Openings of 5 films

5 Openings of my chosen genre which is ‘Horror’ – I have annotated the first 2-3mins of the very beginning of the film and I have looked at the stock codes and conventions of that genre, which will help me, produce the opening of my product. All the films I have chosen are certificated 15 which is my target to produce for.

The Sixth Sense (1999)
· The non-diegetic sound at the very beginning is very chilling, which creates the mood of a creepy atmosphere about the films narrative. The non-diegetic sound doesn’t go on for very long, but helps set the scene for the introduction of the character.
· The non-diegetic sound has been used in a very effectively way because it makes you feel frightened before the film as even began properly
· It fades in with a black out to a medium close up of a half broken light bulb which flickers in a strange way and then breaks suddenly.
· The character is introduced by walking loudly in heels in towards the basement. The setting is very grim, old and dusty which connotes that not many people go down there on a regular basis.

· The setting is very creepy with cobwebs, dust and the non-diegetic wind blowing in the background creating an eerie atmosphere are all ways to help show the genre of this film which is a horror. These are all typical iconic images you would see in a typical horror.
· The lighting is very low key which helps create mood in the room because it’s very dark and you can not see a lot, apart from some fillers highlighting the woman’s figure which creates a shadow reflected on the wall. This shows a sense of lonesome in the room and isolation towards that character.
· The costume is very formal and very 90’s. The woman is wearing a long purple dress which is very dressy connotes she is at a party or celebrating something due to the high maintenance look she is wearing. The contrast of the purple dress and the dark room makes the audience realize that she shouldn’t be down there.
· The long shot of the woman looking behind her shows that she feels that someone is watching her and she looks behind her back to see if anyone is there. Her body language suddenly changes the longer she’s down the basement. She shrugs her shoulders which connotes she is uncomfortable down there.
· The medium close up of the woman’s face is zoomed in to show the scariness’ of the woman facial gesture which reflex’s the setting she is in. Her breathing suddenly gets faster and she starts to shiver which helps create a chilling feeling in the atmosphere.
· The diegetic sound of her running away up to the stairs shows she doesn’t want to be in that place anymore and connotes it’s a creepy place to be, especially on your own.


Gothika (2003)
· The film suddenly begins with a medium close up of a woman’s and then is zoomed in to show the expression of that characters face. The woman’s face is very sad and has a tiresome look to her.
· There’s a straight cut to another females face which is a lot more calming and focused compared to the other women face which connotes something is wrong with her.
· The way the 2 woman are placed, helps shows different status. They are facing opposite each other with a table separating them
· The costume helps shows stock characters in the film, because you see a very well presented woman in a smart suit is then contrasted to the other woman who is wearing, dirty grey jogger bottoms which connotes she’s nothing important.
· The setting helps make you realize that something is wrong with that character because she is surrounded by guards and is looked by bars in a cage connotes she is a mental patient
· The bars surround them 2 characters in a 2 shot frame creates a sense of trapped ness and no where to escape.
· The use of the 2shot of the female makes the audience think there’s a relationship between them how ever when she starts to scream it shows the different contrast of them both and creates tension in the room by making the over women feel threatened
· The character is introduced through a fade in which is all blur makes the audience feel disorientated because you cant see the face however there’s an diegetic sound of a females voice talking in a slur manner.
· The lighting is very low key to create a sense of realism towards the setting which is a mental hospital.
· The non-diegetic sound of someone breathing is presented softly in the background helps build up tension in the room and towards the characters.

Jeepers Creepers (2001)
· The audience first hears a non-diegetic sound of a creepy eerie sound which helps reflect the genre of the film they are about to watch, aswell as helping set the mood.
· Hearing the non-diegetic sound at the very beginning and then jump cutting to a deserted high way doesn’t reflect the non-diegetic sound at the beginning because its contrasted with an image of a field high way in broad day light .
· The long shot of a speeding car coming down the long road isn’t visible for a couple of seconds but the diegetic sound of brother and sister speaking helps creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
· The long shot of the car speeding down the highway creates a sense of isolation on the road due to the fact there no other car which connotes that this isn’t a very popular place to be and is very dated because there’s no modern stop signs
· The setting that their in is a corn field with a bright sun shining behind the car doesn’t reflex the genre of the film because the setting doesn’t make you feel frightened, how ever I think that helps build a story line because not every horror films are in the dark
· The costume is very representation of typical teenagers with, jeans and a bright t-shirt to reflect their personalities as easy going. The costume is modern and helps shows the target audience through much younger costume.
· The 2 shot of a medium close up of the brother and sister helps shows a relationship between them both and hearing them argue shows the youngness between them both aswell as making the audience feel comfortable with the characters because they have a relax facial expressions with hands touching their face resting on the car window
· The view from the car angle speeding up helps show the character personality and connotes him to be fun and a dare devil. How ever the way its done, looks very creepy because you cant see who’s driving even though we know is the young boy. The zooming of him speeding up to the other car in front of them through the front of the bonnet shows and creates a mood that some ones behind you.

When a stranger calls (2006)
· At the very beginning you hear an non-diegetic sound of a phone call ringing which reflects the films narrative “when a stranger calls”. The sound of a heavy breathing not speaking builds up the tension towards the film. Even though no one is speaking you know some one is there which creates a creepy feeling which is very thrilling.
· The jump cuts of a very big house and then to fair ground shows the contrast of 2 different settings which connotes that there is 2 people being involved indifferent settings.
· The setting of the house is very isolated and the long shot of bedroom window zooming into a tight focus of a close up creates a feeling that some ones is watching them from outside through a low angle shot.
· The tone of the non-diegetic caller’s voice is very deep and demanding on the way he’s asking for her name. Even though she is in no harm, her voice sounds shaky.
· The contrast of the two different settings makes the audience confused because they hear a voice but they don’t know where is coming from. Through different images of a fair ground ride it could connote that this is all a game however the voice is linked through a liner continues ring of a non-diegetic sound of a phone call.
· The fair ground shows a place of happiness and fun which in contrast of the phone call sounds very threatening.
· The contrast of the tones of voice, the callers voice is very dominating in sense we know he is the killer. The situation the girl is in is very intimidating and frightening which are common features in a horror film.
· This is a much modern horror film from the costume. Its very modern film and what makes is creepy is the setting and the fact it makes the audience think it could happen to them.
· The tension building up through the constant ringing and not knowing who it is helps make the audience feel in on edge. Knowing that is filmed looking in a bedroom creates a mood that you’re not safe even in your own home and that someone could be hiding in the background makes a good horror film.


Final Destination 3 (2003)

· Final Destination 3 uses images and non-diegetic sound to keep the audience engage at the beginning aswell as telling the narrative equilibrium.
· The loud non-diegetic sound is very jumpy and creepy and contrasting it with the friendly looking rides makes them appear scarier and creates a feeling that something bad is about to happen
· Flashing images of fair ground rides with no people in them and the sounds of non-diegetic screams makes the audience feel unease because it creates an image that the people on the rides are dead and all that remains are the screams.
· The low angles of the seeing the rides go up connotes that the only way is down and seeing speeding makes you feel that no one from the bottom can help you.
· A fair grounds ride connotes very fast high rides and the danger in something going wrong is unlikely but with the sounds of screams and seeing the rides at different angle points the danger. Example... a speeding ride on chains, the zooming of the chains connotes that the chains could snap. The zooming really helps focus the danger of the whole situation.
· A long shot of a group in a tight frame connotes shows that their close friends and seeing them all together makes the audience realize that something bad is about to happen to all of them
· The lighting is very low key, but with the flashing of the images of the fair ground rides it looks brighter.
· The equilibrium is show at the begining through a slot machine and ball being played in a game. The ball is bouncing through out the machine but touches different words such as ‘DEATH’…’FATE’. This could connote that everything is game and you don’t know what around the corner.

After analyzing all these opening of the horror films, I now have a better understand of how I can do my opening now