It's Back to Research, YAY!

Hi again! I'm still kind of freaking out because my group still doesn't have a solid idea. It's just really hard for us, who are all very different people with very different opinions, to all decide upon one idea. It's not like we haven't tried, it's that we haven't really been successful when it comes to sticking with an idea and fully developing it so that it can be well-produced and easy to follow while simultaneously grasping the audiences attention. Since we're still unsure of what our video opening will be, Bella and I decided it'd be a good idea to research some suspenseful thriller film openings for inspiration and to see what each opening did differently.

The first movie intro we looked at was Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock. It is categorized as a psychological horror film, with suspenseful aspects incorporated into it, and portrays a stressed female who is under a lot of pressure, who after stealing a lot of money, runs away so that she can marry the man she loves. She winds up at a motel, where she spends the night, which turns out to be a fateful decision. This film though really thrilling has an intro of opening credits in white lettering on a black background. One thing incorporated in the intro however, was music, which really helped to set the tone for the piece. It gives off a suspenseful tone with a fast melody and low octave, which drew the audience in. 

Gone Girl is another film we researched. This movie portrays a man, Nick Dunne, who is the leading suspect in the disappearance of his wife. The pressure from the police and media frenzy cause Dunne's image of a happy union to crumble, which questions him and his wife's relationship. The opening of this film, is different from Psycho's because it includes a voice over of what seems to be the husband talking about his wife and their marriage in a negative way while a close up of his wife is shown. The music while all this is going on also adds a suspenseful tone to the whole scene, translating to the audience anxiousness and keeps them at the edge of their seat waiting to watch what happens next. 

The last filmed we researched was Identity. This movie portrays three strangers who are stranded at a motel in Nevada during a storm and realize they are being killed off, one by one. The opening of Identity, Bella and I noticed several elements that helped establish information that will prove to be relevant and important later on during the film. There were some aspects that stood out, for example there was a tape playing, so there was some sort of voice over and it is of a psychiatrist and his patient, and montage of pictures and newspaper articles of deaths, murders, victims, and suspects are shown, and a guy who appears to be professional is seemingly listening to the tape and looking at the articles. The opening coordinates with the tape and both end at the same time, and while all this is happening, there is also eerie music in the background adding to the suspenseful tone and hinting at the audience that something is about to happen, keeping them interested.

Watching these videos seemed to help to expand and broaden our understanding of suspenseful thrillers and what elements they need in order to capture the audience. I took a lot from this so now when it comes to the point where we have to film our film opening, we can consider this research and maybe utilize a voice over to establish and share important information to the audience or use sound to match the tone of the scene. We have limited time left so I'm really hoping this research pushes us into the right direction and so that our project can finally start to pick up speed. Wish us luck!

--Blogger Buitano

"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
Unknown. "Psycho." N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
Unknown. "Gone Girl." N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
Unknown. "Identity." N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.