'Orphan' - Title Sequence

It opens with the ‘Warner Bro Pictures’ logo very dark on a dark background but then after a couple of seconds splatters of green and pink paint are shown to be splattered on it. In the background we here the music and it starts off very low and quite to build up tension but when we see the paint come up there is a flickering sound of lights flickering. That sequence then blends into the company ‘logo of Dark Castle’ and the same paint and flickering of lights has been used on this and the words ‘Dark Castle’ have been coloured in and part of the outline of the image of a castle has been too. Some of the splatters have just been let to run down the image and that gives you the idea of blood which shows what kind of film this is but as it doesn’t give to much away it already has an enigma.

In the next sequence we have the start of the credits and around the names are drawing which are clearly done by a child. One is a photo of two people and the other is of the bible, we still hear the flickering of lights but we don’t see the paint straight away so maybe that shows that things don’t happen straight away or that there is doubt. What are flickering though, are the names of the actors it goes from ‘Vera Farmiga’ to ‘Peter Sarsgaard’. When the credit somes on for the girl who plays ‘Esther’ there is a drawing of a girl and when the light flickers this time there are more paint splashes. The drawing has been drawn over with scissors cutting the throat, the hair is on fire and one eye had been crossed out with a pin in it so whoever has done the these drawing obviously has serious problems. The next picture is just of a ribbon and it must be important because if it wasn’t, it would be too random and out of place. The two names that come up in this are of the other two children, one is of the boy ‘Jimmy Bennett’ and the other is of the girl called ‘Aryana’, in this sequence they put her last name as ‘Bennett’ but after I did some research I found out that it was a mistake, her real name is ‘Engineer’.

The second last sequence is of a building with children or grown ups in it, at this stage we don’t know, the building is on fire and a door has been scribbled in. There is also a cross, so we get the idea that the building might be a church or maybe has a link with the church. The final sequence is just of the title of the movie, which is just in a plain font and as the light flickers for the final time we see it has just been drawn over.

Definition of 'Thriller' genre

Thriller is a type of genre where the hero is chased and bombarded by the villains who are trying to kill them, destroy the country or take over the world. In a thriller there are normally High stakes, non-stop action and plot twists that are there to build suspension or to excite the audience.

Thrillers can include other genres like sci-fi, mystery, drama and fantasy. A thriller climax's when the hero defeats the villain but in a mystery its when the mystery is solved. Thrillers are mainly based in cities and the heros are normally just normal citizens.

Thrillers are made to get the audiences' adrenaline and anticipation going and to get them 'sitting on the edges of their seats'.


See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/thriller; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_Film; http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html; http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/444810/

'Se7en' - Title Sequence

The titles are written in a font like a typewriter but the names are hand written. The titles are also jiggling around the screen, which gives a sense of unease as they are also flashing on and off very quickly like cameras flashing. The shot sizes don’t change much through the scene as they go from a medium close up to extreme close ups they do this so you can get a real insight of what they are doing. It starts off with what looks like a blank book and as we go through the sequence we see it being filled up.

The next frame is a shot of a pair of hands and they look like they are holding something down, like the paper, this shot size is a medium close up. The hands also look worn so they maybe a working class persons pair of hands so we get a sense of who or what the film is about.

We next see a razor blade taken out of an old wet razor, then used to peel someone's fingers and from that we get that they don't want to be found and they are getting rid of their identities. So we get a sense its possibly a thriller, a mystery of horror film and this shot size is an extreme close up.

Someone also makes a cup of tea and this makes them seem human or it makes you think, as they do something so normal, that it could be anyone around you.

Throughout these scenes we also see scribbles and images of disturbing realistic photos that look like archive photos that the police might have. One is of a woman with her face smashed in and someone with an arrow through their head.

We also see exercise books that you get in school in America so we know it is set there, we see the person write in them or copy from them and they also go through books or texts, crossing things out and when they do this it is an extreme close up. When you look at the text you see that its to do with getting pregnant and sex, as they are crossing them out we get a sense that they are against it in some way. Through the whole sequence we see just random words popping up so they must be important. At one point we see a one dollar bill and then again later on and the word God is cut out at the end when someone says “ Get me closer to God”.

Near the end of the sequence we notice that what they are making is some kind of scrapbook and that they are just finishing and putting it together by sewing it and glues things down, because it plays such a big part of the opening sequence it might be used in the film later on as a clue or prop.

Marnie

'Marnie' - Title Sequence

Music

The music is in a minor key which might show there will be a horror part in the film. Violins are used to show romanticism but can also be used to show panic and terror. Alfred Hitchcock had violins in psycho and they were to represent the stabbing of a knife. Also to show panic Bernard herrmann used a fast tempo and used violins for a jumpy atmosphere.

Opening title sequence

Hitchcock used a technique so that they opening looked like someone was turning the pages of a book so this could suggest that the film was adapted from a book. The credits start with the production company which was universal pictures, then the director and actors. The credits include the hair and make-up stylists on the same page as the pictorial designs and the sound recording which show that they are just as important throughout the film. The pages turn in time with the music which also changes mood throughout the title sequence. Later on in the title sequence it is confirmed that the film is an adaption.

First sequence

The film first opens with a tracking shot which follows a yellow handbag to show it is important, it is being held by a woman centered in the middle of the screen. The only sound you hear are the shoes so you can tell that she is alone. In this sequence they use visual hierarchy to show that she is important, to show that, Hitchcock uses the lines of the train station and puts the woman in the middle of the screen.

Second sequence

This opens with a medium shot of a man who appears to be in an office, he has a suit, glasses and slicked back hair which suggests he is important and is maybe the manager of something. The first thing he said was 'robbed' and you almost immediately think of the woman as her manner was suspicious. When the manager tells the two police-officers the woman's name he repeats it so it embeds it in your mind and to put emphasis on it. When he tells the police-officers about the woman he describes her in a way so that we knew that he fancied her and was maybe even refused by her. Visual hierarchy is also used in this scene as the secretary is in the background looking smug and the two police-officers are in front. When the new character comes in you can tell he is important because of the way he looks as he has his coat over his shoulder and his hands in his pockets. When the manager tells stands next to the man and tells him about the woman they use a pan-zoom to show the range of expressions he goes through.

Bedroom sequence

When marnie flings back her hair after washing out the hair dye they use lots of lights to make her stand out more and they blur everything else to make the focus on her, this gives her a romantic feeling. Hitchcock does this to a lot of his leading actresses. She packs her new things in a new suitcase and chucks the old things in the old suitcase which is symbolic as she is leaving the old person/character behind.

Train station

In this she is walking carrying both suitcases but we don't see all of her just her back-end and this still shows a sense of mystery. she locks the old suitcase in a locker so she is locking away her identity. We see her looking at something and then we have a POV shot of a grill and we know she is going to head towards it. We then have a close-up of her dropping the key, it landing on the grill and her then kicking it down the grill so that identity has gone forever.