Inspirations for Opening Scene - Miss Miller

In this essay I will be discussing different elements which have been in the clips of thrillers I have previously analysed. And writing what and how it has inspired me to do something similar in my own opening scene of a thriller. I will also be writing how it has inspired me and why including that specific element is going to increase the quality of my thriller opening.

 An inspiration is 'to give someone the enthusiasm to do or create something' http://www.macmillandictionary.com

Sound
I have taken ideas and inspiration from a range of films to help me know what I want to include in my own thriller opening scene. I want the music to be slow and peaceful to keep the audience in a serene mood. I  have taken this idea from the thriller 'Silence of the lambs' Where Hannibal Lecter is listening to on-screen, classical music. This allowed the audience to stay relaxed and instantly shock the audience by changing the music as soon as the narrative has a turning point. I also want the sound to be on screen, diagetic sound, coming from a radio or another object.
   More inspiration that I have taken for my opening scene is the sound that was used in the thriller 'prom night'. The music played was very dramatic, the pace was increasing as the killer got closer to the victim. So It allowed the audience to feel nervy and on edge. I am going to take ideas from this chase scene as it gave the film a high level of anticipation; This high level of anticipation will make the audience nervy and excited.

    

        This is the radio from 'silence of the lambs' this is the type of sound I am inspired to include, diagetic.

Characters
I have been inspired to use certain types of characters for my thriller opening scene such as young female blonde victims. This is because they are more vulnerable, and seem weak on camera. They also are much easier for the audience to connect to as the audience may have the view that the victim is innocent and then have emotions of sadness for the character, also with the emotion of terror. Mixed emotions will cause a good reaction from the audience, entertaining them. I was inspired to use this type of character from watching clips from the films 'scream 1,3,4' All involving young characters and blonde female victims being murdered in the opening scenes of the films. This is what I want to do in my thriller because it adds innocence with murder, so the audience can sympathise with the character, but also know what's going to happen soon(death).

Iconography

Relating back to the characters I want to use and where I got that inspiration from (scream 1,3,4) All of these opening scenes used phones to introduce danger to the narrative/scene. That is also what I want to do to introduce the killer, through his/her voice. This will hopefully scare the audience and entertain them as it creates suspense and enigma. This is why I want to include it in my own thriller because the prop has a lot of impact. The sound I'd like to have as the killers voice has to be non-diagetic and have sound effects, to have more impact on the audience - so they know clearly it's the killer as soon as he/her speaks.

       Another prop I'd like to use in my thriller is a knife, the knife indicates pain and it's much more intense and intimate than just using a gun. Also with guns, it's quick to kill the victim there isn't as much of a chase scene. They are also a lot more scarier than guns, they seem to draw more feeling of suspense to the audience. Knives also make the movie much more 'thrilling'. The film that has given me this idea is all of them! But mostly Halloween, this is because the impact the one kitchen knife had on a victim was huge, the screaming, blood and special effects was very immense; this adds a rush of emotions, anticipation and more goriness, that's why I want to include a knife as a prop in my thriller.

Camera angles and shots
In my opening scene I want to use an establishing shot as the opening picture, this is so the audience can really find out where the scene is set. I was inspired to do this from the film 'Halloween' as it showed us the location then instantly zoomed in. I also want to include close ups to show emotions/facial expressions of the victim, i gathered this idea from 'the devil inside' as it was more of an emotional scene, faces needed to be seen close up so the audience can connect with the characters. I want to use a two shot when the victim is trying to escape from the killer, I want to do this so the audience can see how close the killer is to the victim and if the victim has a chance of escaping - I got this idea from the opening of scream 4.

There are many other shots and angles I would like to use like high level when zooming out to end the end of that opening scene. And also low angle to make the killer seem bigger to show that the killer has power, this would be after the killer kills the victim.

Costumes
For my own thriller I have been inspired by two costume looks for a female victim. Firstly, a very feminine woman dressed quite girly with bright clothing. To show how full of life the character is. I was inspired to do this from the film scream 3. This will allow the audience to somehow assume that she's vulnerable. Not just from her costume but because the girl would be young and blonde. Indicating vulnerability to the audience. This relates back to a typical thriller as they usually use blonde girls who are young to portray the victims.
(As said similarly to the character section)

However, I could do a different type of costume for the victim, quite plainly dressed. This will indicate that the character is a regular person as many people in the audience are classed as 'regular' people , they can relate better to the character. Also it may cause the audience to be anxious and paranoid, wondering if this could also happen to them. Even though the film is all fiction. Relating back to typical thrillers as they like to use people who are like the audience so they can have an emotional effect on the audience.

Feminine Victim

Plainly dressed characters from  SAW V

       

         These are most of my inspirations for my own opening scene, I have included all these methods which are in typical thrillers to entertain the audience and keep them on edge, to make them want to keep watching but to also be terrified by the amount of suspense/tension included in my opening scene. Also in my opening scene I want to create enigma by the use of sound, tension music. I also want to create enigma by making my film quite confusing where the audience know what's going on in the plot but don't understand why. I don't want to make my plot too confusing, but to just drive away from the obvious thriller; Meaning you don't know when the murder scene is going to take place. During my opening scene it is also going to inform people, but not too much information. Otherwise, the ending would be known by the audience, so I want to keep the audience wanting more than just an opening scene.