Thriller Opening : Research AHS

American Horror Story opening credits was created by  by Kyle Cooper and his company Prologue, who also created the opening scenes for Seven and The Walking Dead which also have iconic opening scenes. The title sequence is almost like a mystery where by the time you see the 9th episode of this season every image in that title sequence will be explained.

The song also gives clues to the show, for example the ambient noises and the sound of dripping water which becomes relevant when you watch the series. The tone of the music is quite sinister which fits in perfectly with the images.


The main feature of the opening scene which inspired us is the fast cross cutting shots and how the rhythm/speed in which the images are sequenced. The short staggering cuts between frames gives a stop motion effect that also adds to the tension. Below is a video analysis of the 5 opening credits for each season of the AHS series.

 

Thriller Opening: Editing

Editing

All of us had our own attempts at editing as we all have different visions and ideas of the outcome so using this as a base, we will then incorporate them into the final product.

I used Imovie to create my short clip which was inspired by the American horror Story opening credits where there are short cuts of close ups switching between one another. The sound used in this are added sound effects to build up suspense in the scene as the killer is watching the victim without her knowing and then following her into the steam room. The tone/colour of the film is quite faded and low in contrast giving a gloomy and sinister feel. 

To create the fast switching shots of the face, I reduced each frame to 0.1 seconds and also overlayed two shots on top of each other and adjust the opacity. The faded scene of the steam and the character also adds to the ambiguity of the identity of killer/victim.

This technique is called cross cutting or parallel editing where it portrays alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations. If the scenes are simultaneous, they occasionally culminate in a single place, in this case the killer is watching the victim but the victim is suspiciously looking around.

Suspense is added by cross-cutting. It is built through the expectations that it is open up for the viewers interpretation to determine what is happening in the scene. The rhythm of, or length of time between each cross-cuts can also set the tone of the scene. Increasing the rapidity between two different actions adds tension, much like in work of literature where the use of short declarative sentences gives a more striking effect.

Below are some attempts on editing including the credits, playing around with fonts, timing and positioning of the names. The aim is to make the credits disappear/dissolve resembling steam evapourating in the air which is the main element of the thriller.

Thriller opening: Filming proccess

Filming Day : 15th January 2016

We were able to complete filming in one day as we had our storyboard as a guide to help make the process more efficient. It took approximately 3 hours to collect all the footage we wanted but we also encountered some problems which made some parts difficult to film.

Problems: One of the problem which interfered with the filming process was the public that was using our location. Since the bathroom is relatively small, it was necessary for it to be completely empty and silence in order to film the shots we needed. To overcome we waited until they have finished their business which took about 20 minutes off our filming time

Another problem was the steam, which was essential in filming as it is the motif of the thriller. The actors suffered from some steam burns and the camera also became blurry at times. However we used this to our advantage where the steamy effect gives an ominous sense of the location and the characters.

Teamwork: Everyone had specific tasks on the filming day where Phoebe was the camera person, Saranya and I were the actors. The teamwork was quite efficient throughout where we got most of the shots we wanted. However, the space of the bathroom was relatively small and so some shots eg. wide angle were not possible to film therefore we had to make some improvising to make up for shots we lost.

Thriller Opening : Introducing characters

In our thriller, there are two characters - Killer and the Victim. We are taking from tropes of a crime thriller to create these character which are represented through the micro-elements.



VICTIM: tropes from the "final girl" character which is basically The last character left alive to confront the killer in a Slasher Movie. The character tends to follow a certain set of characteristics. The most obvious one is being (almost) Always Female. Tropes from "Bathing Girl" character which is the girl that seems to enjoy baths and showers is often shown bathing more frequently than any of the other characters. In our thriller the setting is in a bathroom where the victim is seen using the sauna and so fits in with this particular trope. 

Representation : The character wears minimal makeup and basic clothing to convey the sense of innocence and how she does not know she is being watched. The victim is almost always in the the frame of each shots which highlights how she is the center of focus of the killer as well as the viewers.

KILLER: Shows trope of a typical compulsive killer in a crime thriller but in this opening scene the killer's face is hidden most of the time and when it is showed, only small parts of the face is visible to create ambiguity. This contrast with the victim as she is present in the majority of the credit scene.

Representation : This character will be in full black costume which associates with evilness and death. The killer is also shown in flashes or in short frames to once more create a sense of ambiguity as the viewer is able to see her for few seconds. It also suggests how the killer keeps disappearing and reappearing (like how steam evapourates in the air but creates a mist on the mirror)  like she may not actually exist and could only be from the imagination of the victim 

Thriller Opening: Inspiration

One of an opening credits scene that we used as our inspiration is from the movie "Insidious". The scene is relatively short but we are interested in some aspects of it for example the first 10 seconds of the clip shows a single circular light source where it rotates along with the credits. This makes gives an ominous and dizzying effect, it also gives a sense of uncertainty as from the beginning we did not know that the light was upside down.


This opening scene has an underlying background music and also added sound effects to create a spooky atmosphere. We want to do the same with our thriller where there will be no dialogue but simply let the camerawork and actions convey the message accompanied by some sound fx

As a group we tried to re create this rotating effect. A 4K camera was used so the clip would be in high definition and then can be zoomed in without losing its resolution. We did this by filming a still shot of a clock at 4 different distances and then playing around with rotation speed and degrees in premiere. Below is how we edited this clip and the result.

Thriller opening: Storyboard

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We had many attempts at creating a storyboard for our thriller where we tried to collate all of our initial ideas into one storyboard. This did not work well as we could not fully focus on the types of shots or where the credits would fit in each frame as too much emphasis was on including all the ideas. However, In our second storyboard, by selecting out our ideas we were able to concentrate on what kind of detail we want to include in the shots and how it would create tension/suspense in the thriller.

First attempt at sketching the storyboard, lacks in details and annotations, difficult to use as a guide in the filming process.

Final attempt at creating the story board, ideas are thoroughly selected, the types of shots are clear and can be used in the actual filming process

This is a time lapse of our planning process

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Thriller Opening: Documents

The next process in developing the thriller is to discuss final ideas and how filming will be carried out. This step is crucial, as a team communication is key and so jobs are allocated to each person where we all have different responsibilities in order to make filming as efficient as possible

This is a film production risk assessment sheet where possible threats/risks are analysed and taken into account. Methods of prevention are provided according to its risk assessment rate ranging from Low, Moderate, High to Extreme.

This is a location scouting report providing information about the places that we visited which may be used as the setting for the thriller opening. It gives an impression of the location where details are recorded to see whether it will be suitable for filming.

Finally, we has a production meeting where we delegated tasks to each person so the jobs are easier to carry out. This includes the role in filming eg. cameraman, director and also what supplies are needed for the proccess 

Thriller opening : location hunting

The setting that we want to base our crime thriller on is a spa/sauna room where steam will play a big part in creating an ominous feel to the location. Saranya has visited a spa near her house which we found interesting and believe that we can work with this location really well to execute the visions we have. Below are some photos of the spa, sauna, lockers.

Credit Structure

The order in which credits are put together generally follows their importance to the film. First is usually the production company, followed by the producer etc. Then we see the Title followed by the cast. from there the order of importance is reversed and the credits end with the to the director. An example of an opening credits which follows this typical pattern is from the film "Panic Room" which is shown in the clip below.