Opening scene analysis- Miss Georgiou

“How does the opening sequence of Halloween, inform the audience of the codes and conventions of a thriller film?”

The purpose of an opening scene is to introduce the audience to what is happening in the scene. It introduces the audience to the setting of the film, the main characters which will most likely include a killer and victims and the mise-en-scene of the scene, it will also include a clear narrative of what is going to happen so that the audience can understand what the film is going to be about. It will also include something that will grab the audience's attention that will make them want to carry on watching the film. The opening scene should incorporate and introduce the rough narrative of the film, this is shown by the cinematography, sound, conventions, editing and the characters in the film. 

The narrative of the opening sequence of Halloween includes a young female blonde girl who is alone in her house with a boy, this makes the audience feel more relateable to what is happening as it is a real life setting and therefore makes the audience feel more involved. The audience can tell that she is alone as her parents aren't there as the boy mentions that they are alone. This makes the audience feel more frightened for what is going to happen to the couple as they are building a relationship with the character as they feel more related to what is happening to them as they can see the whole storyline and can tell something bad is going to happen to them, as it is a code and convention to a thriller for something bad to happen whilst you are home alone. 

The cinematography used in the scene includes a point of view shot when the killer is walking outside and therefore shows us the true view of the character and reveals the true thoughts and feelings of the characters. There is also a high angle zoom out shot also, this is effective as it makes everything look still and vulnerable. This shows the audience the background of the house and is conventional to a thriller as it shows an emotional distance which makes the house look vulnerable which is where the death has taken place. This makes the audience feel more interested in what is going on as it has built an emotional relationship between them and the killer as throughout the film the audience will know that he's the killer and is witnessing all these deaths.

The sound that is included in the scene that helps build suspense for the audience , this includes when the bedroom light turns off which focus' the audiences attention and is conventional as it shows where the victim is. There is also contrapuntal sound when she is brushing her hair, this makes the audience feel more involved and makes the scene much more relate able as she is doing something they can relate back to and put themselves in her situation, therefore they feel more emotional when the character gets killed which is portrayed in the sound which guides the audience how to feel at the specific time. The clock starts ticking louder when the killer is walking up the stairs, this shows to the audience that she hasn't got long left and builds the suspense as they know something is going to happen and therefore feel to blame themselves for what is happening as they knew it was going to happen to the character. This is part of codes and conventions of thriller films as without eerie sound the audience wouldn't be filled with tension and sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for something to happen. 

The conventions to the scene  are created by the killer who has a hidden identity by wearing a mask, this is conventional to a thriller as his identity is a mystery and creates a eery atmosphere for the audience, it also makes them feel scared as its a fear of the unknown. The scene is also set at night with eery music throughout, this creates fear amongst the audience as it foreshadows that something bad is going to happen, especially as there is a blonde female victim who is likely to be the victim of the killer. This makes it conventional to a thriller as the victim is relateable to the audience meaning they will be more scared from the film as they would be able to imagine themselves in the characters position, grabbing their attention more. 

The characters in the scene include a killer who is in a Halloween costume which also highlights the fear of the unknown from the unknown identity of the killer, which is conventional to the thriller as it makes the stereotypical oblivious teenagers more vulnerable. This makes the audience feel and predict that something bad is going to happen as someones identity is being disclosed and that makes the audience wonder what that character is trying to hide.

 The editing builds suspense as the timing of shots vary throughout the scene which makes the audience more scared for what is going to happen to the victims as conventionally when the camera shots are slower there isn't any danger but when the shots are quicker it makes the audience's heartbeat faster and makes it harder to make out clearly what is happening in the scene. Throughout the scene you can't notice cuts in the scene and point of view shots are also used, this is conventional to a thriller as it makes the audience feel more involved in what is happening and therefore build a relationship with the characters involved.

The target audience for this clip would be 15 as it doesn't include too much gore but it uses different aspects to build suspense for the audience and keep them fearful for what is happening. The target audience can also be identified by the fact that the two teenagers are the same age as the target audience would be, this would make them feel more involved with what is happening and will be able to relate to what is happening better. The emotions that the audience will be feeling in this scene for the characters will that the audience will be worried for what is going to happen to the characters as during the beginning part of the opening scene it is foreshadowed that something bad is going to happen to the main character as the conventions build the suspense and anticipation for the audience through low key lighting, point of view shots and eery music.

Overall the sequence informs the audience of the conventions of a thriller well as it displays a large amount of the conventional aspects of a thriller scene, these include; a masked killer, low key lighting, eery music, female blonde victim, relate able setting, point of view shots and the fact that the teenagers are alone which makes them vulnerable. All of these aspects help to make the audience feel more involved in what is happening in the scene and make things more relate able for them as they will be able to put themselves in the characters shoes which will make them feel more scared.

This analysis of the scene will help me with my overall planning of my own thriller as it has helped me to understand that i need to include different conventions to a thriller, this is very important as it helps the audience know how to feel at certain points and helps set the atmosphere and scene. I also need to make sure i include a vary of different techniques such as cinematography, sound and editing styles, this will help the audience stay involved and interested in what is happening rather than being bored. This will help make my clip tension packed and making the audience sit on the edge of their seats wanting to know whats going to happen next. The key aspect i need to make as clear and easy to understand as possible is my narrative. Without this being clear my audience will not understand what is happening and loose interest in the rest of the clip, i have learnt this from watching and analyzing scream as it includes a very clear narrative which was portrayed well which has kept me (as the audience) interested with what is happening.