Sub-genre

I just realized we are missing a section about our sub-genre. So I checked out some information on the types of sub-genre such as action thriller or conspiracy thriller. Looking through the list, I think our thriller is most like a religious thriller, with the involvement of the cult, and the defaced bible, as a religious thriller is based heavily around religious groups, objects and ideology.

Fonts & appearances

ollie here :D

As editing is looming on the Horizon (provided our filming gets done) i think now would be a good time to think about fonts for our titles and production credits etc.
Firstly i think it is important that our style of font conforms to the thriller genre because if it subverts from this genre it can make the whole introduction seem confusing to an audience, or it will just not be as effective as it could be. the font should look sinister and possibly be quite bold so that it is eye-catching and engaging to the audience. This would complement the conventions of our thriller introduction whilst also supporting the sinister content.



I really like Droeming and Impact label, i think they really keep the tone of the movie plot and the genre whilst also looking quite good and being very clear and bold. The others were more aesthetic choices as they look eye-catching and/or nice to the audience. however they are not striclty in keeping with the conventions of the thriller genre, so I personally think we should use one of the other two. I'll see how Chris and Nikki feel next lesson. If we cannot agree on one of these fonts then im sure a standard microsoft font will suffice, perhaps Verdana or Arial. as they are clear and readable however not very sinister.

There's been a lapse in my research

before we finish our pre-production I wanted to check over some thriller opening clips (on top of what we've already looked at) as at the moment our group gets confused every now and then between writing for a trailer, and writing an opening sequence. The first example of this I would like to look at is the opening theme for the TV series Survivors, a thriller-esque drama about a deadly flu virus that kills off around 99% or more of the population (the remainder being immune to the virus). The opening is really effective as it uses a theme song that rises in tempo (see the video below) and raises anticipation as it builds up, whilst keeping a sinister, chilling air about it. The imagery is very effective as well, the opening uses a montage of clips of people just, well, living really. Normal busy streets, children on swings, people crossing a high street, a few smaller scale clips of just a few subjects, for example a couple enjoying a day on the beach, whilst a creepy cell effect multiplies and grows to cover the screen until the adtual title comes up on screen after the montage. It is very effective as it strikes at the viewers emotions with different camera angles such a POV shots, aerial shots, tilted shots, and several others to keep it mixed up, but all the time showing the normality that is about to be shattered by this virus. This isn't an opening sequence as such, but it is a title sequence (a main part of our opening sequence, so researching this is useful) as the credits are just slipped into the opening theme, by being subtle yet obvious, in a normal size font, so not tiny or too large and bold, so you can see the main producers, yet the don't break the flow of the story build up. Also using quick cuts between each clip and the credits fit with the music well and really make the show immersive right from the off.

Se7en Title Sequence

Its Nikki Again
Ollie analysed Se7en earlier but i wanted to just show this clip its the title sequence for Se7en and as we have to create the title sequence an the first few minutes of a thriller i thought it was pretty vital to analyse this bit aswell.
i think this is one of the best title sequences ive seen so far all the camera angles are closeups of the books and photos and the hands we dont know who's doing this or what exactly there doing but it all looks rather sinister the music an sound that goes along with it really sets the mood it has a simple rymthm but has creepy noises over the top almost like some thing creaking or maybe a typewritter type sound its all quite erie and makes you wonder what exactly there doing.
it flicks between lots of different things in a short amount of time it starts with a book and then you see whoever it is developing photos sticking things down sewing up the edge of the pages it uses limited colours that are all quite darks like blacks and red wich make it seem quite dark i paticularly like this begining however i cant write much more now ill come back to it later

Analysis of Silence of the lambs in comparison to one hour photo Cont.

Chris and Ollie here. Personally I (chris) enjoyed the one hour photo opening sequence more than the Silence of the lambs because I found the opening had far more impact than the silence. There was a lot more suspense build-up in one hour photo, and it felt alot more immersive. Whereas the silence of the lambs was more blunt, and i felt that the opening sequence repelled the viewer rather than drawing them in. This was mainly because of the obscuring nature of the titles, which broke the immersion for me personally.

I (ollie) thought that the main difference between the opening sequences of one hour photo and the silence of the lambs was that one hour photo's intention is to create an air of suspense and mystery whilst relating to the theme of the movie by having the producers and actors names slide-wipe across the screen as if they were photo negatives. whereas silence of the lambs is jumping straight into the movie with the clip of the women running the assault course. however i feel this is not nearly as effective as one our photo because the whole clip is stifled by the names of the producers and actors in large bold font. this takes up much of the screen and does not immerse the viewer in the movie.

Analysis of Silence of the lambs in comparison to one hour photo

The title sequences contrast greatly, Silence of the lambs take a bold, stand-out approach, with the titles in the centre of the screen in bold text that does its job but doesn't relate to the context. Whilst one hour photo takes a subtle blank screen approach, with the titles flashing across the screen like a photo negative, therefore relating back to the theme of photo capturing. Nikki personally preferred one hour photo because she thought "it created more suspense as there were long pauses and lots of questions raised. It created contrast as the first shot its a very white clean sterile environment and then its that kids birthday party and there is lots of colour. Whereas in silence of the lambs its quite plain with the girl running the obstacle course and big blocky writing blocking the shot". Chris and Ollie's thoughts will be posted soon.