Analysis of the opening titles of 'Malice'

Analysis of the opening titles of 'Malice'


After producing my thriller opening, I evaluated it in the same manner in which I evaluated real life thriller openings at the start of the project.




Narrative Structure:
The first thing seen on screen is a car turning a corner and parking up at a house at night - the darkness instantly creates a tense atmosphere and makes the audience concentrate more on what is happening on screen. Slowly, a man - Nigel - gets of the car and approaches the front door of the house and unlocks the door, letting himself in. Nigel closes the door and takes a few steps into the house before cautiously stopping to take a moment to wonder where his wife is - this suggests to the viewer that he is a very protective and suspicious man. Nigel then throws his folder to the floor and begins walking up the staircase. After taking a few steps, the shot switches to an outdoor one with an unknown character (seen through a point of view shot) approaching the house. Nigel's feet are then shown walking up a few more steps before the mystery character is shown next to the front door. Nigel's feet are shown once more before the mystery character is shown slowly placing their hand on the door - suggesting that they could be a careful and nervous character. Nigel is shown reaching the top of the staircase before the mystery hand is shown opening the door. Nigel then approaches the door of his bedroom (where he assumes his wife is) and places his ear next to the door, again suggesting that he is a wary and cautious man. A shot from, the inside of the house then shows the mystery character opening the door more - although their identity is still kept anonymous. Nigel then opens the door to his room and steps inside before the mystery person is shown taking their first steps into the house. Nigel's face is then shown with a close up showing a shocked expression before the shot reverses to show Nigel's wife - Janet - hurriedly putting a notebook and a phone on the side which suggests that she was doing something that she didn't want Nigel to know about. The mystery character's legs are then shown walking into the house and slowly walking down the hall after shutting the front door. They then turn to a table in the hallway and pick up a pile of letters and discard all but the last one - which shows the names of the people in the house as well as their address - which they look at for a moment before throwing it back onto the table. They then turn and walk down the hall towards the door of the kitchen and carefully opening it and reaching inside to press the light switch before stepping into to kitchen. A point of view shot then shows the person looking around the kitchen before focusing on a small pile of booklets (passports) on the side. They then approach the side and begin discarding photographs and going through the passports before taking some money out of one of the passports and throwing the passport to the floor. They then quickly turn and run out of the house, slamming the front door behind them. The sound of the door slamming alerts Nigel upstairs, who turns and heads out of his bedroom with Janet following. They both reach the top of the stairs and stand there looking down at the front door, before briefly exchanging glances. The shot then focuses on the front door and the title of the film appears.  




Thriller Codes and Conventions:
The romantic hero model is used in my thriller as all of the characters shown in the opening are ordinary and do not behave in extraordinary ways. The question and answer model is also used as the viewer is made to wonder many things; such as; who is the mystery person? Why was Janet acting so suspiciously? Why did the mystery person steal the money? Concealment and partial vision were also used in my thriller as you never see the entire body of the mystery intruder, only their hands and legs. The transformed city model is also used as at first everything seems safe but there is a sense of danger by the end of the sequence.




Camera Work:
At first, a series of long panning shots shows the car approaching the driveway. A mid shot is used as Nigel gets out of the car, and a close up of his hand shows him opening the front door. There is then a low mid shot from inside the house as he enters and swings the door shut. A low close up of his shoes then shows him walking away from the door and an upwards panning shot flows into a close up to show Nigel's concerned face. Low shots then show Nigel dropping his folder and starting to climb the stairs. A point of view shot from outside then shows the mystery person approaching the house. A number of canted shots of Nigel's feet then show him continuing to walk up the stairs and a series of point of view shots show the mystery character approaching and opening the front door. A low shot is used to show Nigel approaching his bedroom door and a close up of his face shows him listening. Mid shots are used as the intruder opens the front door and Nigel opens the bedroom door, and a low shot shows Nigel entering the bedroom. A shot reverse shot is used as a close up of Nigel's shocked face is reversed to a mid shot of Janet sat on the bed. Point of view shots and low shots of the intruder's feet are used in this section to conceal their identity as they examine the letters and passports and sneak about the house, and a long point of view shot is also used as they exit the house. Mid shot are then used to show Nigel turning his head and leaving the bedroom with Janet following. Low shots show the parents at the top of the stairs before a close up of the front door concludes the opening sequence. 




Mise en Scéne:
During the course of the opening sequence of Malice, there is usually only one significant thing shown on screen at once which allows the viewer to concentrate more on the important aspects of the sequence and follow the story more easily - these include things such as the car at the start and Nigel inside the house. The viewer is also made to ask questions as a result of the use of concealment in the opening sequence of Malice as only the mystery intruder's hands and legs are shown on screen. The outdoor lighting is always dark which forces the viewer to concentrate harder and creates tension. 


Sound:
A tense piece of music plays throughout the opening sequence and helps project the film's suspense as the music gets louder and more intense as the action in the sequence starts to heat up. Sound effects in the opening sequence match what is going on screen such as the sound of the doors opening and footsteps.


Editing:
The clips are arranged in a linear manner in chronological order, but the narrative constantly switches between following Nigel and the mystery character to help tell the story. The clips are short and constantly changing which makes the atmosphere seem more tense. The opening sequence is arranged in such a way that it makes sense whilst still creating suspense and confusion.


Graphics:
Red lettering with a black outline is used on a dark background which stands out. The text always appears in the left corners of the screen so it is out of the way and does not interfere with the footage. The red writing is a result of the preferences stated by our target audience from the result of our questionnaire and symbolises a number or things such as death, danger, and anger. The graphics are super imposed as they are shown over the top of an image.