An analysis of the opening scenes of thrillers.

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English

An analysis of the opening scenes of thrillers.

I am going to analyse two clips/trailers for the thrillers the original 'Cape Fear' starring Robert Mitchum as Cady and 'Malice' starring Nicole Kidman as the duplicitous wife. I will consider; shot types and framing, camera angles and lens movements, editing, lighting, dialogue, voice over, sound effects, music, visual effects, location and costume. My aim is to find out which of these, influences us most and which clip/trailer uses them to their dramatic effect.

We get information from visual sources like posters, adverts, television and film. When we watch television and films we use two senses at once, our sight and hearing. What we see and hear affects our emotional response Particularly in modern films, for example 'Speed' an exciting action thriller or 'The Matrix' a high tech thriller, our senses work over time. There is constant action, both visual and aural. There are many exciting action scenes in 'Speed' but when action is not taking place and the camera homes in on Sandra Bullock driving the bus a repetitive piece of music is used to heighten the tension. Without the interlinking of sound and vision the film has les emotional impact. We watched the clips/trailers with and without sound. When there was no sound to 'Cliffhanger' I noticed the credits however when there was music I did not. My emotional response was stronger than my logical response. This shows that choosing the correct music and dialogue is vital, as our sight is more dominant than our hearing.
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The first clip I looked at was the opening scene of 'Cape Fear'. It was filmed using tracking shots; this is when the camera moves along a track enabling the shot to be smooth and controlled. The follow shot is used to keep the subject, Cady in view, tracking the man as he casually walks, suggesting he will be central to the film. The eye level shot is then used, this suggests that the man is no higher or lower in status than any other person and makes him more real and easier to relate to. The individual ...

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