Thriller Research

I did some research on thriller openings for when I create my own and here are some that I found and want to take ideas from:

'The Dark Knight' (2008)

I liked the colour palette of this as the colours are subdued but the light is bright so everything is quite unsuspected.

'The Third Man' (1949)

I liked the simple font and I like the idea of the voice over and the many still pictures it opens with to set the scene. This is one of some possible ideas that I might use.

'The Third Man' (1949)

This is a dutch tilt or a canted angle and it is a shot I am considering to use in my thriller opening to unsettle the audience.

Orphan (2009)

I would like to have modern clothes in my thriller opening as period costumes aren't really that available to me.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

I like the storyline of Quantum of Solace as it has a hero.  At the moment I think that when I create my opening I will have a hero and he will do the voice over at the beginning.

The Dark Knight (2008)

I like the enigma that is represented in The Dark Knight.  This character is partly in shadow but wearing dark clothes. He is also carrying a clown mask which is either used in a circus or in a robbery. The bag he is carrying is suspicious as it is square and padded, it is clearly not a normal bag and it must be carrying something important or dangerous because of the padding.

Thrillers since 2005

Thrillers seem to be a popular genre as these blockbusters show:

Syriana (2005)

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)

There Will be Blood (2008)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Inception (2010)

Shot sizes

Shot size

'North by Northwest' - Title Sequence

North By Northwest - Title Sequence, Musical Score. Watch more top selected videos about: North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock

Through the beginning sequence of North by Northwest lines are used continually, they are used to draw the viewer in. At the beginning There are lots of black lines that crisscross, they go vertical and diagonal, these give the impression of prison bars which shows there will be an element of mystery.

The music is quite 'jumpy' so it plays with the audience so that they are not sure what kind of film it is. The music includes tambourines and brass so its fanfare like and that adds to the jokiness of the music. It is also high pitched and has a fast tempo so you can tell it will be a fast moving film.

The lines at the beginning of the sequence are also used as guidelines for the beginning credits, but they do turn out to be the lines between windows of an office block which are like mirrors. Mirrors distort things and so that indicates that all is not as it seems.

You can tell where the movie is set as there are lots of yellow taxis and you can only get them in America, New York.

There is a long shot going over the tops of people's heads so it gives you a feeling of being in control and power and so you can see the amount of scurrying which is going on by the people there, as they are a bit like ants. You can also see the directions they are going so you can tell they are all going home as they are going towards the train stations and to the taxis after a day of shopping of working. There are women shown to be fighting over a car and it makes the audience feel uncomfortable and because of the sequence the mood has been set.