Research of the four thriller openings- Nigel

The Bourne Identity:

These are the first few shots in the opening of the film. The first shot of the mysterious man from underneath him at what seems to be an Extreme long shot creates enigma in for the spectator straight away. The contrast in lighting between above and below water is so the man is more visible to the viewer in the lighter blue water but is also still dim lighting. The establishing shot shows the setting and the pathetic fallacy of rain and stormy conditions of this sequence which could suggest how the story might be unsettled and something corrupt is going on at this point, perhaps foreshadowing the story associated with this floating man, this with the low key lighting combined helps create the mood for this whole sequences setting and may suggest that he is still alive. A few shots connote this and establish the rough sea and the boat which seems to be completely surrounded by miles of ocean suggesting its isolation, the shot creates the feeling of something homing in towards it and this could be because it uses a long shot to show something a distance from the boat.

The point of view shots before we see the floating character closer show us as the spectator that the man has been found by the crew and will be dragged on board quite quickly. You can tell that the crew member who is viewing the floating man is a normal man in civilization and not a huge part of the story because he is a usual working man, showing his innocence towards the reasoning behind why the man is floating in the ocean, in his yellow coat costume and facial expression which may suggest that he will be willing to help. This combined with the music which starts over the ambient sound of the ocean shows that he has seen the man and will pursue him. 

Throughout the whole sequence before the titles, there are cuts between the floating man and shots of the ship’s crew which can be used to create tension surrounding them meeting.  This use of editing is helpful to draw the spectator into the first part of the film and create enigma so early on. The costume of the floating man can’t be clearly seen so it is subjective on what it shows, excluding information for the spectator.    

The titles pop up once we see the man floating from a closer shot than before in a separate frame, this may suggest that the man who is floating has great importance to the film or is the protagonist as the whole start is putting them in the spotlight. When he is pulled onto the boat, there are high angle shots of the men pulling him, this could signify that he is now in safe hands and will be okay.

The rest of the opening follows the man who was in the ocean and what seems to be the doctor. The last part of the opening I will talk about is when the man is walking around after finding a message inside a little bullet shaped object.  The bullet wounds are an iconic feature of a thriller film, a cliché.  The costume of the crew doctor includes glasses; this could suggest he knows what he is doing as a doctor as they usually symbolize wisdom because of books etc. Suspense is created when the focus which had largely been on the man is taken away and onto the doctor and then it is revealed with a slight over the shoulder shot that shows his point of view to show the man missing.

   

So this opening allows the spectator to get the feeling and tone of a thriller film whilst being introduced to a mysterious man who turns out to be the protagonist.

Kill Bill:

The start of this film has a few shots. The whole sequence is shown in black and white which creates a dull mood. This stops the colour and the feelings that can be portrayed, for example the blood isn't red and instead is very intensely black contrasted with all the other shades.  The use of colour in this sequence can stir up different reasons why they chose to do it, it could be to show from the characters perspective of how distort she was or at the time could suggest that someone is remembering it, her or the man shown to be standing over her.  The make-up of the woman shows her after something happened which the spectator doesn't know what but can guess from the suggestions given by the few frames, her eyes seem to show the harm that had been done to her.   This whole part of the opening sequence is in dim lighting as you can still see the light, or white, since its black and white.

The sound throughout the start of the opening is important in how the spectator should know the tone of the film, the sound that the woman is making has a higher volume than the ambient sound. Her sound is suggested that she is in a lot of pain and is terrified, almost comparable to her crying.

The end part of this first sequence is very quick and shocking. The ‘black’ blood on the floor shows that she had been shot in the head just after she turned to the mysterious man, saying that it is his baby. The sound actually is after the blood splatter, only a split second after but this could help it be a larger shock for the audience so the sound doesn't reveal what is going on before it happens. As the mysterious man is only shown by his hands and him whilst walking towards her.  Although we know a fair bit about him so far, we are suggested that his name is Bill because of the handkerchief with his name written on it and he has a history with the woman.  The speech of bill is in the spirit of an antagonist, making fun of her pain and stage, ‘I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now’.  This attempt at mocking her and trying to clean her face suggests that he isn’t affected by her state at all. Bills voice sounds old and calm which isn’t suited to the situation at all suggesting that he might be quite insane.  The camera stays in one position meaning that his voice is off-screen and so is most of his mise en scene creating enigma around him.

  

The titles lists the names as 1, 2, 3 etc. This may suggest that the movie will be something to do with this order and numbering as it’s unusual to list the character/actors in a specific order especially after introducing the Deadly Viper Assassination squad in the titles. The music/song whilst the titles roll helps suggest to us that Bill was her lover or they cared for each other as it is called ‘bang bang’ and refers to how their love shot them down and suggests/shows what is going on clearly.

The last shot, whilst the titles are still appearing on screen, a shot of what seems to be the woman which was the focus of the last part, is now laying down across the screen still in black and white.  The lighting of this scene is low key and is very dark compared to previous scene. This is still creating enigma because you don’t necessarily know if she if alive, although her body language does show her breathing slightly but this can’t be confirmed at this stage and then continues to fade to black. This could be a funeral shot and she could be laid to rest, the visibility isn’t high so we can’t see much about her at all.

  

So overall, this opening sequence creates questions and establishes the story very well with mise en scene, sound and editing. 

The Disappearance of Alice Creed:

From the start, the music is building up in speed and volume which suggests they are building up to do something with the things they are getting.  The fact the music is still content when they have broken into the van shows that it isn't the end to their criminal activities. The camera isn’t fully focused on the van as it tracks passed them; this may connote that they were unseen and will get away with stealing it.

 

Most of the shots in the supermarket are low angle shots which may suggest that they are the ones in power and the antagonists. The props that they pick up would be normal life items if the music didn't suggest otherwise.  The props are shown to be used later on in the opening sequence but aa

The kitchen’s mise en scene suggests that this is a normal household. Compared with the shot of the room’s decor which comes right after this, it makes the locked up room more sinister and evil. The camera panning around suggests that it will become of importance to the film as it takes time to focus on all the areas inside. All the preparations seem to happen inside of this building so there is a false representation of it, perhaps to connote that the house wouldn't be seen as a bad place.

When the camera tracks down the line of props, you can get suggestions that they are going to kidnap someone because of the props included, hand cuffs, balaclava, duct tape and a bag for example. If the spectator hadn't gotten the clues yet they will have now. The props are iconic towards thrillers, the gun included.  

The two characters aren't suggested to be exactly evil which is debatable. They have to stop for lunch and a coffee break and one helps the other put his tie on, but this could also suggest their calmness is disturbing. This character which helps them put the tie on seems like he’s a more dominant and father like figure to this other character, the other one follows exactly what he does. For example when the bed is being drilled into the ground, he does it first then the camera has a focus change and the other younger character follows his step and when they are nailing the carpet to the floor, they also do it in sync. Although this is true, they seem very in sync with each other and are sure of their goals. Their facial expressions are very dull and vague throughout the sequence, showing no real emotion and there is no speech between them, just body language interaction.

It may not seem like a huge scene but the bags that they throw out of the van next to the other rubbish bags are important. The colours of them both are opposite, the normal bags being orange and their bags being black. Not any ordinary rubbish bags as well as the camera seem to lean into them, showing their significance.

The soundtrack starts to get faster when they enter the room to edit it, this changes the mood and is eventually dim lighting is placed to help show the feeling of this room. Near the end, the music has intensified and has started to suggest they are ready to unleash and proceed with their thought out plans.  

The shots used in this opening move around a lot as pans and tracking, this could suggest that the spectator is looking into a subjective window, showing only props and objects which may play importance.

Overall, this opening is very mysterious without many answers to the questions that it creates.  It suggests that they are going to kidnap someone and have planned it out over some time. The reasoning behind this isn't clear but their intentions are. There are a lot of signs that this is a thriller by mainly using mise en scene and sound.  These could be all used to show how easily they could be dismissed by anyone walking along the street, hidden away. 

Shutter Island:

The first shot you see is of the boat traveling through fog, this is using pathetic fallacy. This is an eerie starting shot and can show how disorientated the character is feeling inside. This can used to create enigma around the ship and what importance it will have to the film, or who is traveling on board it. We can tell the character we join is the protagonist because of the focus we have on him and he is speaking his thoughts, ‘pull yourself together’.  There is a slight soundtrack which makes the first part of the sequence mysterious.  The other man he meets out on the deck has similar features in his costume to the main character.  These costumes also suggest the time period and setting which they are traveling to, establishing the setting and mood so and to come.  

The flashback is triggered by a sound bridge, the ambient sound of the ship goes down in volume and the soundtrack becomes more bold and loud. You can hear nothing apart from the soundtrack when the actual flashback happens which suggests to the spectator that it’s just a memory until the flashback is interrupted by the ship crashing through the water and the sound of reality is restored. The music throughout the flashback built up to when he says that she died, but he doesn’t react in a way you would expect when he says it, connoting that his character is strong and has gotten over it.  His costume in the flashback can be compared with the present time one; a major difference could be his hat. The lack of hat can suggest to the spectator that he used to be more open and less hidden but now wants to be more hidden and focused for example.

The protagonist’s body language suggests that he is in control of the other one, he seems to be further forward and more bold than the sidekick character.  The camera shot is a two shot of them in this position and I believe it suggests that they are similar because of their similar actions, but one character being more calm and relaxed whilst the other tense. 

You could say that the island shot is unexpected as you would expect how they are dressed to be dropped off into a city, but this isn't true. It could also be said that it’s shown in a POV shot as the protagonist seems focused on looking towards that direction.  The extreme long shot of the island is so far away you cannot make out anything which helps create enigma.

This scene shows the two talking to a new police character, there is an interesting shot which shows them with police/guards with guns standing behind them. This could be a suggestion of false security because the guns can suggest danger and threat and the man has his hands in his pockets, this piece of body language may connote his weakness but also a threat nearby with the weapons.  The vehicles shown in the background out of focus and the one they get in are very similar, or if not, are army vehicles which suggest conflict and danger.

Overall, this opening sequence uses mise en scene, editing and sound to create enigma around this protagonist and doesn't create a large amount of enigma around the character, just the situation so you can get on the same page as the character and feel like you know what he knows.