HORROR OPENINGS
Action:
The horror films that I looked at, varied in their opening scenes, referring action, this is helpful as it allows me to see how different sub genres use their opening credits/scenes to introduce their films, there were many differences in styles and content of the openings however, they did all share similarities and overlap in techniques, this will be helpful to use when it comes to creating my opening to a film, as the common concepts of horror film openings can be incorporated into my piece.
The oldest opening, 'Psycho', consists of many lines through the screen, creating
imagery of short, sharp, stabbing motions, this could link to the main scene in the film of he stabbing in the Motel, this opening therefore gives a hint at content that will feature later on in the film, this was one of the main overlapping features I discovered during my research into different openings, this slight revealing of scenes/ action that could happen in the film was hinted at the beginning of films including 'Alien', this opening scene was featured in space, setting the scene by opening the credits going round an image of the galaxy as if filmed in space, it looks at focusing on a planet, this reveals to the audience the genre of the film. Similarly, 'Sinister' adopts this as people are being hung from a tree, this gives a slight background to the film and what it is about, it also gives an insight into the genre and context of the film, however many of the questions surrounding the opening scene are left unanswered, making the audience want to continue watching the film, this is also a common concept of horror film openings having an unclear guide of the background of the film and this will be revealed therefore later in the film, but still hints at storylines in the opening credits give the audience a slight image of what may happen, allowing them to be clear of the genre of film, yet still having the mysterious plot lines associated with horror films.
This is again supported in 'Dawn of the Dead's' opening scene, glimpses of the news reports and affected people flashing on screen quickly and disappearing quickly, this could represent the disease being rapidly introduced and the human race being rapidly deceased. All these films share similar concepts in the action of their openings.
However in contrast, 'The cabin in the woods' adopts a different tactic, it opens with women talking about men, this is maybe misleading tot he genre as it seems a happy scene, however a convention of film openings also can be misleading to catch the audience off guard, this film is an action/thriller, which could fit perfectly into the category of making people jump, this is why they use the tactic of having a contrasting opening to the genre, however there is a mysterious undertone relating to a man, giving a very small insight into the films context.
Conclusion:
many different tactics can be used, i will deploy a more slow approach into the action with constant small suggestions of danger. This is based off of all the films looked at. Although the films differ in strategies of filming and editing styles, they all use mis en scene to suggest the genre and show the audience that it is a horror they are watching, this adds to the tension as people are expecting to be scared and are anxiously waiting for the 'scare'.
imagery of short, sharp, stabbing motions, this could link to the main scene in the film of he stabbing in the Motel, this opening therefore gives a hint at content that will feature later on in the film, this was one of the main overlapping features I discovered during my research into different openings, this slight revealing of scenes/ action that could happen in the film was hinted at the beginning of films including 'Alien', this opening scene was featured in space, setting the scene by opening the credits going round an image of the galaxy as if filmed in space, it looks at focusing on a planet, this reveals to the audience the genre of the film. Similarly, 'Sinister' adopts this as people are being hung from a tree, this gives a slight background to the film and what it is about, it also gives an insight into the genre and context of the film, however many of the questions surrounding the opening scene are left unanswered, making the audience want to continue watching the film, this is also a common concept of horror film openings having an unclear guide of the background of the film and this will be revealed therefore later in the film, but still hints at storylines in the opening credits give the audience a slight image of what may happen, allowing them to be clear of the genre of film, yet still having the mysterious plot lines associated with horror films.Conclusion:
many different tactics can be used, i will deploy a more slow approach into the action with constant small suggestions of danger. This is based off of all the films looked at. Although the films differ in strategies of filming and editing styles, they all use mis en scene to suggest the genre and show the audience that it is a horror they are watching, this adds to the tension as people are expecting to be scared and are anxiously waiting for the 'scare'.
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