Our production group are creating an opening sequence which is a thriller-action film which is a hybrid genre. We researched into different media products from the same genre as our opening sequence. Some of these include Nerve, Saw, Squid Game and Nobody.
Nerve
Nerve was directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost. The film was distributed by Lionsgate Films in 2016. The film portrays the storyline of society being addicted to a 'truth or dare' style app where you receive money for what you complete. However, it gets twisted where people even die from the game as they will do anything for money. As a production group, we were inspired by their use of setting with the shipping container scene which she wakes up in. We adapted this location and put our own twist on it but decided that we like the visual aesthetic of the neon green lighting used and the location of a shipping container. The choice of this location that we use in our opening sequence creates suspense adding to the thriller conventions as the characters are trapped in this shipping container with no escape. It also is different from using a stereotypical attic/basement which is a common use of location in thrillers. The choice of lighting being neon was something we were inspired by to use in our opening sequence as I believe creates a more immersive and contrasting aesthetic. The use of green lighting also adds to the idea of greed and jealousy aiding the narrative of our opening sequence. In Nerve, a zolly shot is used in the shipping container scene. We want to use this in our opening sequence to help establish the location. The use of handheld shots in Nerve creates an uneasy, tense feeling for the audience which we will use in our opening sequence. We will also use a range of high angle/low angle shots to portray status and authority and a range of close ups on props aids the narrative just like in Nerve. The overall theme of Nerve relates to
our opening sequence due to the intense amount of suspense and anxiety conveyed throughout. Society's greed for money is another element which is similar in both where they will do anything for it. In our opening sequence, the audience see the victim find the money and then steal it from the villain portraying a sense of greed. This aspect of the film is something which inspired us as a production group as it is something the audience can relate to as it portrays modern day society with how common and normalised it is to have this tempt for money.
Saw
Saw was directed by David Hackl, Peter Spierig, Darren Lynn Bousman, Michael Spierig, James Wan, Kevin Greutert in 2004 and distributed by Lionsgate Films. Saw is part of a franchise where there is a psychopath who traps people but to escape, the victims have to perform gruesome tasks in order to escape/survive. The element of suspense is Saw is something which is very present in our opening sequence which is shown straight away through the use of our victim being tied up with barbed wire creating a sense of anxiety for the audience as well.The narrative of Saw is slightly similar to our opening sequence as we include a psychopathic kidnapper who kidnaps his victims and tests their victims limits in order to survive. We were inspired by the use of setting and location in Saw as the villain in the film often locks up his victims where they have no contact with the outside world. This creates an uneasy feeling for the audience as they have no escape.
The use of a shipping container in our opening sequence relates to this as our victim has no idea where he is and is isolated from the outside world. The use of mise-en-scene in Saw inspired our use of having a camera watch our victim combined with the use of torture tools. The costumes are similar in Saw where the victim often looks dirty and bloody. The use of hand held camera shots in Saw is similar to what our opening sequence will include to create a feeling of uncertainty. The editing techniques used in Saw is something which will inspire our way of editing our opening sequence with the use of quick cut away shots to create an uneasy feel for the audience emphasising this thriller genre. This, combined with the use of contrapuntal jazz music and the flashing images to make the victim feel uneasy are other elements of Saw which have inspired our opening sequence. There are scenes in this film where the antagonist locked away victims in a room with no escape. This is similar to our opening sequence as the victim is trapped in the same position but in a shipping container setting. The villain in the film Saw traps his victims in razor wire and other uncomfortable restraints which inspired our prop of using barbed wire in our opening sequence.
Squid Game
Squid Game is another similar product to our opening sequence. The Netflix show was created by Hwang Dong-Hyuk and was released in 2021. It is thriller genre with the sub-genre of action and portrays the story of a secret organisation who kidnap people who have very little money. The victims have to compete with each other in a game with a time limit where if you don't win you die but the winner will receive a prize at the end which is money. The time limit used in this game creates suspense and anxiety for the audience just like ours. The use of characters in our opening sequence is alike to ours with the use of having a secret organisation which kidnaps people. The link to money conveying a sense of greed in modern day society where in our opening sequence we have our victim tied to the chair but can see the
money which he eventually steals portrays this idea of greed and doing anything for money. The theme of being trapped and not being able to leave until the victim overpowers the villain is similar to our concept as well. The narrative of Squid Game shows that the victims need to win the game to survive to receive the money is very related to our narrative which has the same idea however it is not a game. The use of mise-en-scene in Squid Game was something that inspired our use of setting and location. The location in Squid Game where the contestants/victims are staying in a windowless room which has no contact with the outside world is similar to our use of a shipping container which has this same idea. The contestants are being watched by a guard on the door in this tv
show however we decided to use a camera instead which relates more to modern day society. We used a similar lighting effect of having titan tubes which are florescent. The use of sound in Squid Game very much inspired ours as when the contestants are in the room, there is light-hearted music playing which contrasts with the events going on. We decided to use jazz music as this dramatically contrasts with the events going on in our opening sequence.
Nobody
Nobody was directed by Ilya Naishuller and distributed by Universal Pictures in 2021. The film is about a man and his family who get burgled. He then kills them which lead him to get into conflict with a Russian crime boss. This film has a similar structure to our opening sequence where the start of film is the end of the film. There is also another feature of action/fighting which is in our opening sequence. In the film Nobody, as a production group, we were inspired by the characters where we likewise use a victim character who is still strong but waits to overpower the villain who is actually a lot weaker than he may appear. The victim portrays a sense of
calmness as if to normalise the situation. However, the villain is trying to antagonise the victim where the victim eventually takes control of the scene which is not expected. Nobody portrays a theme of addiction where the main character is addicted to violence throughout which is alike to our opening sequence as we use the same idea of being addicted and having greed for money and the violence used in our opening sequence conveys the action genre. We use a similar narrative where in Nobody, there is a married man who gets burgled and gets into trouble/conflict with a Russian crime boss who is hunting him down. In our opening sequence, we use a boss like character/villain who beats up the victim and makes him pay for something he has done. In the opening scene of Nobody, there is a similar sense of being trapped and having no contact with the outside world as he is in a dark setting which resembles an interrogation room. We were inspired by the use of costume in Nobody where the victim in this film is dressed in dirty ragged clothes. His makeup makes him appear bruised and beaten up just like our character. We use similar props of crowbars, hammers and also have the villain drinking alcohol. The use of sound in our opening sequence is also alike as we chose to use contrapuntal music to create contrast with the dark events going on. We are going to use similar close ups of the victims face to emphasise the damage done which will aid the narrative as well through the use of special fx makeup I will be doing on our characters to show the brutality of the fights.
All of these media products are thrillers where Nobody, Nerve, Saw and Squid Game also have elements of action just like our opening sequence. In our action thriller we have our protagonist being pushed to their limits whilst in a battle with the antagonist. The chain of bad events which will build tension and suspense creates our thriller genre. We will use a range of quick cuts, contrasting music, changes in the angle of shots, diegetic sound of breathing and our protagonist is in in the mercy of the antagonist. Just like in a lot of thrillers the antagonist will have a hidden identity which would be revealed in the rest of the film however in the opening sequence this will still be concealed. The use of close ups and extreme close ups on our protagonist character showing their emotions but also on the props will aid our narrative in our opening sequence. We will use quick cutting shots of the antagonist concealing their identity. Our use of mise-en-scene helps to aid the narrative where the location establishes the theme and our antagonist is dressed in dark clothes and the the protagonist is in everyday clothes. The makeup and special fx cuts and bruises will help portray the element of action obviously combined with our fight scenes. The use of weapons, having a motive and villains portrays the action conventions. I believe that the socio-economic status for our target audience does not matter as it appeals to range of different classes as it does not involve wealth or poverty. However, it does address the topic of having greed for money which is something that can be appeal to everyone regardless of status. I personally think that the audience demographic would be people from ages 15+ as it is a thriller-action opening sequence. This would stereotypically mainly attract men due to the violence involved and having two male leads. However sexuality is not relevant in our target audience as it does not address romance.
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