2. Warm Bodies
Genre: Teen romantic comedy thriller
The film opens with a close up of the side of a face with writing showing the
production titles introduction of Summit Entertainment and Make Movies/Mandeville
Pictures Productions.
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The first shot we see is of the main character who is very clearly a zombie – however, in
true tradition of romantic comedies he is still attractive. The fact that he is a zombie
makes it a teen thriller.
The title is shown within the action and its a warm orange colour – this represents blood
or flesh, making the writing unattractive. The writing is cursive which makes it quite
romantic, however the sound effect when it flashes up is the sound of splashing and
splattering which makes it less so.
4. The music used throughout this scene is from the 70s although it is a modern day
teen rom-com-thriller. This adds comedy to the scene. It puts the audience in a false
sense of security as they think this nice calming song will be playing whilst it flashes
between the past and the present.
5. The calming 70s music used in the previous scene suddenly stops here so it shocks the
audience as it cuts off as the zombie-woman screams and suddenly pounces at the
camera. It also goes from slow motion to normal to make the audience jump.
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Superimposition is used in this scene to explain a part of the storyline from the past
whilst showing the present. The constrast causes a sense of mystery for the
audience which makes it a teen thriller.
7. This follows the general conventions of opening sequences as the cast is
revealed. It is in the same writing used for the title and all the characters in the
scene are clearly zombies which allows the audience to see that this is a teen
thriller genre.
The dark colours and the splash of red of the main characters hoodie creates
dark connotations that thriller themes generally have. Thriller’s normally have
low key lighting.
8. The antagonist of the film is introduced here. As this is a paranormal romantic
thriller, the antagonist is supernatural which adds to the mystery and
psychological horror.
9. Side Effects
Genre: Psychological thriller
The film opens with the Universal company logo and the production company.
10. An establishing panning shot of the building is used for the opening sequence. As it slow
zooms in it creates suspense for the audience as they are waiting for something to
happen and are waiting for some sign as to what the film is about.
11. The title of the film is shown. The writing is curved which suggests there isn’t
much danger but it could also mean that it has been curved to protect someone
from harm as his is a psychological thriller.
The music playing in the background is quiet and soft. This causes tension for
the audience as it puts them on edge due to this being a thriller. They are
waiting for something shocking to happen.
12. The chair tipped over and the blood smeared on the floor causes sudden
questions and tension for the audience as they want to know what has
happened here which suits the theme of psychological thriller as questions are
brought up that will not be answered until the end of the film. A crime has likely
happened which is often a bit theme within the genre of thriller.
13. The camera lingers on this chair with a gift and something else on there which
shows that this would likely be important and brought up later in the film. This
shows the genre because thriller is all about mystery and questions so the
camera finally stopping on this chair gives a clue to the audience, making
them want to continue watching to know its purpose.
14. The writing of ‘three months later’ is lowercase which is different from the
writing used for the cast and the title. This could be significant as it may
represent a theme that might be revealed in the rest of the film. As a
woman’s lips are shown it shows genre conventions as thriller’s normally
have a woman that is in danger and this could be that character.
15. There is diegetic sound used with the car door. This is the first sound shown on screen unlike
the soft music heard beforehand. This brings the film back to reality so that the audience can
relate. However, the sounds are still quite. This silence is broken by a sound bridge caused by
someone talking. This may make the audience to jump as it is much louder than they had been
hearing previously.
16. Here the main character is established as there focus on the background whilst the
foreground is out of focus. The audience’s attention is on her as they cannot fully
understand what is going on in the foreground as the sound is muffled and the focus is
blurred.
17. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Genre: Thriller
The first shot seen is of the production company and the director. This
typical in opening sequence conventions.
18. The title is in a bold font, with a shining to it that makes it appear silver. This
could represent the silver of bullets or other conventions shown in a
thriller/crime film. The fact that ‘with the’ is in a smaller font it emphasises the
other parts of the title, making the small writing insignificant. The font suggests
danger.
19. In this opening sequence there is fast paced editing used to suggest the action
is happening quickly and creates tension. Tension is a key convention in the
thriller genre.
20. The music used in this opening sequence is fast paced and loud however
it has an eerie tone to it. This creates tension as the cuts change at the
beat of the music, making the audience feel uncomfortable.
21. CGI is used in the opening sequence to create a climax of the opening sequence.
Typically CGI is used in sci-fi genres, however it is used in a thriller opening
sequence to control what the flames are doing in the shot. Symbolism is used
which would likely be explained at the film goes on, making CGI a suitable
convention in the thriller genre.
22. The dark colours represents danger and mystery and can hide parts so that
the audience cannot see. This creates nervousness and tension as thriller
genre is aiming to do.
23. Usually in thriller films costume and make up are used to make the film more
believable. However, in this opening sequence it goes against this use of mise-en-
scene as it is un-naturalistic whereas thrillers normally use naturalism to make
the film more relatable.
24. The directors name is left until last. This follows the usual conventions of
opening sequences.
25. Shaun of the Dead
Genre: Zombie Thriller
Opening sequence conventions: the Universal Studios logo is shown.
26. The first shot seen is of the main protagonist with a shocked expression on
his face. This brings tension for the audience as they are wondering what he
is shocked about as they know that this is a zombie-thriller film.
27. After a scene of a conversation, the image goes blank. This signifies to the
audience that something big is about to happen in the following scenes.
Tension has been created by the sudden black screen.
28. After preparing the audience they are put into a false sense of security
again as the scene suddenly becomes comical as there is a panning shot
of a man pushing a trolley. However, this fits in with conventions of opening
sequences as it begins to show the introductory titles. This also fits in with
conventions of thriller because the mise-en-scene typically used is
naturalistic so someone working would be shown in the thriller genre.
29. A woman is shown at work which is, again, to show naturalistic mise-en-scene
which is used in the thriller genre. Women in the thriller genre are
typically the ones that need protected or saving so this could show a preview
of what is to come.
30. The men all in a line looking at their phones but the short man in
the middle is used for comical reasons. This again puts the
audience into a false sense of security until the real themes start
to take place.
The music used at this time supports this because it is not the
typical mystery-esque sound that is used with thriller but quite
upbeat.
31. The angle of the camera creates tension even though it is quite comical
because it builds it up for the climax of the scene.
The writing is in block letters but it is the font that is normally
associated with old-time horror films. This adds comedy.
32. Shadows and low lighting are typically used in thriller films so this shadow
adds tension as the audience does not know what is coming towards them.
