Thriller Inspirations - Miss Geogiou

Thriller Inspirations

We need inspirations before we can start to create something because it helps us to further understand what we want to do and aspire us to make it even better by tweaking at it. Inspiration can be taken from any and everywhere, be it from a movie or from something you see elsewhere. Inspirations are usually taken from other films that people have watched so that they know what engaged them when they watched the film which they can then implement into their own opening sequence. The inspirations which I got was from the six films that I had previously analysed, I will try to incorporate them into my own opening sequence.

Sound - 2:09

My first inspiration comes from the film "Scream 2", I saw this when I watched the opening sequence of the film where the female victim is walking towards the cinema screen while also being stabbed by the unknown killer. The inspiration that I took from this was from the soundtrack. This is evident as the tempo of the music started fast paced as I saw the female victim struggle to get away from the killer, then the music gradually got slower as she slowly walked her way up to the stage, lastly as the female victim is about to die the background music suddenly stops and becomes silent as I saw her die on the stage. I think that this is effective because I knew form this that the music reflected her life, because when the music stopped so did her life. I will try to incorporate this sounds technique into my opening sequence by having suspenseful music, however instead of the music mirroring her life, the music will become more tense as she edges closer towards the antagonist. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCkomafwLZM

Low key lighting - 0:08

Another inspiration that I have chosen to use is from the thriller film, "Halloween (1978)". The inspiration in which I have decided to use is the low key lighting. The audience can see this when they watch the unknown killer slowly walking into the house of the female victim while also spying on her. I have chosen to use this as I think that the low key lighting helps to set a terrifying and eerie atmosphere which makes the audience uncomfortable. Another reason I chose to use this was because the low key lighting keeps the unknown antagonist hidden from the characters which I think is very effective because it creates an enigma, thus making the audience and the characters question who the killer really is. I will try to incorporate this low key lighting into my opening sequence by making one of my tense scenes have dark low key lighting in hopes that it creates an eerie atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELF1DCf1ChA 

Reaction shot - 3:10

My other inspiration is from the gory thriller, "Saw 7". The inspiration that I took from this torture scene is through the editing technique, reaction shot. This is evidential when the audience watch the timer turn to 0 and the tyre above the female victims head begins to drop, allowing the audience to see the fear and worry on the females face. I have decided to chose this as my inspiration due to the fact that I think the reaction shot is very effective in showing the audience the characters facial expressions. In my opinion i think that this is very effective and conventional because the shot allows the audience to read her expressions which indicates to them that she is petrified. This will engage the audience because they feel an array of emotions at the very moment which hooks them onto the film, waiting to see what will happen next. I will try to incorporate this reaction shot into my opening sequence as the audience will see the reaction of the female victim after she witnesses the unknown antagonist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKa3l96nfnY 

Extreme close up - 1:16:27

The inspiration in which I have chosen is from the thriller film, "Insidious 3" The inspiration that I have decided to use is through the cinematography technique, extreme close up. This is evident when the audience watch Elise open the door handle in the other dimension only to realise after she touched the handle her hand was covered on blood. I think this shot is effective because it foreshadows danger and death to come as there is blood which symbolises pain. Also the colour of the blood is red, this is another effective technique as I know that the colour red symbolises demise, thus giving me an insight of whats to come. This allows me to try and predict the future while also leaving an enigma as I question my prediction. This engages the audience because from this one technique it allows them to foreshadow something sinister to happen which keeps them hooked as they want to see if their prediction was correct. I will try to integrate this into my opening sequence by having this shot of the antagonists weapon to show the audience how violent and unstable the antagonist is, which will hopefully trifle them.
https://xmovies8.org/watch?v=Insidious_Chapter_3_2015#video=dVzaJL4ud3qT5kw1TKyLyIutM3rdgZ-yGCfL0boNMl8

Positioning of characters - 0:15

The next inspiration I have chosen is from the thriller film, "Orphan". The inspiration in which i have chosen is through the mise-en-scene element, positioning of characters. This is evident when the audience watch Esther sitting on top of the mother with a knife in her hand trying to stab her. I think that this is very effective towards the audience because it shows them that Esther is more dominant than the mother who is inferior as she is overpowering her by sitting on top threatening to end her life. Also I can infer that from Esther's body language she is portraying herself as being very angered which tells me that she wants to kill the mother in all her will. On the other hand the mother's expressions are of her pleading for help as she lays on the icy floor completely defenceless. This will engage the audience because they can differentiate between the superior and the inferior. I will try to integrate this into my opening sequence by having my antagonist overpowering the victim in a similar isolated environment, however without the icy lake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDWTQajOiuw

Contrapuntal - 1:06

Lastly, the inspiration in which I have chosen to include is from the film, "American Psyco". The inspiration that I have chosen is through the sound technique, contrapuntal. This is evidential when the audience watch Patrick put on the radio to, happy up beat music, "Hip to be square" then he attempts to kill Paul. In my opinion i think that this is very effective towards the audience as the music which is playing in the background is happy and up beat, whereas what he plans to do is completely different. This is effective because it shows the audience the two split personalties of Patrick which exaggerates the fact that he needs the medicine to keep him sane. This engages the audience because it allows them to see the two completely different sides of him which the characters in the film can't see. I will attempt to integrate this into my opening sequence by having the antagonist slowly and painfully torture the victim while have up beat music playing to show the antagonist enjoying it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruw9fsh3PNY 

To conclude, I found my research very useful in term of getting ideas for my opening sequence as it has shown me many different various techniques in which engage and excite the audience. The research has helped me to further understand what techniques are useful in making my opening sequence conventional, allowing the audience to be engaged. Overall the research in a whole has helped me to gain more knowledge about how to correctly use techniques and to also use them in a way which is conventional for the audience to become engaged.