This essay will analyse the opening sequence of 5 thrillers. These are: Jaws, American Psycho, Silence Of The Lambs, Casino Royale and The Prestige.
JAWS
The opening of the 1975 film 'Jaws' has a linear narrative structure. The thriller codes and conventions it conforms to are the fact that there's a female victim. Also, the fact that some sort of monster or killer is introduced, which is not yet identified. The camerawork used at the beginning of the sequence is a point of view shot. This is also repeated at the end of the sequence to show that the shark is moving towards the girl and something's going to happen to her. There are not many props used in the opening, apart from the seaweed and things that would be found under the sea. This informs the audience of the type of location that the film is set in. The non-diegetic music used while the credits are on starts off slow and quiet, but gets louder and faster to build tension. Once the story starts there's a regular, rhythmic and sinister musical beat, which becomes clear as the film goes on, that it signifies that a killing is imminent. The main piece of editing in this sequence is the cross-cutting between the shark's POV shots and the shots of the girl above the water. This builds suspense and informs the audience of what's happening under and above water.
AMERICAN PSYCHO
The opening sequence of the 2000 film 'American Psycho' has a linear narrative structure. It uses 3 very important props that conform to the codes and conventions of a thriller which are blood, guns and knives. The opening of this film keeps the audience asking questions, because the main character seems to have 2 personalities as he is nice to some people and not to others. The exotic is brought into the everyday life of the main character. The exotic is an upmarket, yuppie lifestyle. Partial vision is also another convention of a thriller, which is used in 'American Psycho.' Aswell as the narrative relating to partial vision because it's not fully explained, it can also be in the literal sense. For example, you don't see any background at the start, all is seen is red blobs, so the audience don't know what it is or what it's from. The camerawork begins with shots of something that looks like blood. This contrasts to the plain white background, which instantly grabs the audience's attention. When the sequence moves into the restaurant there are even more close-ups, but of the food, credit cards and money, which indicates that the film may centre around wealth. When the camera moves to the main character and his colleagues, the shots make the audience feel like an observer. For example, the camera is in the middle of the table or above it, rather than being next to the characters. After these scenes we see Patrick in his apartment, where alot of the shots are captured through the mirror. This could signify that this character is seen in different ways or lights by people. Christian Bale's performance as Patrick Bateman gives a sense of mystery and enigma to the character. This makes the audience want to stay and watch the film and keeps them hooked on the film to see what happens to this intriguing character. The music in the restaurant is classical and upmarket, which matches to the people and the wealth that are seen in there. The cut from the club to the apartment is very sharp and abrupt, which signifies a very significant contrast. For example, the club is dark and loud and the apartment is light and silent. The graphics used for the credits at the start of the film can be described as simple, serious and plain. This contrasts to the character of Patrick Bateman and the film's narrative/theme, because they are obviously complicated and complex.
Silence Of The Lambs
The opening of the 1990 film of 'Silence of The Lambs' also has a linear narrative structure. One thriller code and convention that is included in this opening sequence is the action/stunts. Also, the fact that the character's are FBI agents. As Clarice is running through the forest the camera is either infront of her, while she runs towards it, or behind her, where she runs away from it. Also, the camera tracks to follow her. The lighting in the forest is very subdued, however when Clarice comes to her first obstacle the sun shines through the trees onto her, but the rest of the set is in mist. This portrays her as being angelic and innocent, however it could be used in the sense that she is 'in light' of the situation, while everybody else is oblivious. As she enters the building the audience see lots of weapons, eg guns, which connote violence and death. Next Clarice enters a lift full of tall, muscly men wearing red, while she wears grey. This seperates her from the men and makes her seem helpless and weak. Another factor relating to this is that the walls in the lift are blue, which is seen as a masculine colour. This is another indicator that Clarice is in a male dominated environment. In the forest, orchestral music is playing, which signifies that everything at the moment is calm, serene and normal, however there's some impending drama. As Clarice runs faster, the music speeds up, which makes the atmosphere tense. Adding to this non-diegetic music is diegetic sounds to make the scene seem more realistic, eg footsteps and birds fluttering past. The editing in the forest sequence is nice and flowing and the transitions are smooth, however the cut to inside the building is quite sharp and as Clarice is going through the building the editing gets more harsh. This also matches with the sound.
CASINO ROYALE
The opening sequence of 'Casino Royale' has a non-linear narrative structure, because it shows Bond about to murder an MI6 section chief, with flashbacks of a different murder. It uses the thriller code and convention of twists and confusion on the audience, because Bond is committing all these brutal murders, they start to question whether he is a villain rather than a hero. It also incorporates violence and death. In relation to camerawork, there are lots of over-the-shoulder shots, which means that the character's faces are in the corner of the frame most of the time. This gives a sense of mystery and enigma. Which contrasts to the flashback of a different murder where all the shots are infront of the characters and they include long shots, mid-shots and close-ups. This murder is more explicit and obvious. The whole of the first sequence is in black and white, allowing the director to effectively use lots of shadows, in order to give an eerie atmosphere. Daniel Craig's performance as Bond, is portraying him as a dark character who's also violent. When Bond is talking to the MI6 chief, everything is silent, but when he flashes back, non-diegetic music comes on. This could represent death. A fast, rocky song accompanies the credits of the film and portrays Bond as having a rock and roll sort of lifestyle. The editing includes cross-cutting between scenes and shot-reverse-shot during the conversation. However, it breaks the 180 degree rule. The whole of the title/credits sequence is achieved using graphics. The director uses the basis of playing cards to create this sequence. For example, hearts are dripping with blood, which also represents the tribulations of Bond's love story, a club represents a puff of gun smoke, diamonds are used to stab people, spades are used in replace of bullets. Also, slashed arteries of Bond's enemy are spurting thousands of tiny hearts. Shadowy images of silhouettes are fighting and they depict intricate and innovative card patterns. All of these images show that the plot of the film is going to revolve around playing cards, hence the title 'Casino Royale.'
THE PRESTIGE
The narrative structure of the 2006 film 'The Prestige' is non-linear. Throughout the film the story shifts between points of view of the different characters and moves back and forward between time. This is also part of the thriller codes and conventions. Examples of these in 'The Prestige' are twists and turns, unravelling puzzles and questions and answers. These all act to confuse the audience and make them stay watching to find out the answers. In the opening sequence there are lots of camera movements, including tracking to follow Cutter walking, tilts/crane to follow the stage rising and pans across the audience. There is also another important shot in this scene, which is a wide shot of the magician on the stage and the audience in their seats. This shot serves to show the positions of these 2 people and show the audience's reaction to what's happening on stage. The clothes in this opening sequence are Victorian fashions and everybody is dressed very smartly eg the men are wearing suits and the women dresses. This also relates to the setting which shows a Victorian theatre on stage and under the stage. These factors indicate to the audience the era that the film is set. The colour that's portrayed to the audience is soft, earthy tones, and parts are almost black and white. The lighting is mainly natural, therefore creating shadows and making the film seem more realistic. The sound consists of simple string chords and electronic sounds. This gives an intellectual and enchanted atmosphere, to reflect the film. The only sound effects used are the electricity sounds, during the staged disappearing trick. There's a non-diegetic voice-over added on post-production during editing. This voice-over describes the magician's trick as it happens on stage.
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