Thriller Research- Ettie Greenwood (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Zodiac & Lovely Bones)

Here I have analysed 4 thriller openings, these are:

• Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
• The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)
• Zodiac (2007)
• Lovely Bones (2009)

1) Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Camera work

The sequence starts off with a panning, extreme long shot which is also an establishing shot. This shot denotes a snowy landscape with woodland in the background. This allows the audience to know where the scene is taken place and to give the piece context. The next shot is then a zoom in from the previous to denote a house (which could only be seen a little in the last frame). This again allows the audience to establish the setting of the movie, but it also hints that this location may have importance later in the film. 

After the establishing shots, the sequence then cuts to a man answering a phone. The shots that follow are an eye level medium-long shot of an old man, and then a high angle medium shot of a different man (they seem to be talking to each other on the phone). However the shot of the man in the office, does not reveal his face (only his back), which may connote anticipation and a sense of unknown. But, in the next shot (a pan of the old man walking toward the camera) the old man gets closer to the camera making the mans facial expressions get easier to read, therefore the audience can connote that he is feeling worried from his expressions, most likely from what the man in the office is saying. 

 

High key lighting is used in this opening to give the piece a dramatic and thriller themed feel. It also sets the tone for the rest of the film.

Finally for camera work, the next shot denotes the man in the office on the phone, this is a close up shot but the man is not looking at the camera so the audience cannot see his facial expressions(he is looking down at an object on the desk). This evokes more suspense and forces the audience to watch on to find out who the man is. As he puts down the phone, he also walks off and the audience now is able to see the background and room setting. The camera tilts down and after a focus pull, a photo frame full of what seems like dried flowers is in shot. This reveals to the audience what the man was looking at before and highlights its significance later in the film.

Editing
The editing in the opening of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is very simple with only cuts used. This makes the piece achieve better continuity as the cuts are almost unnoticeable and allows the audience to see different viewpoints in the same scene.

Cross cutting is used here to show both sides of the conversation on the phone: this enables the reader to know more about what is happening, even though they do not know much about the context of the conversation yet.

At the end of the sequence a fade to black is used to show the scene finishing and the next to start. This also creates suspense as the audience do not know what will happen next, as they were left on a slight cliff hanger (not knowing what the photo is for).

The opening has not been set in chronological order, but instead starts with an event which would have been in the middle of the plot line. This makes the audience question why the event happens, therefore engaing them to continue watching.

Mise en Scene
The mise en scene of the sequence is used to give an overall effect of suspense and the sense of unknown. This is connoted in many different ways:

Firstly the lighting in the piece is very dark and natural, this gives the sequence a serious tone. This convention though, is very typical of a thriller film. The colour in the clip is also desaturated and has a slight blue tone to it, this connotes again the seriousness of the piece and foreshadows a negative event that may happen later in the film.

The location and setting of the film is very remote, which was highlighted in the establishing shots. This is again a convention of thriller films and makes the location feel more vulnerable and susceptible to danger.

Finally the props in the sequence seem to have significance. For example the photo of the pressed flowers seems to have significance as the characters are on the phone talking about it. This foreshadows that the photo will be important later in the film, even though the audience do not why yet. This engages the viewer and encourages them to keep watching in order to work out the introduced enigma.

 

Sound
At the start of the sequence a sound bridge is used where a phone ringing sound is shown throughout the establishing shots (most likely an asynchronous sound). The audience only then get to see the source of the sound in a later shot of a man picking up the phone. This effect helps the viewer to know where the character is while the action is happening.

Non-diegetic music soundtrack is also added to help build the mood. However this music is contrapuntal to the mood of the the sequence - it seems quite childish and charming, whilst the mood of the sequence is serious and cold- This has a reverse effect making the music seem quite eerie and uneasy, which is common in thriller films. The music also builds in crescendo towards the end to help build tension.

However, the diegetic sound of dialogue is very simple and the characters do not say much. This can make the scene seem slightly confusing to the audience as they do not know what the characters are talking about much, therefore creating enigma.

Characterisation
In the opening, the audience cannot tell much about the characters. This is by using

• Over the head shots
• Dark (key) lighting
• Not many close ups

This creates enigma as the characters are seen as reserved. The only close up is when the man walks towards the camera whilst on the phone. However he seems worried therefore connoting his emotions about the event. But the other man in the office's face is never shown creating suspense and more enigma

Narrative
Even though the opening of The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo starts off with an equilibrium (establishing shots - sense of normality), it is not narrated in chronological order as the next shot denotes a scenario which the audience do not know about. This is used very commonly in thriller films to engage the reader quickly. Therefore the opening shows restricted narration as the audience do not know the purpose of the picture frame, creating an enigma code.

2) The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)

Camera work
At the start of the clip a series of tracking shots are used to establish the location to the audience. These switch between a side track and a forward track of a car park. The camera is moving quite fast which may connote action and speed to the plot. However, the tracking finally slows down when the camera moves towards a man breaking into a car. This immediately signals to the audience that the man may be a criminal and conveys his character to them. Another man then comes into frame which denotes that both men work together, even though the audience do not know what yet.

Later a worms eye view/ extreme low angle shot is used to denote the two men walking though a shop. The audience does not yet know what the shop is though. However after a focus pull from the focus on the shopping trolley wheel (shallow depth of field) to the new focus on the men and the background (deep depth of field) the audience is able to discover that the shop is a D.I.Y store.

The camera then again tracks the men picking up various objects in the store. This creates enigma as the audience do not know what these objects are for but can start to guess. This creates growing suspense.

As the man start to remove furniture and change the room, many tracking shots are used to establish what the men are doing and different shot angles and types are also used to do this. This helps the audience to know more about their plans and to try and guess what it is. As the sequence continues the audience can start to guess that the plan may be to kidnap someone, hence the soundproof walls, bed, and the name in the film title.

Editing
The editing in the sequence has a fairly high editing frequency to connote the suspense and action in the piece. But its also helps to reveal to the audience on what the men plan to do quickly and easily.

Cuts are used in the sequence as they are very fast and help to connote to action feel in the sequence.

When editing the scene in the woods, a desaturated effect seems to be added to the footage. This signifies a serious mood, which is an important convention of a thriller film.

Mise en Scene
The location of the film is in an everyday location -a car park and a house- which creates a sense of realism to the audience. This may make the viewer feel more 'on edge' as they do not know what could happen as there are no hints. The D.I.Y store is also realistic, but because of the context of the sequence, it could seem as an enigma and builds tension.

The props in the opening go towards the iconography of the thriller film genre: The two men are seen picking up a saw, soundproof wall lining, a bed and a drill. These objects create assumptions in the audiences mind therefore making them iconographers. The props also help to foreshadow what may happen later in the film, without revealing the plot line. This makes it a successful thriller opening.

Sound
The non-diegetic music soundtrack in the opening has a fast tempo and builds crescendo as the sequence proceeds. This contributes to a dramatic mood and helps to create suspense to the audience. The soundtrack is also instrumental and synchronous which are conventions of thriller films, therefore making the piece match its desired genre.

However when the sequence changes to a new location, a decrescendo in the music takes place and then the music slowly creates a new crescendo again. This pattern helps to create multiple heights of suspense and to make audience feel anxiety and suspense multiple times.

Finally, the lack of dialogue between the two characters keeps the audience in the unknown as they do not have any further clues in what is happening, creating enigma once again. However this also connotes that both characters know what they are doing and have planned out what they intend to do very carefully.

Characterisation
In this opening, the characters facial expression are shown though mid-close ups which allows the audience to discover their personalities. Their faces look determined and serious, therefore connoting they serious about what they intend to do. Their body language is also strong which connotes their confidence. The mens actions (stealing a car) also helps to reveal to the audience that they many be involved in crime.

By revealing the characters personalities at the start of the film, the audience can relate to this later in the film when further events

Narrative
The narrative in The Disappearance of Alice Creed is an enigma code as the audience do not know what the man plan to at the start, and question their actions. This engages the audience as they become intrigued into what their plans are for. This could follow Todorov's theory where an 'equilibrium' is shown first -the tracking shot of the car park-, followed by a 'disruption/event' -the men picking up objects as a store and transforming a room-. However this is not certain as the movie could contain  elements in the story of the men planning the event, or something happening before this. Therefore is is hard to tell the starting point in this opening.

3) Zodiac (2007)

Camerawork

The scene starts with a sideways tracking shot of a neighbourhood (like the starting shot from The Disappearance of Alice Creed). This is an establishing shot which enables the audience to discover where the film is set. The shot is framed by the edge of a car window to denote where the camera is and to show a POV of someone looking out of the car window. The neighbourhood looks very calm and family friendly which may seem a little too idealistic for the audience, foreboding bad events in the future. This is because the audience would be aware that the film is a horror, and usually a bad event takes place.

A few long shots are also used in the sequence to show the audience where the characters are and to reveal location. This allows context to be given to what is happening with the characters.

The 180 degree rule, along with shot reverse/shot is used in this piece (as well as the others) to enable the audience to easily work out who each character is talking to when dialogue occurs, even though they may not both be in frame. This enables the piece to easily enable continuity.

Mise en Scene
The lighting used is very minimal to connote a dark atmosphere and a sense of suspense. When the characters are in the car, there appears to be a soft back light, and a soft fill light. These are set very low to make the car seem as car as possible, whilst still allowing the audience to see the characters.

The characters have also been dressed in everyday clothing and are wearing natural makeup to seem realistic as they wear every day clothing. This makes event seem unexpected, creating more shock to the audience.

The location of the film also achieves realism as it is set in a 'normal' everyday setting: This again makes the event unexpected, but also adds more tension as the audience never know what will happen next in the sequence (the plot-line is not predictable).

Editing
The editing is quite simple in the sequence to again make the piece sound more predictable, but when events action take place, the editing frequency also increases. This adds a sense of action to the clip and creates a more fast pace therefore adding tension.

However a fade to black is used after the teenagers death to signify the ending of the scene, but also their death. This adds a dramatic feel to piece as it connotes to the audience that their lives are now gone, and also the end of the scene.

Sound
At the start of the sequence, there only appears to be diegetic sound, for example crickets, other cars and dialogue. But only until after the teenagers death does non-diegetic sound begin to play. This music it instrumental at first with a fast tempo and of the rock genre. However when the lyrics start to play, they correlate with what is happening in the scene: 'roly poly' to connote the teenagers dying and 'black' when the fade to black edit takes place. This music soundtrack helps to add atmosphere to the piece and to engage to viewer when not much diegetic sound is present.

Characterisation
Both characters are young (about 18-20). This young age connotes innocence, making them more of a protagonist than an antagonist. Their actions also seem 'normal' and not suspicious in any way which again connotes that they are innocent and mean no harm.

Mid-closeups are then used to show how they feel: at first they look relaxed, but as the cars approach their facial expressions change to a nervous/scared emotion. This may make the audience feel the same, therefore engaging them in the film more.

The characters are also represented by the stereotypical roles of masculinity (the boy wanting to drive, speaking in a low voice, and wearing typical male costume) and femininity (wearing a dress, talking about dieting and speaking in a soft tone).

Narrative
This opening definitely uses Todorov's theory where the scene starts out with a sense of realism as the setting looks normal and the characters seem to be only starting their night together.This is the 'equilibrium' stage. Next the opening progresses to the 'disruption' stage where the couple get shot by a group of men. This gives a sense of shock to the audience.

However the other stages are not included in the opening for obvious reasons: this makes the audience feel on edge so they want to continue watching. If all the other stages were included the rest of the film would be uninteresting and boring.

As the sequence is filmed in detail, with many different shot angles to create unrestricted narration, the audience may feel omniscient as they know all the details about the event.

4) Lovely Bones (2009)

Camerawork

At  the start of the sequence, there a repeated shot of a snow globe. The clip keeps on cutting to the snow globe which may connote its significance in the film, or something linked to the object. 

There is also eyeline match where the child looks at the snow globe (long shot), and then the next shot denotes a closeup of the snow globe. This allows the audience to easily know what she is looking at, but it also links the two together (showing her interest for the object). 

After the child walks up to the snow globe, the next shot is a closeup: this allows the audience to read her facial expressions while the voice over describes her memories of the moment. This gives the audience the most information about the situation as possible. The shot also has a shallow depth of field, to focus the audiences attention only on the globe.

Later in the opening, a shot of two people in a bedroom is filmed. At first it is hard to find out who they are, but after the camera pans to a picture of the child next to the bed, it become obvious that the people are her parents. The next shot then tilts down from the wall above the bed which denotes picture frames of a child's drawing, after showing the parents again, the camera then pans to the edge of the bed again. But this time the picture of the child is older, therefore connoting that time has passed. 

Finally, there are a lot of camera pans, tracking and tilts in the sequence. This is to make the camera movements seem smooth (steady cam may have been used here) but also it is an effective way of filming new locations and scenes smoothly. 

Mise en Scene

The overall atmosphere of the opening is happy, and care free, which is the opposite of an expected thriller film. Therefore this foreshadows negative events that may happen later. 

The lighting in the sequence is bright and hey key. Red head lamps and fill lighting is most likely used to eliminate shadows and to brighten the scene. This gives the scene a positive and happy feel. 

The location for filming is also seen to be realistic (like zodiac) which may make the audience feel more on edge as the thriller action is not predictable. This may also imply that anything can happen to anyone, making the film seem even more realistic. 

The main prop in the film is the snow globe, the camera keeps on cutting to this which highlights its' importance. It is unknown to the audience why at this stage, but this engages the audience as they question its' presence. This then forces them to continue watching, therefore making it a successful opening. 

Editing

In the sequence, the film seems to be slightly to give a more saturated colour. This adds to the pleasant atmosphere in the film. This is unusual of thriller films, so its almost definite that the mood will change later in the film. 

There is also a flashforward where the scene cuts to a new scene 12 years later. This is denoted by text on the screen saying "Twelve years later..". This reveals to the audience the time change with is then shown through the change in photo frames by the bed. 

Sound

In the opening there is a voice over, where a girl describes the memories of her childhood as they are being shown. This connotes to the audience that this is a flashback as she speaks in the past tense and says the phrase "I remember when". 

However there is also diegetic dialogue where the father and child speak. This allows the audience to understand what is happening in the scene. 

Non-diegetic foleys are added at certain points: this is mostly after the snow globe is shaken where a sparking and magical sound is heard. This may imply how the child thought that the penguin inside the snow globe was real. 

Finally a music track is added to add more depth to the opening. At first the music is instrumental and sounds childish. This correlates with the child playing at the time, but is contrapuntal from the thriller genre. After the change of location to the parents, the soundtrack changes to a rock/pop track with a high tempo. This change in soundtrack helps to highlight the change in location and time, but it also fits better with the events in the scene (continuing the nursery rhyme music would of not fitted the scene). Both the soundtracks do not fit with the stereotypical thriller genre music, just like the other aspect of the film, making the audience question when the mood of the piece will change.

Characterisation
The spectator positioning in this opening makes the audience think of the characters as 'normal' and as a protagonist. This is because they fit in with the norms of society (what they wear and how they act). This creates suspense as the audience would know the genre of the film -thriller- and would question when the mood of the scene would change.

The opening also includes a sense of humor (when the girl takes photos of the overweight girl instead of wildlife). This is unusual of a thriller film which again makes the audience anticipate the change in film tone, creating an enigma code (Barthes' theory).

Narrative/ Narration
The opening of Zodiac starts of with an equilibrium as the scene looks normal and the equilibrium helps the audience gain knowledge about the girls personality/life before the events of the film start. The viewer can tell this is the start of a possibly chronological sequence, as the voice-over narration denotes that this event is in the past -through the use of a flashback-, therefore starting the film at a point of happiness/normality. The voice-over talks about remembering feelings towards the snow globe which makes the piece subjective. As she is talking about her feelings/views, this positions the audience to feel the same way.