Zoe's Thriller Openings

Mise en Scene
Editing
Camera work
Sound
Key words

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

• The lighting is very low key which already suggests that there's a presence of a villain character.
• The non-diegetic music seems subtle and quiet during the set up, which adds to the uncomfortable atmosphere.
• The extreme close up of the male opening the package straight away creates enigma, as the audience feel his eagerness to know what's inside.
• The close up of his face shows us that he's old, and allows us to view his facial expression which looks very serious and concerned.
• His costume consists of a very stereotypical elderly outfit, he's wearing a cardigan, tie and glasses, which emphasises his old age.
• The close up of the plant suggests to the audience that it's important, and the way the camera moves up it, emphasises the careful observation the man is making.
• The long shot of him sitting at his desk, allows the audience to see that he's alone, making the setting seem instantly more sinister and creepy.
• The very dim light that's coming through the window throws a silhouette around the man, making him seem ghostly and mysterious.
• The size of his desk also suggests power, authority and high status.
• As the camera zooms out, more of the setting is revealed, which amplifies how alone he is, and the way he becomes smaller as the camera zooms out, he cries. This establishes how weak he's appearing.

• The non-diegetic music also gets louder when he cries, which emphasises his sadness and also makes a build up.
•   The mid shot of the female antagonist walking creates mystery as the camera follows her from behind, making it seem like she's up to something
• Also, the female antagonist challenges femininity, as she doesn't appear to be wearing a very feminine costume. Her costume is plain and black, which has connotations of evil and darkness. She also has her hood up which suggests she doesn't want to be seen. Stereotypically, people with their hoods up are usually seen as thugs, which definitely challenges femininity.
• There's a significant change in lighting as the light becomes slightly brighter, conveying that she's important.
• She's also positioned in the middle of the frame, which emphasises how she's walking completely alone.
• Her body language is quite stiff and tense. Her head remains bowed as she walks, which conveys that she doesn't want anyone seeing her face.
  
• The non-diegetic music becomes higher in pitch when we are introduced to the female antagonist, which adds to the tension and enigma.
• We are given a close up side view of her face, but still haven't seen her face properly. This creates mystery and also shows how she doesn't want to talk to anyone by the pace of her walking and the menacing music that mimics it.
  
• The close up of her face in amongst a line of other people allows the audience to see that she's wearing a black mask, this increases the enigma, and makes the audience eager to know what she looks like.
• The fact that her face has remain hidden, makes her seem shady and mysterious.
  

Shutter Island 

• The first shot is very misty and white, which creates a ghostly and deathly atmosphere.
• The iconography of metal and chains hanging down have connotations of torture, prisoners and  danger.
• The male character appears to be wearing a formal costume which suggests he's powerful and has authority.
• The close up of him walking out onto the deck allows the audience to see his serious and concerned looking facial expression, which creates enigma as we don't yet know where the ship is going.

• The weather seems quite dull and moody, which could act as pathetic fallacy to emphasise the tense atmosphere. 
• The flashback he has contrasts with the current scene as the lighting becomes immediately brighter as he talks about the girl which shows how happy he was back then, but now everything is gloomy and dull which establishes the change in time.
• The extreme long shot of the island looks sinister and dangerous due to the way the non-diegetic music becomes deeper and more menacing. The long shot also allows us to see how big the island is, which makes it seem intimidating.
• The island is also surrounded by lots of dark clouds, which makes it seem evil and unsafe. This adds to the enigma, as we want to know why the island is presented as unsettling.
  

• As the boat approaches the dock, the non-diegetic music repeats the same deep notes to signify the danger of the island.
• The long shot makes the dock seem deserted and bare.
• The camera slowly zooms into the dock, which allows us to see the men in black costumes patrolling around in an intimidating way.
• The use of black costumes suggests that these men are the male protagonists due to the evil connotations of the colour black.
• The close up of the police badge creates enigma as it suggests they have come to investigate something, and there's been no talk about what it is that they have come to investigate.
• The two male protagonists holding guns portrays a threatening vibe to the audience. Gun's are a stereotypical prop included in a Thriller. Their facial expressions look serious and unhappy, which adds to the suspense.
  

21 Grams

• The first mid shot shows a women sleeping and a man creepily watching her - this straight away create enigma due to the absence of any non-diegetic or diegetic sound, so it causes the audience to feel tense already due to the silence of the scene, and it makes us wonder what the man is going to do.
• His facial expression also looks quite worried and distressed, suggesting that something bad has happened. He's also hunched into a tight ball, which conveys that he's in deep thought and is bothered by something.
• The way the women is lying also makes her seem vulnerable and innocent.

• The over the shoulder shot of the female antagonist sat on the chair creates enigma due to what she's talking about - the audience become eager to know the context behind her dialogue.
• Her costume is very feminine, the skirt and boots emphasise her femininity.
• The long shot of the two males sat opposite each other at a table creates tension, as the camera shakes slightly whilst filming, which suggests that there's something dodgy about these two characters.
• The long shot allows us to observe the setting around them, which looks quite plain. They are also alone, which generates tension because anything could happen.
• The younger male's costume is very informal and casual. His hat makes him look thuggish, and the colour red has connotations of warning and danger, which could maybe suggest he isn't a very good person.
• Whereas the older male's costume is more formal, suggesting he is more powerful and has a high status than the younger male.

• The close up, over the shoulder shot, shows the older male looking quite intimidating by standing over the younger male. This creates tension as his facial expression is fairly menacing.
• He also doesn't break eye contact, which shows how serious he is.
• The extreme close up of the older male looking angry at the younger male adds to the suspense because of how close their faces are.
• The younger male continues to face downwards whilst the older male looks right into his face - this demonstrates the difference in power between them, as the older male appears to be the dominant speaker.

• The flurry of  black birds at the end of the sequence creates tension due to the low key lighting which causes the birds to be silhouetted, which makes everything seem sinister and unsettling.
• The non-diegetic music also begins to play at the end of the sequence which conveys that something is going to happen. 

Collateral

• The first shot is a mid shot of a male walking towards the camera, the use of focus pull means that the camera is focused on his face and not on the other people around him. This suggests that he's an important character.
• His costume consists of a grey suit and black shades. The suit conveys power and authority, and the shades make him look mysterious and suspicious. His costume makes him look like a stereotypical spy or villain.
• His facial expression remains stern and emotionless as he makes his way through the crowd of people, this creates enigma as we become eager to know what he's so serious about.

• The mid shot of a different male suggests that these two characters are going to come into contact due to the same effect being used - the focus pull singles him out from everyone else.
• His costume also consists of a suit, which again suggests authority and high status.
• The slow motion effect used when the close up of the male with shades is walking creates tension as it suggests something is about to happen, it also makes it more dramatic.
• The close up of them bumping into each other creates tension, and the quick cut to the bag falling on the floor, emphasises how sudden and quick it was.
• The shot reverse shot is swift and quick as they talk, which generates suspension.
• The close up used when they are talking allows the audience to see their facial expressions which seem to be quite serious and slightly irritated, which again creates tension as their seems to be some tension between them.

• The shaking of the camera as they pick up their bags creates a chaotic atmosphere
• Tilt up as the bags are picked up allows the audience to observe that they've picked up the wrong bags, which creates chaos and drama.
• The close up, over the shoulder shot of the male with shades walking suggests that he's up to something as the camera peers over his shoulder, it makes him seem suspicious.
• The non-diegetic music is dramatic and makes the sequence sound action-packed and mysterious.
• As the black male gets in the car, he chucks in a bag, and focus pull is used to focus on the bag, and then focus on the male when he gets in, this suggests that he bag is important/contains something important.
• His costume is very informal and low status compared to the previous men in suits, as he is wearing a brown hoodie and a plain top, making him seem like a normal, average looking person.
• The faster paced cuts as he checks the lights on his car creates excitement as it causes a build up to something.

• The non-diegetic and diegetic sound stops as he shuts the car door, this suggests that he's deep in thought, but also emphasises how chaotic the outside surroundings are.
• The extreme close up of his face after he shuts the door also suggests he's in deep though as his facial expression looks slightly strained and concentrated.
• The extreme close ups of the items he takes out of his bag suggests they are significant and are important to him.

Drive

• The panning of the camera around the room in the first shot of the set up, reveals the setting which seems quite modern. It also creates a build up for the character being revealed
• The tilt up the character allows the audience to see his costume, which looks smart and sophisticated, which gives the character power.
• The non-diegetic sound thunders very subtlety in the back ground, which creates a very mysterious atmosphere, and adds tension.
• The man's face reflected in the window causes his face to become slightly distorted and not clearly visible, which is an attempt to make him seem mysterious.

• The lighting is quite low key, which makes the room seem quite dim and dull.
• The pan round to the bag suggests that the bag is important and creates enigma as we wonder what's inside.
• A bit of light seems to be thrown over the bag, which also suggests it's significance.
• The slow zoom in to the window creates tension and suspense.
• The low angle shot of the male protagonist driving the car, amplifies his power due to the way the audience are put into a lower position than him, which then makes him seem bigger and more intimidating.
• The non-diegetic music becomes louder as he sees the car, which suggests the car is important. Another beat is added to the non-diegetic music, which conveys that something is about to happen.
• The birds eye view of the city shows how he is travelling, and also makes it seem dramatic due to the diegetic sound of police sirens, which connotes chaos and crime - appealing to the Thriller genre.

• The focus pull as he looks out the car window at the two male antagonists, suggests that those two men are important, and also creates tension as their costumes appear to be mostly black which has connotations of evil and darkness.
• Their faces are hidden by masks which creates the stereotypical criminal look, so it's obvious they are about to commit a crime.
• The close up of the male antagonist wrapping the watch around the steering wheel, allows the audience to see that part of his costume are brown leather driving gloves, which again, makes him seem sophisticated and of a high status.
• The diegetic sound of alarms signals danger and creates tension.
• The amount of cuts increase as the two male protagonists wait for the other male to exit the robbery. This quickens the pace and increases the tension as the diegetic sound of police sirens gets louder, which illustrates how they are running out of time.
• The amount of cuts then decrease to maximise the tension when they are hiding from the police.