What the audience expects from a Thriller.

I made a questionnaire based on audience expectations of Thriller films. I asked people from my target audience (older teenagers and adults) and tallied together their answers, so I can gain a better knowledge of what my target audience expect from the film:-


Would you expect the protagonist to be Male or Female?
Male: 4
Female: 5

Do you expect the protagonist to be a relatable "normal" person, or a person with an extraordinary skill or power?
Extraordinary: 3
Ordinary: 6

What age would you expect the protagonist to be?
Teenager: 4
Adult: 5
Elderly: 0

Do you expect a happy ending?
Yes: 4
No: 5

Would you expect a Cliff-hanger ending?

Yes: 6

No: 3

Would you expect the plot to include Red-Herrings?

Yes: 5

No: 4

Would you expect Death to play a big part in the plot?

Yes: 6

No: 3

If yes, how many deaths would you expect from a Thriller?

0: 0

1-3: 4

4-7: 3

8+: 2

Se7en (1995) Title Sequence

Seven is a psychological crime thriller based around two detectives searching for a serial killer, who's murders are based on te seven deadly sins. The title sequence of this thriller occurs a few minutes into the movie. Sinister, erratic music plays over a sequence of images alternating with White, scrawled handwriting on a black background. The images and clips are extreme close ups of books, hands, needles and disturbing pictures of dead bodies and torture contraptions. These images lead the audience to expect the rest of the film to feature murder, violence, death and the distorted appearance and editing of the sequence could lead to thoughts of mental illnesses.

Face/Off (1997) Opening sequence.

The film Face/Off tells the story of a police officer, Sean Archer, fighting for revenge against Castor Troy, well known criminal and the muderer of his son.
The opening two minutes focus on the past experience of the murder of Sean Archer's son. The scene enables the audience to clearly establish between the "good guy" and the "bad guy" as this is vital to the storyline.
The sequence begins with a black background and soft, childlike music playing. Next the "Touchstone pictures" logo appears and then the title sequence begins with white writing and a black background. Strings begin to build up layers and the music becomes stronger as the black backround transforms into a warped image of a carousel. The main actors names appear over the image and you can hear a child laughing. The sound of the music and child's laughter together with the slightly abstracted image makes the atmosphere tense and eerie, which is typical of a thriller. Next we are introduced to a main character, Sean Archer, who is on the carousel next to his son. They are laughing and smiling and Sean appears to be a loving father so this helps the audience to like him and establish him as a good character.
Next the bad character Castor Troy is introduced. First, we see a close up shot of a gun then he appears as a silhouette who whips off a black cloak-like piece of material in a typically villainous style. The shot of the guns makes us assosiate him with crime and violence and therefore makes him unlikable and contrasting to the innocent scene of the happy father and son. The title 'Face Off' appears over the clip. We then see an extreme close up of Castor drinking from a straw and then the camera tilts up to his eye and the guns comes into the shot again and the music becomes sinister, which builds the tension and suspense. Next there is a P.o.v. shot through the eye of the gun and primarily the aim is on the child's face then moves to Sean's back. The music becomes softer as we see the father and son playing and being affectionate and for a moment Castor looks like he isn't going to shoot, however, this is a red-herring as after taking another sip from his drink he pulls the trigger. The shots become very fast paced to build adrenaline. After the bullet hits Sean the music becomes emotional as he falls to the ground in slow motion.
This sequence grabs the audiences attention and keeps them on the edge of their seats by building tension and suspence through the background music and narrative codes.

Target Audience - Age Ratings.

I have been looking at the age ratings for the most popular thriller films, here are a few examples:

Inception - 12A                                                                 
The Dark Knight - 12A                                                      
Psycho - 15                                                                      
Goodfellas - 18                                                                  
Fight Club - 18                                                                  
Silence of the Lambs - 18
Se7en - 18

The ratings of thrillers are usually quite high because the themes of the genre (crime, death, mental illnesses etc.) make them unsuitable for younger audiences. So by looking at the ratings I have come to the conclusion that my target audience will be adults and older teenagers.

Silence of the lambs is rated as an 

18 because of language, sexual 

content and violent scenes of gore.

According to the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of    America) Fight Club is rated 18 "for disturbing and   graphic depiction of violent anti-social behaviour, sexuality and language."

The 'Thriller' Genre - Generic Conventions

Now I have looked at what makes an opening sequence effective I have chosen to look specifically at film openings of the 'Thriller' genre. I shall produce questionnaires to find out what people watch this type of film and what they expect from it. First, I need to look at the conventions of the genre:

Plot
The plots of thriller films are designed to keep the audience on the edges of their seats as the plot advances to a climax. Usually there are many twists and turns, and occasionally red-herrings, in the story lines so the audience cannot tell what will happen next. The storyline often revolves around the extraordinary happening within the ordinary and the characters are usually in a strange, unexpected situation trying to solve a problem and relentlessly reach their goals.

Characters
As mentioned before, in thrillers the extraordinary happens alongside the ordinary so the characters are usually relatable in ways but may have unexpected abilities or characteristics. For example, in the film 'Psycho', Norman Bates has a normal, non-threatening exterior but we discover how isolated and lonely he is and also his mental disorders. As thrillers contain crime, psychology etc we expect to see police, doctors, detectives, victims, doctors and criminals. We can expect to have the "good guys" and the "bad guys", though continuing with the unexpected plot lines, it can be difficult to truly establish the good and bad.


Setting  
The usual settings of thriller films are places are realistic and true to life  such as towns and cities. Occasionally they may take place in somewhere exotic or in a challenging environment. For example in 'Inception' the characters find themselves in Arctic conditions when they go into a "dream within a dream within a dream." which presents them with many challenges. 

Mood
The mood in thriller films is often tense, serious and contains a lot of suspension. This is created by keeping parts of the storyline elusive and unpredictable so the audience cannot be sure of what will be around the corner.

Introduction of a Character - Bullet Tooth Tony.

We were shown a clip from the film 'Snatch', which introduces the character "Bullet Tooth Tony". 

The clip begins in a dark, dingy pub, which sets off a sinister vibe. The characters are all wearing dark clothes and appear to be very serious and seem like typical "gangsters". They begin to talk about finding a man called Frank and one character recommends Bullet-Tooth Tony. Just his name conjures up violent imagery and sounds like a character's name from an old Western movie.

The camera then cuts to an insert of Tony in the past. We can tell that the shot is set in the past because of an iconic 80's song playing diagetically in the background and Tony is sporting a "mullet" hairstyle.Tony is in a seedy bar surrounded by topless women but he does not pay them any attention and walks past. This gives the audience the impression that he is serious and does not get distracted from the job he's doing. Also he is wearing a suit that makes him look like a business man, which could suggest that he is 

at the bar for business purposes.

We then see a man greet him, warmly opening his arms, which creates the impression that Tony is well-liked and could also suggest that he is well-known.

Next, the pace quickens and, during a cut-back to the pub, a man describes Tony 

as a "liability" so maybe he causes a lot of trouble. However, one of the sisters then says: "He'd find Moses in a burning bush if you paid him." which implies that he is money driven and completes a job well as long as there is something in it for him. 

We then witness a violent scene in which the initially friendly man shoots Tony six times. Though Tony stands up with blood pouring from his mouth, giving him a carnivorous appearance, and advance on the man with a sword. His monstrous appearance makes the scene even more violent. The fact that he survived this ordeal makes him seem invincible and inhuman. We discover that he had two of the bullets moulded into gold and used them to replace his missing teeth, hence the name. This act also gives us the impression that he is proud to have come out of such a violent ordeal alive.

  Next, the scene changes to Bullet-Tooth Tony in the present day of the film and again it is a very brutal and violent scene in which Tony is slamming a car door shut numerous times on someone's head. The audience, by now, relate Tony with violence, as it seems he is always involved with it.

Then the phone rings in his car and he quickly answers it with "Bonjour!"which makes him seem quirky and the violence of his job does not phase him in the slightest.

The Purposes of Opening Sequences:

• Introduce the plot.

The opening could use Narrative Codes to introduce the plot and create expectations for the rest of the film.
Going by the Narrative structure, the opening should show the "equilibrium" in the plot.

• Introduce a character/s.

The main character (or characters) are usually introduced to the audience in the opening of the film, though some films such as 'Zombie land' bend this rule, as the creators toy with the audience's expectation of who is the protagonist. However, in films such as 'Juno' and 'Silence of the Lambs' we begin to feel a personal attachment with the main characters from the very beginning, which keeps the audience interested in what will happen to them.

• Create an atmosphere and expectations for the rest of the film.

From the opening minutes of the film, you should be able to establish the genre of the film. This will build the audiences expectations for the film, for example, if the text is of the comedy genre the audience will expect the film to be light hearted, upbeat and funny. Looking at 'This is England' as an example, we know that the film is a gritty, British Drama.

• Grab the audiences attention and make them want to continue watching the film.

The opening sequence needs to create a good foundation for the rest of the film that will appeal to the audience and keep their interests. Therefore, the opening should be eye-catching and intriguing.

• Title Sequence.

Title sequences do not always appear at the very beginning of a film, however in most cases they do. The aim of a title sequence is to introduce the name of the film, the main actors and the people who created it. Some actors, directors or producers are associated with a certain genre of film. For example, if you see that Tim Burton is the director the audience will expect a dark, eccentric film.

There are three ways in which a title sequence can appear: Separate Credits/Title sequence; Titles appear over the images as narrative plays; Alternating inserts of narrative and a black screen with credits. As I only have two minutes to create my opening sequence, I think I should either not include a title sequence or use text over images.

Analysis of an Opening Sequence - 'This is England'

I have chosen to analyse the opening sequence to 'This is England' because I think it builds a good foundation for the film to develop from. It also gives the audience a feel of what was happening in England during the 80's, as we see images of many iconic symbols such as the Rubix cube, but we also see the gritty wars British people were facing in the Falklands, and also at home in England.

We see images of violence and anarchy mixed in with archive footage of some of the harmless past times of the 80's. This creates a strong contrast and I feel that it makes people want to continue watching in order to find out what was really happening. We see images of people and events that have an impact on the character's, which are revealed later in the film, and this archive footage reminds us of these things, gives us more knowledge about the setting and presents the anarchic atmosphere present throughout the film.

The editing of the clips give us clues as to the attitudes people held, for example, two clips were edited together which shows Margaret Thatcher firing a gun of some sort and then it cuts to a shockingly graphic image of a British soldier dying. This links with the fact that people believed Thatcher sent the Soldiers directly to their deaths by sending them to this war.

The first few shots of the film's main character occur after the title sequence and we are immediately shown links between the life of 10 year old 'Shaun' and  the riotous archive footage shown previously. For example, we see a picture of a soldier sitting by Shaun's bed and this presents enigma codes as the audience want to know the links. We also hear the voice of Margaret Thatcher through the radio, which Shaun quickly turns off: giving us ideas of the attitudes towards the Prime minister at the time.