Evaluation - Q1 (Anna McConnell)

Question 1 In what ways does your thriller opening use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real thriller openings?

9 Frame Analysis of our Thriller Opening

1. The protagonist striking a match in a dark room. This illuminates only the top half of her face and the use of shadows and lighting create an atmosphere of suspense and foreshadows her obsession with fire thus highlighting the relevance of titles within the first few seconds.

2. A panning shot of the hallway showing an empty alcohol bottle and a pair of both male and female shoes. This establishes the setting of the opening; it will be filmed in a house and will feature adult male and female antagonists.

3. A high-angle shot of the protagonist looking through a gap in a door at her parents arguing. Highlights her vulnerability. The banisters appear like prison bars which highlight her imprisonment in this unhealthy atmosphere and, using the rule of thirds insinuate that her mother and herself are central to the plot of the thriller.

4. A wide-angle shot that shows the male antagonist appearing to be distressed with a bottle of alcohol. The use of the alcohol bottle prop conforms with the stereotype that adult males are usually the ones to be alcoholics; we can infer this due to the idea that the bottle has mostly been consumed.

5. The protagonist looking through the gap in the door. A continuation of frame 3.

6. A close-up shot of alcohol being poured into a whiskey glass. This is a further indication of the male character's alcoholism.

7. A close-up shot of the protagonist burning a photograph which appears to be herself held by her parents when she was a small child. This frame is significant as the symbolism behind the burning photograph prop represents her rejection of past memories.

8. The title of the thriller: PYRO. The black background heavily juxtaposes the fiery

orange font thus representing how the dark aspects of the protagonist's life will be affected by a fire of some sort and that it will be significant. We decided on a fairly neutral font as the animated flames behind the text and the crackling fire sound effects that accompany it will take main focus in this frame.

9. The postwoman arriving at the house. Shows a continuation of regular life outside of the internal drama.

PROPS

The prop of a match follows the conventions of a thriller due to its dangerous nature and the use of lighting and shadows create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery

The prop of the alcohol being poured into the glass reflect themes of alcoholism, whilst further indicating the contamination of their family life as the class goes from clear to a murky brown.

TITLE FONT AND STYLE

In terms of the logo of our thriller opening, here is the final product we decided on. 

Pros of our title font and style:

• The use of colloquial language; the shortening of 'pyromaniac' to 'pyro' helps our target audience associate the title 
• The cutout of the fire in the background helps to portray the themes of our thriller, as well as adding animation to the 2D text.
• The font is easy to read yet effective in putting across our psychological thriller genre.
• The colour scheme is simple; black and orange.
• There is a suspenseful transition between the knocking on the door whilst the photograph in burning to the black screen with the title which leaves the audience wondering what will happen next.

As you can see from a contemporary example of a real thriller, the title font and style is similar in it's monochromatic nature and short simple title.


SOUND