Todorov's Narrative Structure

Above is our narrative structure of Todorov's of the overall plot of Viral Terror, where by Jamie enters the story as a vlogger and the story continues to David Donnell being a known killer who once haunted the residents of the apartment block psychologically, and lives within each of their lives by following them. David records himself and uses CCTV footage which is then presented to the audience of his killings.

Moodboard

This is a moodpboard for what I found typically related to a psychological thriller, with references to location, character, previous film posters and covers and colour.

Which of the following pitches do you prefer?

Analysis of a horror film: A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Analysis of Other Film openings

Along with the analysis of horror film openings, I also analysed other film openings to see whether any similarities or differences to horror film openings would emerge, in addition to four I researched...

-James Bond, Casino Royale
-IT The Clown
-Ice Age
-Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Music - slow music with a piano playing, so the tone isn't as harsh as it what it would be with horror using a violin. We hear a heavenly like voice singing, with voices of multiple characters in the background.

Print Styles - There is no text in the beginning of the film of any cast members or what the film is even called, as its a Blockbuster film so it's easy to recognise by the opening of the film that this is a Harry Potter film as of its specific look.

Action - We can tell this film is a blockbuster film as it shows the logo of Warner.Bros. emerging from background of dark clouds. We see the text as a rusted form of metal therefore this could represent lifeless and worn. We then see the character's face looking neutral without emotion, portraying the sufferings faced by the character throughout the film.

Transformers

Music - slow music with a trumpet is playing to show some form of formality - links perhaps to the idea of military and war as military guards play trumpets during marches. We hear the lead character's voice briefing engaging the audience into the film, without giving too much away. This contrasts to horror films as we don't hear the villain speaking instead we hear them laughing, groaning or none which creates an uneasy atmosphere within the film. The pace of the music begins to get quicker when the character mentions "death" and talks about war, making the audience more interested and excited to see what the character is exactly referring to.

Print Styles - We seen no casts names like in Harry Potter at the beginning of the film however we see a bold, futuristic textual style of "Transformers" at the end of the character speaking which gives the audience a second to have some background context from the character about the story, and lets them picture what the film is about and then seeing the title of the film, reinforces the audience's thoughts.

Action - We can tell this film is a blockbuster film as it shows the logo of Dreamworks right before there is any images on screen. We see a shot of space and Earth and therefore we know this film has some aspects of the Sci-fi genre, as this cosmic scenery is typically associated with this film genre.

Cars

Music - At the beginning of the opening sequence we hear the character's voice speaking and thinking about his upcoming race which we see by quick glimpse of it on screen. Then suddenly it cuts into a song rather than a theme soundtrack. This is because as it's a blockbuster film company - Disney, it means that the song can easily gain popularity and create synergy between the film and itself by promoting one another. Especially as it's a children's film it means that children are more likely to remember the song and it stick with them.

Print Styles - There is no text in the beginning of the film of any cast members or what the film is even called. However text reading 'Walt Disney Presents' appears without the Walt Disney logo, which shows how well recognised the film company is and that they don't need to show their logo to help audiences identity who they are. Afterwards we see the text of the film to be like the sign on the front of a car, relating to the title and theme of the film.

Action - The sequence at first shows quick glimpses of a motor race, and then it later shows the main character emerging from shadows and we then see the character racing, amongst other cars. One of the cars however is knocked off the track but we seen no one getting hurt or even killed as this wouldn't be appropriate for a child's film, but would perhaps for a horror.

The Blind Side

Music - upbeat music with a light tone of piano's and clapping noise, which suggests the film is based on a positive story-line with mostly positive themes. This is because clapping is associated with happiness and congratulating someone, which reflects the success of the character becoming an NFL star later in the film. We hear a women's voice commentating an American Football game, however they aren't telling us about the story line. This doesn't give too much away to the audience apart from knowing that their will be some influence of American football in the film.

Print Styles - There is no text in the beginning of the film of any cast members or what the film is even called, as its a Blockbuster film. However the beginning of the film shows a production company named 'Alcon' but the film was funded by Warner.Bros so this could be a method of promoting a newly developed film institution so they eventually become as recognised as Warner.Bros.

Action - There is no shots of the character's on the first title sequence, apart from a game of American Football which keeps the audience guessing on what the film is actually about apart from its link to American Football.

Analysing Horror Film openings

As a part of research towards the task I watched a series of horror film openings to try and identify any similarities between the openings, and what typically is included within the opening title sequence of these films.

Psycho

Music - High pitched, quick sound of strings being played on the violin. Its as if the violin strings being played sounds like the blade of a knife penetrating into something, as its a short, sharp sound resembling this stabbing motion. However this could also portray the character screaming within the film, illustrating a sense of panic. The low pitch undertones creates an uneasy, threatening tension, along with the fast pace rhythm of the music representing the killer perhaps chasing their victim.

Print Styles - A bold font is used for the text on screen - perhaps resembling the knife's blade. The font quickly appears from various angles then cuts out to reappear again, portraying a stabbing motion of a knife. The font is also distorted which represents the personality of the character to be unclear, as they are a physco. Capital letters denotes the tone of a bold and serious tone.

Action - Lines enter quickly from various angles and disappear, which re-inforces this stabbing motion. Black and white highlights a serious matter and even severity.

Nightmare on Elm Street 1: 1984

Music - Slow sinister music with a sharp, yet low pitched tone, which could portray the character screaming. Then once the character appears we begin to hear the music gain a higher pitch, highlighting how the villain is unpredictable. We begin to hear the villain laughing and groaning to himself, and at this point the music becomes fast paced. From this we become concerned and start to panic as we feel uneasy hearing the character.

Print Styles - A bold font is used for the text on screen, with the colour red to portray blood. This also connotes danger and some form of a demon in many cases. The word "Nightmare" stands out more than the rest of the text so we infer that this has a significant meaning within the film.

Action - We don't actually see the character's face - Freddy Krueger, in the opening title. Instead we see him making some form of weapon, which we can infer that this has some significance in the film, and is a key part of Kruger's identity.

Friday 13th: Part 3

Music - High pitched music with abrupt violin sounds, almost like a "screech" noise of someone in danger, or suffering badly. It is fairly quick paced and therefore highlights the villain to perhaps be chasing the victim, which we could later on see in the film.

Print Styles - The font is red and bold and almost extends out of the screen using a three dimensional effect. Again like Physco this can portray a stabbing motion; especially as it is red portraying blood on the knife. Supported by the text coming from various angles on screen - the killer's actions are unpredictable. Additionally like a Nightmare on Elm Street the colour red has been used to illustrate danger and blood.

Action - We see a misty background on screen showing how it is an uneasy setting and in a dark place, which is hard to escape from. Along with this the first thing we see on screen is a dead body, which shows how ruthless the killer is within the film.

Insidious 2010

Music - Slow uneasy music makes you curious as to why its so slow with an unpredicted, subtle screeching sound - violin. This makes us very uneasy as to why its so slow.

Print Styles - Text is red like on a Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday 13th, with a gothic style font relating to a demonic presence within the film. At one stage the text appears from a shadow, as it could be showing the killer to come from the unexpected and unknown. The text burns at some stage within the credits, which portrays how the killer is uncontrollable like fire being out of control and a danger.

Action - Shot of the young boy sleeping in bed, showing how harmless he is. This causes us to be intrigued as to what his role is within the film and perhaps how he could emerge as the killer. There's various images of the boys family in their home in black and white, which creates a sinister feel surrounding the innocent family, and that they are in danger.

Scream 1

Music - Creepy voice on the phone and the phone begins to ring, along with a fast paced track and abrupt screeching noise, heard in some of the other opening credits highlighted above. These screeching noises are a combination with drums too, which could portray a have impact of a weapon hitting the victim.

Print Styles - Text is in red portraying blood seen in some of the other credits above, and danger. Its in capitals to show its boldness and a heavy feel.

Action - We firstly see a girl pick up the phone and she is nervous therefore as the audience we begin to share emotions with her before the film has even properly begun. A forest location has been used for the scenery, which is typical of a horror film for the place to be of the unknown.