How does the opening sequence of Halloween inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film?
The opening scene of Halloween includes many conventions that are typical in any thriller film.These things include things such as hiding the killers identity,low key lighting, suspenseful sounds, death and a victim.All of these are in numerous thriller films.
Hiding the killers identity is in many thriller films and is typical in creating suspense. In Halloween we do not know who the murder is until the camera zooms out when we find it is a small boy who has actually murdered the girl.This makes the scene quite disturbing as we realize now he has murdered his sister and the hidden identity was building up the tension and the murderer seems much more inhuman and unnatural compared to if we knew who it was from the start.This makes the audience continue watching as now they want to find out the killers identity.Hiding a killers identity makes the audience feel quite cold towards the characters as they cannot see a face. This informs the audience that it is a convention as the whole scene was building up to it and makes it obvious
Low key lighting is when only one main source of light is seen.It is present in many thriller films and in Halloween it has constant low key lighting from when the boy is outside to where the boy is walking up the stairs.Most of the time the source of light is the moon when the lights go out and when outside a bedroom light .This keeps the audience on edge constantly and makes the scene feel more dark and that something will happen in the house also they can tell that something bad will happen.This also informs the audience of it being a convention as it is very common in films and it is used throughout this scene.
Suspenseful sound is a sound that can keep an audience on edge but not ruin the tension.This is played all the way through the clip but especially at 0.41 where it increases dramatically. The sound keeps the audience entertained and helps them understand the film is building up to something big happening in the following scene.This is in nearly all films as it is just a key role in helping the audience understand a scene this is why it is a convention in thriller films.The audience can tell that now something will happen just from the music but the director can use this to mislead the audience.
A victim is a vulnerable person in a film who is normally in danger.In Halloween the victim is the boys sister who is stabbed to death by her brother in her bedroom.This is conventional to thriller films as normally there is a vulnerable person who gets hurt which helps develop the emotions towards characters and exposes the murderer. This helps an audience relate emotionally with that character and keeps them watching the film as they want to see the antagonist face justice.This is a convention as it is very common in thriller films to have a vulnerable person who something happens to as it helps move the film along.
Death is also very prominent in almost all thriller films.Halloween has a death of the girl who was murdered by her brother and happens after the suspense has been built up until the point. This is in thriller films as it keeps the audience interested in what the outcome will be for either the people who know the person or the murderer. This is often the start of many thriller films.It is a convention as nearly all thriller films have a death and it keeps the audience wanting to know what will happen next.This makes the audience feel something for the person who has died and creates emotion towards that person.
Overall many convention can be picked up on in Halloween and as it is a thriller many of these can be seen in other thriller films.This also helps the audience with convention as if they have seen other thriller films they can relate back to this one.
This analysis will help me with my clip as now I can use some of the themes in my own clip.Also I know these make a successful scene so will likely use them as they have been proven wheres if I used unknown ones they may not of been suitable for a thriller.
Low key lighting is when only one main source of light is seen.It is present in many thriller films and in Halloween it has constant low key lighting from when the boy is outside to where the boy is walking up the stairs.Most of the time the source of light is the moon when the lights go out and when outside a bedroom light .This keeps the audience on edge constantly and makes the scene feel more dark and that something will happen in the house also they can tell that something bad will happen.This also informs the audience of it being a convention as it is very common in films and it is used throughout this scene.
Suspenseful sound is a sound that can keep an audience on edge but not ruin the tension.This is played all the way through the clip but especially at 0.41 where it increases dramatically. The sound keeps the audience entertained and helps them understand the film is building up to something big happening in the following scene.This is in nearly all films as it is just a key role in helping the audience understand a scene this is why it is a convention in thriller films.The audience can tell that now something will happen just from the music but the director can use this to mislead the audience.
A victim is a vulnerable person in a film who is normally in danger.In Halloween the victim is the boys sister who is stabbed to death by her brother in her bedroom.This is conventional to thriller films as normally there is a vulnerable person who gets hurt which helps develop the emotions towards characters and exposes the murderer. This helps an audience relate emotionally with that character and keeps them watching the film as they want to see the antagonist face justice.This is a convention as it is very common in thriller films to have a vulnerable person who something happens to as it helps move the film along.
Death is also very prominent in almost all thriller films.Halloween has a death of the girl who was murdered by her brother and happens after the suspense has been built up until the point. This is in thriller films as it keeps the audience interested in what the outcome will be for either the people who know the person or the murderer. This is often the start of many thriller films.It is a convention as nearly all thriller films have a death and it keeps the audience wanting to know what will happen next.This makes the audience feel something for the person who has died and creates emotion towards that person.
Overall many convention can be picked up on in Halloween and as it is a thriller many of these can be seen in other thriller films.This also helps the audience with convention as if they have seen other thriller films they can relate back to this one.
This analysis will help me with my clip as now I can use some of the themes in my own clip.Also I know these make a successful scene so will likely use them as they have been proven wheres if I used unknown ones they may not of been suitable for a thriller.
Your analysis of Halloween, demononstrates some understanding of the codes and conventions of a thriller film. You have identifed some of the micro elements, but further analysis is needed of the terminology and the examples. This will assit you to show further understanding of the thriller genre.
ReplyDeleteTo develop this post, you need to-
1) Read over your notes and ensure that you have included three different examples, for each micro element point
2) Relate your points back to the codes and conventions of a thriller film
3) Consider the relationship between the audience and the characters and the emotions that are created
4) Include a summary, to explain how your analysis will assist you with planning your own thriller opening sequence.