To help me analyse the genre 'Thriller' in more detail and how the opening of a thriller normally takes its impact, i anaylsed two thrillers. These two thrillers where 'Silence of the lambs' and 'The Butterfly Effect'. We watched both openings of the thrillers twice (which where 5 minutes long) and looked in detail at all aspects on all shot types, how they corresponded with the sound in the background and the mise-en-scene etc.
In Silence of the Lambs the deconstruction of the titles are simple. It consisted of blocked black text on an image background with a white stroke.
In The Butterfly Effect the title shots are alot more complicated than Silence of the Lambs, as it consist of animated footage and fancy scientific text written in the colour green and the title is placed on an x-ray background.
The Butterfly Effect is alot more stronger as an opening sequence for a thriller than Silence of the Lambs, in my eyes, not because its fancy and animated, but simply because it consists of tension within itself.
Both titles have strong points within them, they are deconstructed really well as they both relate to the context of the thriller/sub-genre they are based upon.
3.2.2. Deconstruction of the shot sequence
Silence of the lambs starts off with the protagonist running through a forest. The first shot of her is an establishing shot, which then leads onto an over the shoulder shot. The over the shoulder shot looks as if it was filmed hand held or on a tracker. These are strong shots featured within the opening sequence, as if catches the audience attention bringing their minds to many conclusions, making them wonder if the protagonist is being chased within the forest (due to the over the shoulder shot) or if she is on the run from someone or if she is on a mission. A pan shot is also included as she climbs over obstacles within the woods. This is a great shot, as it catches all the scenery within the mise-en-scene.
The butterfly Effect's opening shot sequence are really strong, as it starts of with fast pace establishing shots and sharp sound effects. This is then followed by a variety of close ups which are really strong.
The establishing shot of the males shadow through the blinds and the effects place within the shot is deconstructed really well as it represents the effects of a butterfly .
The close ups are also deconstructed well as they cut into each other and are edited with fast pace building up tension from the very start. Also with the close ups in action, the mise-en-scene behind within the shots is also planned really well, as one close up shows the character hiding in an office under a desk. This is smart as the character is in a really tight space and the shot is a close up. Another shot that is deconstructed really well is an tilt shot from above onto the character while he is underneath the desk, as this looks like someone is watching him, especially after the action taken place within the opening shot.
Also the music played within the shot sequences build up the atmosphere, as the song has a 'conspiracy/mystery' effect to it.
The lighting also has a dark effect to it, as most of the shots are deconstructed within dark lighting or shot at night time.
The music added to the silence of the lambs also carries an 'mystery' effect to it and is quite slow. You can hear the character making breathing noises which shows that she has been running for a long time and is out of breath.
The lighting in silence of the lambs is shot in day light but the clouds have a grey effect to them. This represents the word 'Lambs' within the title, as the clouds lighting represents the colours of lambs.
3.2.3. Studio and Marketing
The budget of Silence of the Lambs was 19 Million dollars. The film gained a gross revenue of 272,742,922 dollars worldwide.
The director of the film is Jonathan Demme.
The producers are:
The film stars some of the following actors:
The film was edited by Craig Mckay.
The distributors of the film are Orion Pictures.
The film was marketed in cinemas worldwide. Some marketing images of the film include a close up of Hopkins and Foster with Death's head Hawkmoths, covering their mouths.
The film won 5 Oscars and 39 other rewards.
These details tell the audience that the film is a really popular film and a really good thriller. With the film winning 5 Oscars, this represents that the film is a 'Must see before you die' film.
The Butterfly Effect cost a budget of 13 million dollars and gained a gross revenue of 96,000,000 dollars.
The directors of the film are:
and many more.
The film was edited by Peter Amundson.
The distributors of the film are New Line Cinema.
The film was marketed by featuring in cinemas all over Europe. It was also released on DVD.
The cover of the film featured close ups of Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart's face and was a strong Movie Cover.
The film won the Pegasus Audience Award and was up for nomination 3 times.
The detail given for this film, gives the target audience the impact that the film is a medium budget range that gained good gross revenue. Also the distributors New Line Cinema have produced really good Thrillers in the past and this would take a huge impact on the films target audience. However the amount of awards won and the nominations the film was up for suggests that the film wasn't that strong within the sub-genre it was placed within. However it must of been a good film as The Butterfly Effect 2 was released
3.2.4. Audience
The target audience for Silence of the Lambs is for an audience of the age 15 and over. The gender that is most likely to watch the film would be Universal, as it features an army like scenario but with a woman as the main character, which catches the eyes of females aswell as males.
The target audience for The Butterfly Effect is for 15 -18s and over and mainly for an audience of the male gender. Although it is an open thriller that can appeal to both genders.
The opening sequence of Silence of the Lambs addresses the audiences attention by starting of the woods, with mystery like music in the background. Also the mise-en-scene within the opening shots showing the female climbing and making her way through obstacles while running in the woods, makes the audience want to know what exactly it is she is up to.
The opening sequence of The ButterFly Effect addresses its audience with fast pace action and neatly cut shots from the very beginning. Also the conspiracy style music played within the background builds in the audiences minds the that someoning BIG is about to happen and commands them to continue watching to find out. The close ups and establishing shots also build tension onto the audiences and addresses them to watch on.
Silence of the lambs starts off with the protagonist running through a forest. The first shot of her is an establishing shot, which then leads onto an over the shoulder shot. The over the shoulder shot looks as if it was filmed hand held or on a tracker. These are strong shots featured within the opening sequence, as if catches the audience attention bringing their minds to many conclusions, making them wonder if the protagonist is being chased within the forest (due to the over the shoulder shot) or if she is on the run from someone or if she is on a mission. A pan shot is also included as she climbs over obstacles within the woods. This is a great shot, as it catches all the scenery within the mise-en-scene.
The butterfly Effect's opening shot sequence are really strong, as it starts of with fast pace establishing shots and sharp sound effects. This is then followed by a variety of close ups which are really strong.
The establishing shot of the males shadow through the blinds and the effects place within the shot is deconstructed really well as it represents the effects of a butterfly .
The close ups are also deconstructed well as they cut into each other and are edited with fast pace building up tension from the very start. Also with the close ups in action, the mise-en-scene behind within the shots is also planned really well, as one close up shows the character hiding in an office under a desk. This is smart as the character is in a really tight space and the shot is a close up. Another shot that is deconstructed really well is an tilt shot from above onto the character while he is underneath the desk, as this looks like someone is watching him, especially after the action taken place within the opening shot.
Also the music played within the shot sequences build up the atmosphere, as the song has a 'conspiracy/mystery' effect to it.
The lighting also has a dark effect to it, as most of the shots are deconstructed within dark lighting or shot at night time.
The music added to the silence of the lambs also carries an 'mystery' effect to it and is quite slow. You can hear the character making breathing noises which shows that she has been running for a long time and is out of breath.
The lighting in silence of the lambs is shot in day light but the clouds have a grey effect to them. This represents the word 'Lambs' within the title, as the clouds lighting represents the colours of lambs.
3.2.3. Studio and Marketing
The budget of Silence of the Lambs was 19 Million dollars. The film gained a gross revenue of 272,742,922 dollars worldwide.
The director of the film is Jonathan Demme.
The producers are:
- Kenneth Utt
- Edward Saxon
- Ron Bozman
- Thomas Harris (Novel)
- Ted Tally (Screen play)
The film stars some of the following actors:
- Jodie Foster
- Anthony Hopkins
- Scott Glen
- Ted Levine
- Brook Smith
The film was edited by Craig Mckay.
The distributors of the film are Orion Pictures.
The film was marketed in cinemas worldwide. Some marketing images of the film include a close up of Hopkins and Foster with Death's head Hawkmoths, covering their mouths.
The film won 5 Oscars and 39 other rewards.
These details tell the audience that the film is a really popular film and a really good thriller. With the film winning 5 Oscars, this represents that the film is a 'Must see before you die' film.
The Butterfly Effect cost a budget of 13 million dollars and gained a gross revenue of 96,000,000 dollars.
The directors of the film are:
- Eric Bress
- J. Mackye Gruber
- Anthony Rhulen
- Chris Bender
- J.C. Spink
- A.J. Dix
- Eric Bress
- J. Mackye Gruber
- Ashton Kutcher
- Amy Smart
- Melora Walters
- Elden Henson
- William Lee Scott
- John Patrick Amedori
- Irene Gorovaia
- Logan Lerman
and many more.
The film was edited by Peter Amundson.
The distributors of the film are New Line Cinema.
The film was marketed by featuring in cinemas all over Europe. It was also released on DVD.
The cover of the film featured close ups of Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart's face and was a strong Movie Cover.
The film won the Pegasus Audience Award and was up for nomination 3 times.
The detail given for this film, gives the target audience the impact that the film is a medium budget range that gained good gross revenue. Also the distributors New Line Cinema have produced really good Thrillers in the past and this would take a huge impact on the films target audience. However the amount of awards won and the nominations the film was up for suggests that the film wasn't that strong within the sub-genre it was placed within. However it must of been a good film as The Butterfly Effect 2 was released
3.2.4. Audience
The target audience for Silence of the Lambs is for an audience of the age 15 and over. The gender that is most likely to watch the film would be Universal, as it features an army like scenario but with a woman as the main character, which catches the eyes of females aswell as males.
The target audience for The Butterfly Effect is for 15 -18s and over and mainly for an audience of the male gender. Although it is an open thriller that can appeal to both genders.
The opening sequence of Silence of the Lambs addresses the audiences attention by starting of the woods, with mystery like music in the background. Also the mise-en-scene within the opening shots showing the female climbing and making her way through obstacles while running in the woods, makes the audience want to know what exactly it is she is up to.
The opening sequence of The ButterFly Effect addresses its audience with fast pace action and neatly cut shots from the very beginning. Also the conspiracy style music played within the background builds in the audiences minds the that someoning BIG is about to happen and commands them to continue watching to find out. The close ups and establishing shots also build tension onto the audiences and addresses them to watch on.
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