Analysing openings of thrillers.

In this post I will be analysing the openings of thrillers and some of the conventions they have used. I will be talking about A History of Violence, No Country for Old Men and Zodiac. 

A History of violence

This opening communicates to the audience as it really makes you feel like you are there watching them due to the use of diegetic sound. Cricket sounds were used as they were in a large grassy area; this makes the scene more realistic and the audience feel involved. Some more diegetic sound was the radio. This adds to the scene as the type of music playing could show where they are, their mood or to foreshadow something. The type of music playing was country music and this shows the location of where the setting is. The music confirms that they are in/around the Texas area so could foreshadow that they are stereotypical Texans who are racist/backward or crazy.

The costumes in this opening were very symbolic as one was wearing all black while the other white, this could show a difference in personality or who may be the protagonist and antagonist. The one in black seemed to be very relaxed because of his body language and tone of voice whereas the one in white initially seemed relaxed but we could see by his body language that he may be slightly anxious.  This further shows which body language that where is a difference between characters so this is foreshadowing a conflict between them in the future.

Here is an image of the two characters in there black and white costumes. Also this is the scene where crickets and the radio can be heard.

No Country for Old Men
In this opening, it is even more stereotypical Texas due to: Texan accents, setting in deep south, guns and costumes like sheriff, cowboy hats and denim jeans. There seems to be an idea that thrillers in Texas must be more suspenseful due to the extreme stereotype and events that happen there like mass murdering and the racial/redneck views. 

The use of the Texan accents really do show that this is set in the deep south and this makes the movie feels a little more suspenseful. This could be because automatically we think that these people could be the stereotypical Texan who may still have backward views. Therefore this could add suspense as we are unsure of what the characters could be capable of until we see it. This means suspense will be building up. however the accents could make it harder to distinguish who could be the antagonist as they all sound similar. This means that suspense could be added as we are waiting for something to happening up we don't know what and by who.

With the use of the props and costumes, this adds a lot of suspense as we can already see a conflict going on as we see the sheriff in his uniform and the other guy in jeans and has a gun. This conflict will be against outlaws and authority; and therefore adds suspense as we can foreshadow that a conflict will happen. this means everything till that point is just building up the suspense and making the viewers feel tension and could be more on edge.

These images show all the listed conventions of the stereotypes; we can clearly see that this is set in Texas.

Zodiac
In this opening we are told the date and setting along with the message that this movie is based on real life events. This already adds suspense as if this has really happened it makes the movie feel much more chilling and spooky; this is because we feel sympathy for the people that this happened too. However other conventions also made this opening suspenseful but mostly sound.

Some diegetic sound was used when the suspicious car drove off then turned around. The sound we could hear was a cars squeaky braking and type sounds. This instantly gives the impression that the car is coming back and the person is going to carry out his actions. This therefore adds suspense as the viewers know that something bad could happen and the unsettling sound of the brakes foreshadows something bad too. If we didn't hear this sound then we may not feel so anxious in this sense as we may think its a different car or the black car has no significance; so this sound makes us instantly know that they are coming back and not for a good reason.

One of the props used was a gun. However this gun had a silencer attached onto it. This makes the viewers think that this antagonist has thought about his plan and could be smart. Therefore for the rest of the film he could have more complicated but controlled killings and could present a challenge the authority. Furthermore the gun looked every common and as the setting is in America it could be possible most people may have this gun at home for self defence. This means that the antagonist cant be traced from the type of gun he uses and this further adds to the idea that he is a criminal mastermind.

Here is the whole movie as I couldn't find just the opening, but if you watch the first couple minuets you will be able to point out everything I noted.

Analysis of Psycho

In this post i will be writing about mise-en-scene, camera shots and sound used in Psycho.

Mise-en-scene

The lighting in Psycho is generally dark as the setting was mostly at night or in dark buildings. This dark lighting could foreshadow that danger is ahead of our protagonists. Furthermore the dark lighting could mean that the current character could be evil so they may be the villain that will prevent the problems. As the setting is at night, this means that the scene will feel much more spooky as the lighting is dark so the audience are on edge and expecting something to happen.  here is an image of a very dark room with Norman Bates. The lighting here suggests that Norman may be in danger or he may be the one presenting the problem.

Back lighting was also used in Psycho as it creates silhouettes. The audience will therefore not see the character in detail or at all. This creates a sense of mystery as we do not see who it is. This mystery adds suspense in the film as the person that we can see is killing someone while means the audience does not know who the killer is; adding suspense. As you can see in the image below, the killer is completely unrecognisable and therefore the audience can only have ideas on who it is and this adds mystery, suspense and confusion.

Props where also used in Psycho to add suspense or create tension between characters. In the scene where Norman and Marion are in the back room eating sandwiches, there are many birds in the background. One specific bird behind Norman is a bird of prey. This could imply that he is the bird of prey/predator and that Marion is in danger with him around; Marion is the prey. In the image below you can see the birds in the background, and you can see the huge bird of prey. These birds can represent Norma or that there will be danger overlooking and challenging our protagonists.

There are some facial expressions that really added to the scene. One in particular is when Lila Crane is scared as she just saw Norman's mothers's dead body and then turned around to find Norman with a knife. Her facial expression shows that she is incredibly frightened. This facial expression stood out as we was expecting her to be found and was lowering the excitement, but when we saw her face then the suspense really hit the audience and we could feel her terror.

Body language used by Marion also adds suspense. Marion's body language seems to stay majority the same. She always seems stern and back straight. This could reflect her feeling as she feels very tense as she has ran away with stolen money. Therefore her body language can be justified that she is on edge, tense and possibly stressed. On the other hand she may be stern as she knows what she whats so she thinking and planning her plan. therefore she is tense as she has many thoughts rushing through her head. An example of this body language can be seen in the image below.

Sound

when the women in Psycho walk, we can hear their heels click on the floor; this is diegetic sound. this sound makes the scenes feel more feminine and stereotypical which could make the viewers think that the women are more vulnerable and weak. therefore this could add suspense as we will think that they will be the next target and could easily be killed. this means that we associate this sound with a stereotypical feminine women who back in 1960 would have been seen as weak and easy prey.

non-diegetic sound was also used in psycho in the famous shower scene. there is some suspenseful music that plays when Norman pulls the shower curtain across that really makes the scene stand out, makes it suspenseful and its what makes the scene famous. the reason it adds suspense is because its fast past instrumental music that is very shocking. being as the editing is fast pace the music really fits in with the scene.

here is the shower scene with the famous suspenseful music