Student example- Calculated Killer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKBGdYcBUnY&feature=bf_prev&list=UUO6cu8QZ2TrZ-yXRDPpn3bA

From the beginning you can tell something isn't right, the darkness and music builds tension and makes the world seem like a dark dangerous place. This is a well known thriller convention, known as disequilibrium. The music continues through out the opening until someone is shot, the music is very deep and tense, and gets quicker as we approach the main event in the opening (the shooting).

This group also uses other codes and conventions in their opening. the black bag and knife makes the audience question what is going to happen and makes the scene very enigmatic. It's props like these that really build up the enigmatic feel for the opening and make us question what is going to happen next or what he is going to do with them.

I really like this shot and the lighting in it. The bright light in the background blacks out the figure and makes it very enigmatic because we can not see who is carrying the bag. This is also an example if  chiaroscuro lighting  because it shows a contrast between the dark and light. A lot of  thriller openings do this and it is very effective in showing the contrast  in a characters personality.




I like the locations in this opening but it is clear that there were some continuity problems because different scenes filmed in the same location were clearly filmed at different times, because there is a drastic difference in lighting. This is a bit of a let down and makes me realise how careful we will have to be to make sure our continuity is perfect.