be dangerous there.

Movie Rope

Rope

A Thriller 'Rope' by Alfred Hitchcock does follow some of the rules set for thriller genre films. First and the most important thing is that the thriller has a villain and a hero. To be more specific, there are two villains in this film:

Phillip                                                                                                       Brandon


However, the hero in this movie was not as heroic as anyone could expect. The 'hero' is the only to reveal the villains, not to stop them. Either way, I could also tell he is stopping them from doing any more harm to others, but isn't stopping the murder of David. The hero in this movie was called in a name of Rupert Cadell :

In 'Rope', Alfred Hitchcock has obviously broken a lot of the rules set for thrillers by people like Roland Barthes, Todorov, Levi Strauss and Vladimir Propp. However, Hitchcock did have some sense of Laura Mulvey's male gaze. This theory is based on men and women in the film as well as in the audience. Laura believes that female actors in movies are sexualised and represented from male's point of view. In 'Rope', there were three women:

Janet

Mrs. Wilson

Mrs. Atwater

I believe the two older women were not sexualised as much for the main reason - they are quite old, and if they were it would probably be a little bit akward. However, Janet could be put in the lines of Laura Mulvey's male gaze as she is a young and attractive woman and the movie represents her so. Laura Mulvey also believes that women are being objectified and I could also agree with the fact when watching 'Rope'. Janet is slightly objectified as when men talk about her, she is mentioned as someones girlfriend (or exgirlfriend) rather than a person they know.

I could not say that Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rope' doesn't deserve to be called a thriller. It does, as it thrills the audience throughout the film. However, in my opinion this film did break the barriers of most of the thriller, or I'd rather say, media theories.

Style of Editing

Style of editing

Style of editing is linking two different shots in some way or another. Transition - the movement from one shot to the next. There are a few different ways to move from shot to shot:

Straight cut

A basic cut. Shot A abruptly ends and Shot B abruptly begins.

Dissolve

Dissolve involves gradually changing the visibility of the picture. Rather than transitioning from a shot to a to a colour, a dissolve is when a shot changes into another shot gradually. Dissolves, like cuts, can be used to create a link between two different objects.

Fade

A fade occurs when the shot gradually turns to a single colour, usually black, or when a picture gradually appears on screen. Fade in generally occurs at the beginning of film, while fade out are typically found at the end of a film.

Wipe

Wipe involves one shot replacing another, traveling from one side of the frame to another.

Jump Cut

A jump cut is usually the result of a continuity error, and not a stylistic choice by the director. A jump cut occurs when a cut, designed to act merely as a camera angle change, reveals a continuity error between the two shots.

Designing/Making Ident

Ident

We decided to use first letters of our names to make up an ident. We used them in this order: Naomi, Arsena, Courtney, Diana. NACD. We have ordered and took pictures of letters from game 'scrabble'. Pictures were taken by moving the letters step by step to make them look like they are moving themselves. We wanted the wooden letters as they look better so when ordering we looked for them ones. Ordering the letters did not make any trouble to us and we got them over the term of two days.

Editing

Editing our sequence

We have started filming from the second part of the sequence as the first one is going to be in the office, and for it we have to get an office to film in. The second part is now put together and edited. 

We haven't done anything with the sound yet, however the shots are in the right place and at the right time. The sound will be added at the very end of editing, when we have the whole sequence. Editing did not take too long as we were already sure about which shot was going to be where.