To what extent can you tell this from the opening

sequence?

Psychological Thriller

The sound use, the colour scheme, the pace of the action, the editing (mis-en-scene) allow the audience to fully grasp what genre the film is without any confusion as they can relate certain techniques with other thrillers they have seen.

To what extent can you establish this from the opening sequence?

I think the target audience is Males that are 18 and upwards as it comes across as a film that could possibly have a complex storyline that wouldn’t be of much interest to 15 year olds. I also think that the other reason that it would be an 18 specification is due the possible shocking visual images. (I researched after guessing and it is an 18)

This is quite easy to pick up due to the images shown in the opening sequence that hint at a journey that is rather complex. The images used quite shocking and the hands shown in the opening are manly and the face that is crossed out is of a little boy which will automatically suggests to me that the target audience is males and not females.

Does the opening sequence make you

curious to learn more? If so, how?

The main thing that I learnt about the characters from the opening sequence was that there is one central protagonist who I believe the audience will understand more about throughout the process of the film. The audience are faced with many images but I do not feel that I completely understand the plot but I think this is exactly what the director wanted as it would make people want to come and watch it more. If the director gave away the storyline within 3 minutes in the opening, it would seem pointless to watch the film.

Yes, the opening sequence makes me curious to learn more as I only saw one character throughout the sequence which makes me wonder why that character is so important and what the character does, it makes me want to start the journey with the possible protagonist as the opening sequence suggests that the character is unpredictable but also a very smart individual. Another thing that makes me curious to learn more is the fact that throughout the entire opening sequence, the face of the character is never shown which then again makes me question whether it is a character that is works very well but is never caught out which reminds me of a character such as Jack the ripper.

At what stage of the sequence? Why? Can you

comment on the size; font and any effects used?

‘New line cinema presents’ ‘a Arnold Kopelson production’ – Is the first thing to come onto the screen. Why? – To make sure that the audience are aware of who has produced it, this can also determine a films success, depending on whether the producer is well known or not. Arnold Kopelson is a well known producer of thriller films which would’ve been an automatic reason for people who are interested in horrors/thrillers to watch this.

The text is quite small but I genuinely think that is just to keep with the font size throughout the sequence. - the font is like the following: ‘Arnold Kopelson’ which looks as though it is handwritten. This automatically makes the film seem as though it is following someone on a personal level. The audience are once again reminded that it is a ‘Arnold Kopelson and Phyllis Carlyle’ film – font size for ‘produced’ is flickers between very big (roughly 72 font size) and medium sized (roughly 22 font size) to show the importance of these two in the process of the film making.

1st example of 2

At what stage of the sequence? Why? Can you

comment on the size; font and any effects used?

‘Se7en’ appears on the screen.

It appears after the producer, director and main stars. The names before the appearance flicker and on the 7th flicker, ‘Se7en’ appears, large at first but then the word flickers and becomes a much smaller font size.

2nd example of 2

The non-diegetic sound is very robotic and gives a sense of something growing/ someone becoming possessed. When I hear the music all I can think is of an snarling evil creature.

The non-diegetic sound is used to leave the viewer asking questions and wanting to know what/whose going to be robotic/evil.

Characters:

• The song doesn’t give us much of an insight into the character/s within the film.

Is it effective?

Yes I feel the sound is effective as it keeps

the audience questioning and also makes us aware that

there is no comic element and that it is

quite an in depth song

The needle and thread – These props make the audience question the antics of the person as the needle and thread aren't being used the same way that we would use a needle and thread in a normal everyday situation.

Paper - e.g. book (which seems like a possible motif prop), squared paper, pictures and newspaper. – These show that there is a lot of information that needs to be noted and to be understood. It also hints at ‘God’ with the newspaper cut out. This closely links into the pen use and suggests a possible link into religion and how things such as sexuality are seen but on a deeper and more disturbing manner.

A pen – This prop is used to cross out words such as ‘transsexual’ which gives us a possible insight into what the story could be about but also crossing out/getting rid of evidence. It could also represent the continuity of the characters actions.

Razor blade – Personally I find this prop use the most interesting, I feel that it suggests some sort of injury/pain but within the mind. The use of the razor blade in the opening sequence fits perfectly as the character is removing their finger prints with a object that we don’t associate that action with, which automatically intrigues the minds of the audience. This prop implies that the character is very knowledgeable in the field of crime & knows every process they must go through to stay out of trouble.

The use of colours in the opening sequence are typical of a horror film – RED, WHITE AND BLACK. This gives the audience a huge hint that this film is going to be a horror.

In this example, the producer has decided to use all those colours. –

The hands: Black

The line down the middle: Red

And the Paper: White.

Throughout this section, an ‘extreme close up’ is used. – This is a perfect way of making the audience feel quite involved but also rather uncomfortable as the shot is very near to the subject which virtually means that the audience are forced to watch. This ensures that there is no confusion within the audience on the subject of the characters actions. – Feeling so up close and not being able to miss any detail of the action makes it seem as though this is the character that we will follow throughout the film and we will see the story through his eyes mostly.

The editing throughout this section is quite fast, the producer uses ‘cuts’ to allow the audience to view the different areas of the possible protagonists intentions. The words on the screen flicker into the next image which is enhanced by the use of sound.

The movement of the action may slow down at certain areas but the cuts will keep the pace of the opening sequence at a relatively fast pace.

I think overall the opening sequence is very effective, it captures the audiences attention from the minute the discordant sound starts and leaves the viewer intrigued.

The producer made sure that its very obvious that this is a horror film to leave no confusion. For horror lovers this will come across as the perfect film as it hints at a complex but interesting storyline but without losing its fear factor.

The opening sequence keeps the audience on the edge of their seats because the director/producer only gives the viewer a bit of information but it is enough to intrigue us but it doesn’t give away too much to the point of ruining the audiences’ cinema experience if they watch the film.

The film is a psychological Thriller.

This isn't completely obvious in the opening but there is a slight hint through the sound use and editing.

To what extent can you tell this from the opening sequence?

Both sexes aged 15 and over.

To what extent can you establish this from the opening sequence?

It is quite obvious that the film is not an 18 as the sound and use of editing doesn’t suggest a high level of graphic images that are not suitable for children of a younger age.

The viewer doesn’t learn a great deal about the characters or the plot from the opening sequence as the director has chosen not to have any of the characters revealed. I think that knowing nothing about the characters or plot allows the piece to more successful as we do not know what to expect and therefore our reactions will be heightened.

When ‘The Sixth Sense’ appears at almost one minute into the sequence, its placed after the producers, the film productions companies and Bruce Willis. The text looks as though something is walking past it as there is a shadow that travels across the letters almost the like a ghost passing by.

The text fades onto the screen, enlarges then spreads slightly into another fade.

The non-diegetic sound changes when the text ‘ The Sixth Sense’ comes up, to a distorted loud sound which automatically makes the viewer feel on edge but we also want to know more.

The music starts to progress when the text ‘Bruce Willis’ comes up which suggests that he could be a focal character in this film. It is also presented in that way to grab the attention of the viewer as Bruce Willis is a well known actor and therefore many would watch the film simply because he is in it as films starring Bruce Willis are guaranteed to be a success.

The non- diegetic sound is extremely eerie throughout the opening sequence - the use of violins is typical in a horror film.

The lack of colour and overall design/setting seems to be enough as the sound use and the in-animation and out-animation of the text manages to hold the audiences attention as the audience are made to think more instead of just watching images move around the screen like many film openings.

The colour use if very dull, which doesn’t suggest happiness! – The only colour use is: Black (background) and roughly this shade of Blue (for the text).

When considering ‘energy’ which links closely into ‘the sixth sense’ (energy of spirits etc), Black means: preparation for the unknown – which the audience will subconsciously be doing because in the opening sequence not much is given away. Black also means: emptiness which hints at the possibility of a character that feels empty/drained for some reason. (http://crystal-cure.com/black.html)

In the opening sequence a character, possible setting is not shown which means that the camera wasn’t used which could hint that camera angles and movements are going to be an important factor when trying to achieve the correct audience response.

The editing throughout this section is quite slow, the producer uses fades to present the people involved in the making of the film, every fade is partnered with the use of sound.

The editing hints at the possibility of someone fading away: a death, wandering mind, being sucked up by the darkness. This suggest a film that could be psychologically challenging and disturbing for the audience.

I think overall the opening sequence is very effective, it captures the audiences attention in a very different way to other horror films as it seems to go for a calmer approach instead of going for the instant shock factor.

It is obvious through the use of sound and colours that the film is a psychological thriller as dull, dark colours with eerie music is the general layout/form of a thriller.

The opening sequence keeps the audience interested because the director/producer doesn’t give away any information about the plot or characters, I feel this is effective but I would have to give this some deep thought when working on my opening sequence as I feel that seeing the hands or the shadow of a character in a setting would help to enhance the opening but still leave the audience intrigued as they haven't actually seen the characters face. - The audience need something little to trigger their interest more.