Horror Film Openings

In preparation for our horror movie opening i watched three openings to horror films. I analysed the openings for Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween (2004).

Scream:

-Sound
The sounds within the opening sequence of scream are of a wide variety,the initial title sequence is accompanied by a non-diagetic scene, which, if not already known would give the instant assumption with the horror genre. the title sequence is linked to the opening scene via a telephone which also becomes the key to the plot within the first six minutes. Whilst the unknowing victim is on the phone subtle, non-diagetic music is played in the background. A plot twist occurs whilst the killer and victim conduct diagetic conversation and the tension builds from the conversation when the initial threat is given, the music quickens and gets repetitive to add tension, a dog also barks off screen, presumably from the television to emphasise the change in pace.
-Pace
The previous section highlighted the way music is used to enhance the changes of pace which occur during the opening sequence. the pace is initially slow, then begins to quicken when the phone call has entered its peak, when the killer reveals he can see her the pace dramatically quickens from this point and is continuously heart pounding until the scene reaches its climax.
-Storyline
The main storyline is very stereotypical of a horror movie, a girl with little defence feels unease during the night, home alone. The phone rings and the person claims to be a wrong number, then continues to ring her, slowly revealing more and more information of who he is, he then reveals that he can see her. Whilst he is on the phone to her intextuality occurs, this is when a reference to another film is made, this becomes key to a latter part of the scene. The killer then asks her a question about the previously spoken of film, saying if she gets the answer correct she lives, if not she dies. She gets the question correct, her boyfriend is then revealed outside her window, tied up. She must answer the question or he dies, she gets it wrong, he is killed. The killer then breaks in and kills her.
-Setting
The opening sequence is set within a house during the evening, the garden is also a key location as the first murder is there and the murderer is, i presume within the garden during the scene. The house then becomes a prison and the woman is unable to leave.
-Camera/Editing
A wide variety of shot types are used during this scene, they give the stalkers perspective of the victim from a high angle, showing how vulnerable she is. During the entire scene a variety of mid shots  and close ups are used, very few long shots are shown as they would kills the tension and not show the change of expression and pure fear which is portrayed on the victims face.

Nightmare On Elm Street:

-Sound
The sounds in the opening sequence are similar to those of Scream, they both have an equal balance of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. Some of the non-diagetic sounds within the opening sequence of this film are the music which plays constantly throughout the scene to emphasise the tension and suspense.The diagetic sounds add realism to the scenes, a good example of this is the constant rattle and banging of metal whilst in the junkyard, matching his actions.
-Pace
The pace is unusually fast at the very beginning, this is when Freddie, the killer, is clattering through a junkyard, with the clattering and the show of his infamous hands giving an instant unease amongst the audience. When in the warehouse the pace is extremely fast, this is benefitted by the music and mise en scene, the pace then slows dramatically when the woman wakes up.
-Storyline
The opening scene begins with Freddie crafting weapons in a junkyard, presumably weapons he uses against his victims, we also get a first glimpse of his infamous claws. The scene then cuts to a woman who is running away from a mysterious being, running through an eerie, dark warehouse, Freddie constantly uses props to scare the woman, torturing her emotionally. The woman then wakes up, thinking it was only a nightmare, she then sees the claw marks on her shirt, showing it was more than just a dream. The scene then cuts to a school where children are singing the Freddie song which says about him entering your dreams.
-Setting
The opening scene is in a junkyard, which i have described above. Th scene then cuts to a warehouse which has many places to hid in, presumably an abandoned one. The woman then wakes up, showing her in a bed, in her home. A school is the final section, showing that she is a student. The two contrasting sections are in night and day respectively.
-Camera/Editing
First section has many close-ups, never showing the killers face. When the scene cuts to the warehouse a variety of shots and editing take place, wit a majority of mid shots and close ups being used. It also shows the scene from the killers and victims perspective, tracking shots are used during this to show that the killer alwas has the victim in his sight even though she can never see him.

Halloween (2004):

-Music/Sound
The sound in this scene is mostly diagetic, with the music coming from the radio which is on camera for the majority of the scene. Dialogue is the main body of the sound within this scene, with vulgarisms used frequently. Towards the latter staged of the scene, a child is shown in a bathroom, killing a rat, he is presumably the killer when he is older, screaming dialogue adds to this scene whilst his mother is shouting ata him.
-Pace
The opening to this film is very uncharacteristic and unusual to any other i have seen, the pace and dialogue could be that of any other genre, no fast paced moments occur, with only a few indications of death and the horror genre used. With this said the opening is very slow paced, with the dialogue making me assume this is a comedy film. When the boy is killing the rat the pace is slightly increased but is more dark and disturbing than scary.
-Storyline
The storyline begins with a stereotypical family in which the wife is cooking, the husband is being abusive and the children are arguing. Th Father is cruel to the children, this may have an impact on the storyline in the latter stages of the film but i am unaware as i only analysed the opening sequence. The implication of murder from the youngest child is the only thing relating to the horror genre.
-Setting
The setting is a bright morning in a stereotypical American home with upbeat music playing on the radio. The child is also in the bathroom wearing a mask, leading me to think he will be the killer, and that the name is contrived via the mask,
-Characters
Mentioned above.
-Camera/Editing
the 180 degree rule is followed throughout the dialogue, this paired with the shot reverse shot gives a sense of realism. When the child is in the bathroom the mirror is used togive two perspectives of the child, emphasisng his importance to the storyline.

Preliminary Task

This is our initial task for A level Media, in which we had to plan, then film a simple sequence involving a character entering a room then sharing some dialect with another character, we decided as a group to film an interrogation sequence in which the interrogator walks into the room. This is shown in the image below.

 The second image shows him opening the door, emphasising the importance of his entrance. A close up is used to show this, showing how he enters the room and adds continuity when the camera cuts to a mid shot.

 This image shows me after i opened the door, giving the audience a taste of the new scene by looking through the door. a mid shot is used once again, in the same position as the initial scene to show the entire character and to show continuity, keeping a similar distance to the character to emphasise his superiority to the audience and other characters.

This image shows the interrogator entering the room, showing the final scene, also showing the initial scene receding into the distance emphasising the redundancy of the old scene.The body language of the character in this image shows that he is ready for conflict if necessary, with a serious face to show his determination.

The 180 degree rule is used in this sequence, showing the suspect for the first time, his attire and facial expression matches that of a criminal giving the audience an instant understanding of the character.

This shot is purely of the suspect. His initial dialogue is spoken here, exposing his Russian accent. a close up is used to emphasise his importance and also the first piece of dialogue. 

The interrogator is shown, whilst the 180 degree rule is being applied, he responds. It is made obvious he is responding to the suspect due to the 180 degree rule. His facial expression shows his determination once again.

The final shot we used was once again a 180 degree  rule close up, once again of the suspect who replies to the interrogator. He has a shocked facial expression to show how surprised he is that the interrogator knowshis secrets, he then makes up an excuse. This is left as a cliff hanger to attract the audiences attention. The scene is ended on a fade to black the emphasise that the scene has ended.