Appropriateness for genre:
The film opening starts with a body being dragged out of the boot bringing the viewer straight into the crux of the action. This is typical of the horror/action genre, though it is not clear which genre this opening fits into. A demonic symbol can be seen by the body in the sand, though this is the only hint that the film may be a supernatural horror.
The use of a chase scene creates fast paced action which is extremely appropriate for the genre and joined with a hand held camera that sways as though it was a point of view shot, the scene gains tension and a sense of desperation typical of the genre.
Appropriateness for film opening:
The letters fade in slowly onto the black background just as an infection moves into the blood, this represents the way the body has been taken over by the infection.
The film titles and cast names are edited to be a part of the scene, this allows the audience to see the action but also read the names. This fits the conventions of a film opening because names are often edited on to the screen this way and all film openings must have the film titles.
The action itself is left on a cliff hanger which shows how there is more of the film to come and this short clip is only a taster of the whole action. This scene is only there to set up the story and the type of film so the cliff hanger keeps the audience watching
. Blood is used at the end of the opening to show a build in action and danger and to show the audience that there is more evil to come.
Finishing with the production company and the final film title makes this an appropriate film owning because it signifies that the real full film is about to continue and the events are to unravel.
Appropriateness for target audience:
A body being dragged out of a car in black bags is the kind of image the target audience will expect to see because there are often deaths and spouts of violence in these films. This being show in the opening immediately grabs the audiences attentions as to who and why the person is in body bags.
The person is also buried alive and the conventions of the undead, the invincible and the returning are common in these kinds of films, often people come back for revenge. The shot is framed in such a way that there is a historic building in the background, the close up of the hand and the building further away in the background creates a juxtaposition between the pure, normality and the evil returning.
Editing
The title screen is edited so that it fades out to reveal the action making a direct ink between the name of the film and the action itself. This also adds more mystery and anticipation for what the shot is going to reveal and where it will be set, hooking the viewer to the action.
A fade shot is used once again, this is helpful because it implies that the second shot is some time later which helps put lots of action in a short period of time.
The fading shots that are used so often throughout the opening help to give a feel of the supernatural and the infected, as though some other force is working on the whole extract.
Other than this only straight cut shots are used but these help to bring a sense of realism to the film as thought the action is actually happening.
Camera Angles
The close up shot of the feet with the landscape and the killers legs in the background help to how the difference in level of power between the victim and the killer. As well as this, it puts the viewer at the level of the victim so they feel as though they too are experiencing the burial. This shot only allows certain body parts to be seen which adds suspense to the scene and makes the audience feel anxious for it to unravel further.
The editing could be more varied, using shots that are increased and decreased in pace to create a different feel to the extract and to emphasise certain parts of the action
This high angle shot allows the viewer to have a birds eye view and see all of the action.It is the first time in the opening that there is a hint that this may be a supernatural horror with the demonic symbol in the background. This frames all of the key aspects of the film together to who how the events are unravelling. It also again shows the power of the killer over the victim represented by levels.
The close up shot of the eye shows the viewer more intricate details of the victim and allows them to look at their emotions.
Sound
Non-diegetic sound of howling wind is used at the start of the sequence, this is like pathetic fallacy; using the weather to signify that something bad has or is going to happening.
Contrapuntal, slow building music is also used to show that there is something brewing in the film and that something terrible may happen.
The diegetic sound of the black bags and the boot unlocking makes the scene seem more realistic, the rustling of the bags is a sound typically linked with body bags and so immediately the audience are questioning what is in the bags even before the shot reveals.
The weather theme in the non-diegetic music continues when the lettering appears on the screen with a thunder like sound, thunder is loud and powerful showing the domination and control the killer has over the victim.
Strings are later used when the hand starts to move, the strings mimic the sounds of screams which represent horror and are also a typical sound used in horror films.
Overall the film opening is good because it uses many typical conventions of the horror genre and this shows good knowledge and research, However, at times there is some camera shake and also they could have been more careful with the acting and the actors voice as this takes away from the professional look of the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment