PRELIMINARY TASK 1: CCR

OPENING SEQUENCES

Vertigo (1958)  [Vertigo Clip]

Vertigo’s opening sequence is very unique to other thriller sequences, making it so engaging, although the codes and conventions it follow are similar, it creates suspense and anticipation in the viewer through the lack of an establishing and extreme close ups shot giving very little context to the viewer as to where the woman is, what she is doing and even what her emotion is. Then when the extreme close up pans up to her eyes, the woman's eyes begin to dart from left to right, raising the question of what she is looking at and why does she look so paranoid and or scared. The camera moves in to just one of her eyes, and every thing in the shot becomes washed with a red filter, this no only creates the feeling of mystery but also one of intrigue as to; ‘why red’? The word “VERTIGO” emerges from the centre of the pupil, But then coloured spiralling shapes come from the centre of the pupil and then the centre of each other, the spiralling images are called lissajous waves. These lissajous waves create quite a strong feeling of disorientation with the viewer which Saul Bass did very intentionally to try recreate the disorientation related to the feeling of vertigo. The other key thing that keeps thing that keeps the intro engaging apart from all the incredible imagery is the intense music, it is quite eerie which helps the reader know there is something suspect with the woman.

North by Northwest (1959) [North By Northwest Clip]

The key in this opening, which is strongly linked to the title of the film, is directionality. The opening sequences starts with a blank green which evokes its own emotions and would have been used to a particular purpose (could have been a recurring motif). This green then has lines running across it, not directly up and down but from random angles. This creates intrigue with the reader with the question; ‘what are these lines’? Then credits proceed to run from all directions and going in different directions, creating confusion. It then fades into a building and reveals that these lines aren't so random in fact, they are the window pattern crated by the C.I.T building in manhattan, which is a key building in the movie, which creates its own set of questions and sense of mystery, why is this building linked with this strong sense of directionality, with different lines going in different directions in it. It then fades into a shot of masses trying to find their way, again, going in all different directions, but now since it is significantly more on mass in creates a sense of disorientation. But the engagement in this opening is found in the mystery and initial vagueness.

Skyfall (2012) [Skyfall Clip]

This opening credits uses classical codes and conventions linked with thrillers such as low light, intense music, mystery and various other conventions such as mirrors and shadows specifically as he attempts to kill them, but the key things in this opening sequence are the symbolic imagery in it thats creates intrigue in the reader but send an intense message. First of all he gets dragged down by a big hand which is most likely symbolic of a higher authority establishment, this hand pull hims under ground this could represent hidden secrets or how he is kept away as a secret. Then there are masses of targets with him in the background, this could be just showing how he was shot but also how his job makes him a target, and is always putting him at risk and these are the first few of many different symbolic imagery but most of the different images are to do with either death, weapons or himself dying. So this concoction of symbolism and imagery and music makes for an extremely artistic and intriguing opening sequence.

Cabin in the Woods (2011) [Cabin in the Woods Clip]

(Up to 2:50) These opening  credit are different to the others chosen. Its starts similarly with running blood with different mythological and ancient messages inside the blood but as soon as that is done it goes extremely normal with the conventions of either a comedy of another light hearted genre with high light, no intense music, no action just plain conversation. This is simply trying to create the equilibrium explained in the first stage of Todorov's theory with the two character in routine and gleeful. But the audience from the premise of the movie and the opening credits (with the blood dripping) are, whether subconsciously or very eagerly looking for something out of the ordinary. This makes the title jump scare with the non-diegetic scream so frightening.

THRILLER SUB-GENRE: Codes & Conventions

THRILLER TYPE	DESCRIPTION / CONVENTIONS
Psychological	Examples: Silence of the Lamb (1991), The Shining (1980), Momento (2000), Vertigo (1958) Content: Psycho Thrillers includes and emphasises characters and their unstable emotional state. They usually include a plot twist, an unreliable narrator, and a macgriffin (an object/goal that helps the story to progress). Common Themes: These include reality, as some of the main characters have an unstable emotional state it is the link between what they think is real and what society thinks is real. Also linked with that is both perception and the mind. Other common themes are that of death, existence and identity. Sound: As in most thrillers music is very eerie and chilling but quite often they will use different styles of music between sane characters and insane characters. Mise en Scene: Quite often in psycho thrillers they use mirrors to portray different effects, such as the ‘dark side’ of someones personality.
Mystery	Examples: Gone Girl (2014),  The Prestige (2006), Shutter Island (2010), North by Northwest (1959) Content: Mystery films focuses on the attempts of a detective or someone like a private investigator to try and solve a mystery. Although every thriller has a sense of suspense, it is crucial in a mystery thriller to have mystery throughout. This is usually done by use of sound (diegetic & non-diegetic) camera shots & editing, heavy shadows and plot twists. Common Themes: these include Crime, there are few mystery thrillers that don’t involve the law in some way, making crime thrillers and mystery thrillers nearly interchangeable.
Comedy	Examples: RED (2010), Wild Tales (2014), Bad Boys (1995), Sholay (1975). Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). Content: This genre is usually very different to other thriller sub-genres because it is a hybrid of two very different genres. They usually are light hearted or use sadistic or dark/black comedy Music: This is dependent of what other sub genres it becomes a hybrid with, because if is more of an action (Mr. and Mrs. Smith) then the music will match a action movie, intense, loud and exciting. Whereas is it is leaning more towards a supernatural or psycho thriller comedy (Housebound (2014)) then it will have intense suspenseful music.
Political	Examples: The Bourne Identity (2002), Z (1969), JFK (1991), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), All the Presidents Men (1976) Content: Political thrillers usually have to do with a political power struggle. They can be strongly based on a true story or a fictional adaption. There is usually one party with power and another party trying to remove that power. Common Themes: usually have to do with political corruption in some form, giving one party incentive to act against the corruption. Another common themes are terrorism and warfare.
Legal	Examples: A Few Good Men (1992), The Verdict (1982), The Firm (1993). Content: These are thrillers where the major characters are Lawyers and their employees. The intense scenes and excitement are quite often created in a court room, and these don’t lean as heavily on lighting as they do on sound, mise en scene and camera angles. These usually are more thrilling in a dramatic sense, than in the use of jump scares and other frightening elements. Common Themes: Common themes usually are along the lines of law, crime, justice and right and wrong usually plays a key part in the film.
Spy	Examples: Casino Royal (2006), Argo (2012), Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (2011), Army of Shadows (1969) Content: Spy Thrillers have many cross overs with mystery thrillers, they are just specific to spies. They deal with fictional espionage, they show the   espionage agencies and their risk of being exposed by their enemies.
Supernatural	Examples: The Ghost Rider (2007), Carrie (2013), The Gathering (2003) Content: Supernatural thriller include content and characters that is not natural.  Supernatural thrillers are not always horrors, although the movie industry often do make hybrids of the two. The fundamental difference is in the name, horror movies aim to horrify the viewers with gore (e.g. torture, graphic violence, vulgar and petrifying imagery) whereas thrillers have the purpose to excite and thrill the viewer without the purpose of disgusting them. Common Themes: Avery common theme is possession where a character or object is possessed with an evil spirit, other themes include death, exorcism and fear Sound: Usually very tense since supernatural thrillers rely heavily on suspense. Editing: Editing is usually very quick and commonly includes shots such as low angles, fast/shaky tracks,

Note: I have not commented on styles, contents and conventions of the thriller genre, I have attempted to comment on how this particular sub-genre is different and or similar to other sub-genres.