thriller opening 4: Shrooms - Paddy Breathnach

teen horror-thriller.

0.00-1.24

camera:

• The first 6 shots are made by CGI for the title sequence.

• The first camera shot is a mid shot of a silhouette running frantically away from something, which is immediately gripping for the audience as they become intrigued to know what is after her.

• A jump cut is used to completely change the shot to an old looking house, similarly to ‘room 4108’ the windows appear to be elongated, creating a creepy abnormal surrounding; this is reinforced by the gently blowing wind. It also appears to be shot with a different type of camera, it could be suggested that it may be shot with a fish eye lens, which would enhance the abnormal factor

• This type of filming is carried on throughout the shots inside the house. A close up is used to focus on the blood oozing out of what looks like a bucket. The darkness of the shot with the high contrast levels creates a gritty, seedy look to the environment. Close ups are continuously used to show the audience the unpleasant ‘thrilling’ environment of which the protagonist is probably running away from. An extreme close up is used for the shot of a hand covered in blood and blood surrounding it, suggesting death and violence, gripping the audience to find out how it all happened and who is doing it.

• After another shot of the silhouette frantically running again, the shots in the house change to mid shots to show the surroundings. The shots shows shadows and shaking bloody hands, creating exhilaration for the viewer until a shot of a person turning unsteadily towards the camera making the audience feel uncertain and confused.

• Similar shots are used throughout the opening, the use of blood helps the audience easily establish the genre of horror, which is reinforced by the editing and sound.

Sound:

• As the titles of the producer companies appear centralised on the screen, accented sound is played as they appear on screen. The sound also fades out as the name zooms forward, expressing the titles importance. Although as the directors name pounds on screen, extra diegetic sound is added of someone breathing heavily and excessively getting louder as the title zooms forward.

• The breathing is used as a sound bridge to introduce the first camera shot of the girl running, it continuously becomes louder until the next shot where it completely changes where the sound becomes softer, yet creepier of gentle wind blowing. This sound is kept through the shots of inside the house but for each different shot a new sound is added for a different effect on the audience.

• Prominent sounds of whispering, ropes tightening, children crying and doors slamming are used successfully as it shows a nightmare become a fake reality, thrilling the audience.

Editing:

• As the silhouette is running the shot is fairly long in comparison to the rest of the shots inside the house. However the director has filmed the shot of the silhouette running using over the shoulder techniques. The shot Is unsteady and isn’t prominently in focus on anything, although the camera is still tracking the figure running.

• Two-second takes are used to show the havoc inside the house without displaying the location too much and keeping the unknown a mystery keeping the audience engaged.

• The use of colour has been used cleverly. The shots of the silhouette has been edited to a low saturation whilst keeping the warmth low, creating a light blue colour, connoting coldness and loneliness. However, in the house the shots are edited in complete greyscale besides the deep red blood, gaining emphasis to the shots, signifying their importance.
  The shots have also been edited so the contrast is high, creating a dark, grim, dirty surrounding and atmosphere.