How conventional is the title sequence to these 3 film and TV titles

How conventional is the title sequence of the film Girl with the dragon tattoo (USA VERSION) to the thriller genre?

The girl with the tattoo is a 2011 American thriller film directed by David flincher which is based on the novel of the same name.  The title sequence of the film is primarily made up of black CGI animation. During the course of this analysis I will be examining the title sequence of the film; I will be specifically looking at how this sequence conforms to, develops and challenges thriller genre conventions.

An example of one of the flashing images

As the opening title starts we see a completely back screen, in the background we can hear the non-diegetic sounds of the Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin fading in fast. Soon after the drums in the song build up and we see several quick cuts from shot to shot in time with the beat of the drums in between these quick cuts one can see a black screen. Furthermore the shots that have been cut into quickly are extreme close ups of random objects to create an abstract image each time it cuts into each shot. The use of these quick cuts engage the audience as these cuts shock us into wanting to consume more, in addition the beats of the drums in time with the quick cuts as convey a sense of action building up; it allows us to establish an idea of the genre of the film as an action film whilst also the vagueness of the first few seconds allow us to determine this as a thriller in some ways. Added with this the use of a black screen for a couple of seconds eases us into the mystery. Majority of these features used are common in the thriller genre for example a build up in music to create suspense, quick cuts to convey action and shadows to create mysteries.

Next we see a shot of the title card within the shot, an animation of the title Girl with the dragon tattoo getting covered by a black substance; this then quick cuts to mid shot of a humanoid figure in pain and then cuts to a close up of keyboard keys as the black substance moves through them. Soon after it repeats this process again this time it cuts to a close up of this person in pain emphasis the pain this person is going through; this is then followed by a close up of the same keyboard with the substance running through it. This feature has been employed to shock the audience into engaging into its opening. In some ways this is very unconventional for a thriller opening and would be used more likely in the opening of a psychological horror, however we hear no screams, in addition to this with the rock music in the background we the audience can establish this is not in fact a horror and we are not as terrified as we would be if this type of imagery was accompanied by screams of pain and the sounds of ghostly wails.

 

Eventually we see an extreme close up lips with the black substance leaking out. This suggestive imagery conveys death as we associate this black liquid leaking out as blood coming out of this person’s mouth. This technique is repeated in several shots as we soon see several close up shots of human facial features with this black liquid dripping down from it. The use of these shots evidences a conventional narrative theme in thrillers, death. Perhaps these shots have been used to forebode an upcoming event in the film a murder affecting our protagonist who however has not been revealed yet.

Soon the Music gets louder and it becomes obvious something is building up to something, a conventional feature in thriller openings. It soon becomes apparent that the quick cuts from shot to shot are trying to convey senses of these events that have been created by the black substance are happening simultaneously as evidenced by the faster and more frantic jump cuts. This creates a sense of continuity as well as action. Furthermore the quick cut shots reveal little narrative and feature no direct link with each other, thus giving us the audience an enigma to follow. This idea of mysteries is a typical thriller device however how this opening creates an enigma to follow is fairly unconventional as it is a CGI animation, we do not see any characters or roles to identify. The mystery is created by using references towards the books and the protagonist of the book such as including imagery of the phoenix in one of the cuts which is also a tattoo the protagonist has. These sorts of Easter eggs have been included to allow people with previous knowledge about the film and its novel counterpart to follow its opening and consume the mystery easier than people who have little to no knowledge about the film.

During the opening it quickly cuts to a close up shot a skull melting and on fire. This once again connotes the conventional narrative in thrillers which is death and also shocks us into following with the use of the quick cut before it.

Summary

Overall the title opening of the film is quite unconventional to the thriller genre as it uses shock imagery to get its audience to engage in its mystery. As well as the use of rock music connotes a more of an action genre however the uses of shadows are a very conventional way to conceal some of the plot narrative.

How conventional is the title sequence of the TV show Dexter to the thriller genre?

Dexter is an American crime drama and psychological thriller developed by James Manos, Jr. I will be analysing how the title sequence of Dexter conforms to, develops and challenges thriller genre conventions.

In the first few seconds of the opening we the audience can see what seem to be a long shot of a blood sucking insect. Soon we see a pull focus of a hand crushing the insect quickly and the shot turns out to be a close up of a man’s body and head. These shots have been employed for a red herring effect i.e. to mislead we the audience to thinking this long shot of this insect is our setting of the narrative when in fact this large hand crushing the creature proves otherwise. This theme of red herrings and misleading the audience is a common convention of the thriller genre and is employed to keep the audience engaged. Additionally the use of this scene in the opening may have been used to connote how dangerous this man is as in the shot we can see him smirking as he kills the bug, this smirk may convey a sense of sadism. Furthermore this half of this man’s face is covered by a shadow within the shot conforming to the convention of shadows to create mystery in the thriller genre. The mystery created within this shot is that we the audience do not what he exactly looks like but maybe this cover up connotes that this man is hiding something other than his face.

Next we see a title card for the show written in red block capitals with a blood stain effect which connotes murder as the viewer sees this text bleeding, we start to establish a sense of narrative in our head. Not only this but this further evidences how conventional this title card may be as death and murder are common themes in the thriller genre.

This then cuts to an out of focus shot of the man’s head yet concealing his identity again keeping the audience engaged into what’s happening. After that an extreme close up of his neck moistened as the starts to shave his neck. This use of subtle imagery may cause tension as it plays on audience’s imagination as we about this man slitting a throat linking with the idea of murder which was connoted by the title card. This sense of tension is common in the thriller genre however it is being challenged in this opening by using normal situations to create that tension. This is further developed upon throughout the opening as next we see several quick cuts to several shots including a close up of blood dripping from the neck which is again suggestive, a quick cut to a shot of a shower basin with a blood drip and then another quick cut to just the shot of the stain made by the blood drip. These quick cuts from shot to shot are conventional to the thriller genre to show drama however it’s been used in this instance to show a normal action. This causes the viewer to wait in anticipation as we constantly looking out for any upcoming action since we have been trained to associate quick cuts with action.

This feature of quick cuts repeated several times as we this man prepare his breakfast as well as eat it however with each time this feature has been used its been used to create a different effect.  For example we eventually see a close up shot of him cutting through eggs and then the shot quickly cuts to a shot of ketchup stains. This suggestive imagery may emphasise how savage this person is however there is no direct image as to if this man is in fact a killer thus taking the audience on a wild goose chase. This act of deception and red herrings is also another convention of the thriller genre as method to keep audiences in suspense.

Additionally this idea that this man might be a killer if further reinforced in several close up shots of meat getting cut by him and a close up shot of fruit getting sliced in half as the juices are slowly released however yet again there are no direct hints as to what this man’s actual motives are and the viewer is still kept in suspense.

In terms of sound used in this opening, it’s very unconventional for a thriller. Thriller openings tend to feature sounds that keep its audience engaged whether they are heavy action music or an orchestral piece to create suspense, the opening for Dexter uses light heated music which conveys a sense of relaxation or a casual day. This may cause the audience once again to look out for more content within the opening as we ask ourselves where the drama is. However there are subtle hints within the music such as the small distortions within the music we the audience can establish that not everything is ok. This distorted sound may also connote how distorted this man’s mind may be, if so this does in fact conform the thriller genre stock character, “the psycho”.

Around 43 seconds into the opening we can see a close up shot of this man eating and in the background we can hear diegetic sounds of chewing that have been exaggerated to make him seem more animalistic. This strange noise contrasting with a normally day to day act we all take part in creates tension as the audience are left to feel uncomfortable. This feature reinforces the idea that this man may be the thriller stock type psycho as we can tell not all is right with this man with the use of such animalistic sounds.

Summary

Overall the title opening to Dexter follows some conventional feature that has been established in the thriller genre such as the use of shadows to answers away from an audience and connotes typical thriller narrative and character in its title opening, i.e. the theme murder and death and also the psycho stock character. However it also develops some features into its own by using quick cuts from shot to shot to film a causal morning in contrast to the typical quick cut to convey drama or action. Moreover the opening also challenges thriller genre conventions with its use of calm casual music to relax its audience into anticipating more.

How conventional is the title sequence of the film Alien to the thriller genre?

The film ALIEN is a science fiction horror thriller directed by Ridley Scott, released in 1979. During the course of this analysis I will be examining the title sequence of the film which was designed by Richard Greenberg. I will be specifically looking at how this sequence conforms to, develops and challenges thriller genre conventions, however since this film is a hybrid genre of the thriller film it may appear that some features in this opening may not follow thriller conventions directly.

In the first few frames of the tile sequence we the audience can see a long shot of space featuring nothing but dark shadows and a few small white spots.

This shot last for 5 seconds and has been used to establish the setting of this film. Furthermore it’s been used to create a cold and isolated feeling for the viewer.  This by a certain degree follows the convention of suspense and mystery in the thriller genre as we the audience are kept in anticipation for a shot while as to what is going to happen with little to go on but the setting. However this may be in fact following horror genre conventions more closely as this feeling of mystery is being used in this opening as more of a way to cause insecurity in the viewer’s environment as the dark background causes the viewer to anticipate a danger to creep in the shot.

It soon becomes apparent that the shot is panning slowly from left to right; with this is a simple soft fade in of white text. This as a result may cause the viewer to feel insecure as the slow an uneasy movement of both the pan movement and the white text convey a sense of something creeping up on the audience. This device not only follows the convention of suspense in the thriller genre but challenges it by taking it one step further and taking this feeling of suspense into a feeling of fear similarly to the 5 second shot of a blank space.

 8 seconds into the opening, we the audience can only hear silent noises as if the wind is whistling in our ears. We hear no speech or music. It’s only at 17 seconds during the opening we hear soft music fade in slowly following with it is a small white character as it fades in slowly as well. These features conform to the thriller convention of being watched however this idea has been challenged and has been developed into the feeling that we the audience are being watched not the characters of the narrative as these features such as music are slowly creeping in. This may make the viewer feel as if something is following them, watching them.

The panning shot continues to pass an eclipsed sun. The sun which connotes hope has been blocked out which is significant as the audience gets a feeling of disparity and also a feeling of uncertainty. As the shot continues to pan more white characters fade in one by one. These features have been employed to cause the audience to feel uncomfortable in our seats as we feel that something is coming as a result of the these white character fading in slowly. This feeling of being watched is a theme used in the thriller genre however this theme has been challenged and we the audience become the figures who are watched. Furthermore this creates a sense of suspense among the viewer as we are kept in anticipation as to what theses white characters are going to form and what will happen next when they are complete.

In the background we can hear faint noise which sounds as if they are faint screams in the background, paired with this a slow beat.  Soon the music fades out with only the screeches and the slow beat to be heard. Eventually the music restarts and more type is shown on screen allowing the audience. It then becomes apparent that these will eventually form the text ALIEN, thus allowing the audience to answer one of our many questions while keeping us in anticipation for more answers. The use of sound in these last few frames have been used to allow the audience to keep engaged with the opening whilst adding to the unnerving feeling that has been produced with past elements of the opening. For example the sounds of the faint screams with the slow beat may causes audiences to be reminded of the similar sound of the jaws theme however a more slower and subtler version. This causes the feeling of an unstoppable force creeping nearby we the audience feel trapped in our seats as we want to know what’s coming but we are also in fear of its arrival. This idea of entrapment is a common theme in thriller however once again this idea has been challenged and instead of the characters being trapped it is us the audience being made to feel like we are trapped. These features have been challenged in this way since this film shares horror elements with thriller themes.

Finally the last of the white characters eventually fades in and the word ALIEN is fully formed in a capital white sans serif font which conveys a cold and uneasy feeling. Take note that the kerning between the characters has been adjusted to cause an effect of 5 letters separated and isolated by the space between them. Perhaps this forebodes an upcoming event in the film, 5 actual characters separated and isolated however this sense of foreboding may cause tension among the audience as the white block text gives off cold feeling. By the end of the opening nothing has been revealed but the name of the film and a possible setting, we the audience are only left with the non-diegetic sounds of music to keep us from losing focus.

In terms of iconography this opening does however conform to many thriller features such as shadows to reveal little to what’s happening on screen however there is in fact very little happening on screen as a result of this tension is created among the audience as we are trained to expect something to happen when we watch a film opening; ALIEN challenges this idea and we are kept in suspense as to what is exactly happening.

 Summary

Overall the title opening for ALIEN is uses many conventions from the thriller genre however adapts and develops some elements to develop this sense of suspense into a feeling of fear as to what’s to come next, with many of the themes such as voyeurism being redirected at the audience who are watching this film as we are made to feel as if something is creeping up on us.