Thriller Inspiration & Research

Here are some ideas that helped me in my research for our own thriller film we will be making. I chose thriller because I know that is was the most popular in my survey. I have took ideas from front covers, opening sequences and camera shots and put them into a collage.

Survey Analysis

My first question was what is your favourite genre of movie.

From the results I collected it was clear to see that horror and thriller was the most popular type of genre. These results were helpful because they will give me a clear idea of opening film sequence we will do. I thought doing the survey gave us a clear understanding of what film genre was most popular, From these results we will choose thriller, this is because we know it is a popular genre of movie.

The next question was why you like this genre of movie

After reading the responses and coming to the conclusion that thriller and horror is most popular. I will now look at horror and thriller opening sequences for inspiration, this will give me a good idea of what camera angles and music I want to choose for our own opening sequence.

Film Openings Analysis

Market Research

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Case Studies

Iron Man 3
- Included stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jnr
- Had a budget of $200 million
- Distributed by Disney (conglomerate), made at Marvel Studios (subsidairy)
- Made over $1.2 billion in the box office
- Made over $170 million in the first weekend of release
- Predominately aimed at the younger audience
- Wider target audience

Four Lions
- Biggest characters were Riz Ahmed and Benedict Cumberbach
- Distributed by Optimum Releasing and made at Warp Films
- Had a budget of £1 million
- Made over £2 million in the box office
- Categorised as a dark comedy
- Targeted for people who enjoy controversial comedy
- Older target audience

Walt Disney

Walt Disney is a internationally know media conglomerate. A conglomerate is a company that owns many different smaller companies (more then 2). They can own film studios, radio stations, magazines and internet platforms. Disney on their own own over 100 smaller companies. These smaller companies are called subsidiaries. A subsidiary is a company that is completely or partly owned by another corporation. Walt Disney being a major conglomerate helps it make a name for itself in openings of films. When people see the logo, they will know there will be a lot of money being invested into the film.

Skyfall Opening Sequence Timeline

- Instantly shows main character falling in the water and sinking
- Fades away into another scene of Daniel Craig falling, followed by the main production company being Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions LTD
- Whilst showing biggest investor main character is grabbed by someone and pulled down
- Then a pan out, followed by Daniel Craig's name on it's own in the middle of the screen, this tells the viewer that he is a main character in the film
- Adele signing the well known song made especially for the film
- Whilst the song is starting, the writer of 007 is shown on screen
- Whilst Bond is falling into the whole in the sand the name of the film is shown in big bold writing
- Then the other well known characters names are shown
- However they are placed around the screen and not in the middle, this tells me that they want the viewer to focus on the introduction as well as see the characters names
- Then another min characters name is shown, with Judy Dench coming up in the middle of the screen, this tells us that she is a main character
- After this the co-producers are shown in the right bottom corner
- Then there is a close up of Daniel Craig's eyes and nose
- This is then followed up by scenes like fire, graveyard and a women holding a gun
- After that there is then a chinese dragon theme,which links into the film
- Finally there are multiple transitions based on the film, like guns and women which are a main part to James Bond

Special Effects in Opening Sequences

I think CGI in film opening sequences is very important. i think this because it tells the viewer straight away whether or not the directors have spent a lot on the film or not. CGI is mainly used in thriller, action or fantasy films. An example of this is in King Kong, CGI is used throughout the opening sequence, and helps mark the film in the viewers head. CGI determines whether or not the directors and producers spent a lot on the film, which ultimately can tell you how good the film can be or not. The more you spend on the film the better it will look. Special effects make the film look more realistic which draws more viewers to go and see it, this will help the producers get more money.

Why Are They Important ?

WHY ARE OPENING TITLE SEQUENCES SO IMPORTANT ?

They give background information and give the viewer a rough idea of what the film is about.


They set the scene and tell you who the main companies and actors are that are in it.


Introduce the audience to the type of genre or theme within the film.

Camera Shots Within Opening Sequences

Normally in most opening sequences you can find various different camera shots. In some ways these shots are very similar in the way there are timed and conveyed. The most apparent camera shot used for me would be the wide shot, i think this is used most because it helps set the scene of the film and give a clear location of where it is being set. In addition to this pans and tracking camera shots are also used a lot. These shots are normally used to show main character names or main company or distribution names. A good example of this is the Forest Gump opening sequence. In this opening sequence there is a feather flying round in the air of a city. From this the audience are without knowing gathering information about the setting and key areas of the film.