Evaluation of first draft and devlopment plans

Evaluation of first draft and devlopment plans


After several audience feedback focus groups and various feedback we decided to make changes to our orginial plot and attempt to create an opening which would be easier to follow and still incorpirate our basic initial plot ideas. The main prop and feature of our opening, the tape, will still be the fuel for the action in the opening. We took all feedback and had a 2 hour session in which we evaluated our first draft a final time before decifing which changes would be made to the plot.

We intitially chose which shots we wanted to keep in the opening and decicded which shots did not work and should be removed from the opening. We kept the characters and added one memeber of the cast after returning to our orginal casting line-up to decided which actor we would like to include in our second draft as an extra character in the opening. 

Our plot incorpirates the character of Mirabelle and Larreh more and removes the dialogue from the protaganist Kathleen's role as we felt this would result in a more effective sense of ambiguity. The plot still includes Kathleen returning home before having an unexplained tape appear. The modified plot focuses on the movement of the tape rather than what is on the tape as this allowed us to play around more with shots and character development. 

The tape is about to be listened to in the plot leaving the audience to assume what has happened and what the significance of the tape is rather than knowing what is on the tape. We decided this would be a better route for our story as it is more interesting and will translate better on film rather than becoming a very confsuing sequence. 

We have created a script and storyboard which illustrates our modified plot and will be modifying previous planning posts to ensure they corelate with the new plot. 

Post Planning and Replanning Focus Group

Focus Group

After completing a focus group post draft one and planning I decided to review my findings to ensure my new plot reflected audience feedback and their preferences. 


 

Audience Research Response - Initial Ideas

Audience Research Response - Initial Ideas

After creating our first audience research survey to receive responses regarding our initial ideas, Chloe and I evaluated the responses and progressed to create a storyboard and narrative that had been developed from audience feedback. Below is my evaluation of the initial feedback :

Evaluating previous student's thriller work - A Grade

'Invite' - Johnny Hawes -A Grade

Video:

The video is titled 'Invite'and awarded an A grade when submitted, the grade was achieved through the complicated camera work, editing, use of sound and mise-en-scene that depicted an interesting and effective narrative. 

The establishing shot introduces a kettle as a prop illustrating normality and ambiguity of the narrative along with the first titles which are positioned in various areas of the frame in a sans serif, bright blue font. The bright text colour is unconventional suggesting the narrative will not follow the usual pattern of thriller films. 

The titles continue with various insert edits illustrating a separate line of action, the shots of someone completing everyday activities like making breakfast are seen in colour whilst the tension building shots of someone approaching the house are filtered into black and white translating that this line of action poses a threat to the protagonist in the other shots. The change in colours allows the audience to assume the narrative varies with the colours. The use of this filter makes the shots seem somewhat clumsy but makes the scenes easily distinguishable. The variations of shots (including over the shoulder, long shots, close-ups etc) are interesting but sometimes edited in a way that seems excessively shaky, this could be a preference found from audience research but I personally think this translates as messy on screen. 

The video uses non-digetic music of a low tone which is prolonged, a typical convention of a thriller film as it builds anxiety in the scene. The use of this music is effective and could be used as inspiration for my own thriller opening. There is one line of dialogue found in the opening used with a black and white mid and long shot of one of the characters. The ambiguous narrative does not give the audience any hints as to which character is the protagonist or antagonist. This is seen in unconventional thrillers to intrigue the audience and keep a consistent suspenseful atmosphere.

In terms of mise-en-scene in the scene high key lighting is extremely evident to create a casual setting that is echoed through the location of a suburban house with mundane props like mugs. The costumes of the characters reinforce the casual meeting between the characters and the relaxed vibe between them, as this suggests the characters have a life that is saturated with social normality the audience begin to question how the narrative will change their lives. The editing here consists of all straight cuts of a fast pace to suggest the action is building and a significant segment of the narrative is approaching. 

The enigma narrative is carried on during the last scene of the opening, a pan is used here effectively communicating the use of weaponry to the audience. The editing using ellipsis of time as the gun shown on the table leads to one of the characters who appears dead in the living room. The narrative does not explain how this happened because of the edit that was used, however, the editing and shots allow the audience to assume it was the other, character who is seen casually in the kitchen. 

The opening finishes with the movie title 'Invite' in a conventional overlay with a zoom onto a morbid handwritten page with repetition of the word 'dead'. The thriller opening as a whole is effective as it builds tension and keeps the audience on their toes with the use of enigma narrative. The titles are intriguing and though camera quality is questionable the conventions of thriller openings are evident and utilised in a unique way showing the candidate utilised research and audience feedback well to create their final piece. 

Evaluating previous student's thriller work - B Grade

'Extinct' Dan Bates - B Grade

Blog :

The research on the candidate's blog is of a decent quality and ensures the candidate has a clear grasp of the conventions of a thriller opening. The evaluations of various openings are somewhat detailed and clearly fuel inspiration for the final product produced by the student. The research addresses camera,editing,sound and mise-en-scene were effectively utilised in the planning of the opening, this is explicit in the final product. 

Though the research is evident it could be much more thorough and address even more aspects of opening and their effects. The audience research seen on the blog is detailed and efficiently discovers which aspects of thriller films people would like to see utilised in the end product however more detail and questions would have been useful. 
Video :

This is the final thriller opening scene produced by the candidate which opens with titles illustrating the production company information and logos before fading to black. A fade up from black shows the establishing close-up shot of a dirty boot and leg which is the focal point of the shot. Over the top of this ambient, bird song and heavy breathing are used to depict the outside setting and desolate location. 

An insert of another production company is placed between the establishing shot and the first close-up of the protagonist. The shots all utilise a fade to and from black transition and the ambient sounds to illustrate that the ambiguous location has not changed. The ambient sounds are effective as they increase the tension of the film and compliment the ambiguous shots,one area that could improve is the transitions between scenes as there are many fades to black that do not hold the attention of the audience well.

The close-up shot of the protagonist reveals to the audience that the character is confused and does not understand their predicament. A reverse zoom is utilised to show the costume of the protagonist and the location they are in much more clearly. The audio of the bird song and heavy breathing are still heard alongside occasional crackles mirroring the sound of television static, this with straight cuts is used as a transition utilising the ambiguous conventions of thriller film openings.The use of ambiguity is extremely effective and utilises the narrative well however the edits are somewhat clumsy and boring.

A short fade to black introduces a point of view shot that clearly depicts the protagonist attempting to find their way out of the woods they have awoken in. This shot utilises the abandoned location and sound effect of heavy breathing to illustrated the anxiety of the character who is still ambiguous for the audience. A series of cutaways are used to create the effect of the character walking through the woodland before a handheld shot follows the protagonist further through the location. 

The dreary lighting and empty location show the eery and cold atmosphere of the plot hinting at the unknown narrative. A close-up of the character then introduces the first piece of dialogue which is layered over the ambient sounds already found in the scene. 'Who's there ?' being the only dialogue found in the scene and still unanswered creates a large amount of tension and ambiguity thus grabbing the attention of the audience.The use of handheld camera and various shot types does make the sequence more interesting but decreases the overall quality which also effects the audience's attention slightly.

Straight cuts then lead to an over-the-shoulder shot of an unknown character who appears to be watching the protagonist in the scene. As the shot ends with the assumed antagonist exiting the scene a fade to black is utilised to create a backdrop for the main titles of the film. The titles of the film appear in a white font that is similar to that used in 'Se7en', the juxtaposing title is mysterious and continues to create tension with the use of elongated percussive music. 


'Extinct' being the title of the thriller supplies the audience with no information regarding the narrative thus increasing anxiety and interest. The juxtaposed titles are very interesting and create good amounts of tension but the music could be more intense. 

The music leads into a series of shots depicting various aspects of the film location. The shots are edited in a fast pace which mirrors the increase in the music's tempo. Various inserts are used to create a jumping effect in the film between the close-ups of parts of the location. 

More titles are seen over,these shots in the same font, utilising a blood red colour hinting at deeper narrative. The music increases in tempo slightly and utilises percussion and bell-like sounds to build the tension of the scenes. As the shots are ambiguous they create an intense notion to delve deeper into the narrative in order to find out how the protagonist got to the unknown location. The ending shot is a zoom of an unknown object, the audience cannot clearly make out what the object is as the editing is extremely fast paced however it is evident that the focal point is sinister. 

The ambiguity of the scenes increases tension throughout and captures the attention of the audience well. The location is depicted well in the sequence as there are various aspects of the location utilised in the sequence but there could be faster paced editing to create even more tension in the scene.

Analysis of thriller openings -Silence of the lambs

Analysis of thriller openings

Silence of the Lambs Johnathon Demme- 1991


My analysis is on the prezi below :

The clip I used :




The titles read :

A STRONG HEART/DEMME PRODUCTION
JODIE FOSTER 
ANTHONY HOPKINS 
SCOTT GLENN
'THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS'
TED LEVINE
ANTHONY HEALD
BROOKE SMITH
DIANE BAKER
KASI LEMMONS
CHARLES NAPIER
TRACEY WALTER
ROGER CORMAN
RON VAWTER
DANNY DARST
FRANKIE FAISON
PAUL LAZAR
DAN BULTER
CHRIS ISAAK

Analysis of opening sequence - Blow Up

Analysis of thriller openings

Blow Up  Michaelangelo Antonioni- 1966


My video analysis of the Blow up opening sequence :

The titles I used :


The titles read :

PREMIER PRODUCTIONS CO.,INC PRESENTS 

A CARLO PONTI PRODUCTION

BLOWUP

STARRING VANESSA REDGRAVE / SARAH MILES / DAVID HEMMINGS

WITH JOHN CASTLE / JANE BIRKIN / GILLIAN HILLS / PETER BOWLES / VERUSHKA / JULIAN CHARGIN / CLAUDE CHARGIN

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY CARLO di PALMA

MUSIC COMPOSED BY HERBERT HANCOCK

"STROLL ON" FEATURED AND COMPOSED BY THE YARDBIRDS

DRESS DESIGNER JOCELYN RICKARDS

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CLAUDE WATSON

SOUND RECORDIST ROBERT GREGORY

LOCATION MANAGER BRUCE SHARMAN

CAMERA OPERATOR RAY PARSLOW

CONTINUITY BETTY HARLEY

MAKE-UP PAUL RABIGER

HAIRDRESSER STEPHANIE KAYE

SOUND EDITOR MIKE LE MARE

DUBBING MIXER J.B.SMITH

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR JACKIE BREED

DIALOGUE ASSISTANT PIERS WAGGARD

PHOTOGRAPHIC MURALS BY JOHN COWAN

ART DIRECTOR ASSHETON GORTON

PRODUCTION MANAGER DONALD TOMS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER PIERRE ROUVE

STORY BY MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI

INSPIRED BY A SHORT STORY BY JULIO CORTAZAR

SCREENPLAY BY MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI AND TOMIO GUERRA 

ENGLISH DIALOGUE IN COLLABORATION WITH EDWARD BOND

PRODUCED BY  CARLO PONTI 

DIRECTED BY MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI

Analysis of opening sequences - Psycho

Analysis of thriller openings

Psycho  Alfred Hitchcock - 1960

Psycho is a classic thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which follows the journey of Marion Crane, a secretary who has stolen 40 thousand dollars from her employer. Marion attempts to travel home and run away with her boyfriend but finds herself at the Bates motel for a night of rest during a heavy rainstorm when things take a sinister turn. 

The film opens with a fade up from black with a sans-serif white font creating a juxtaposition, the title states the composer of the music used in the film and is centred on the screen. This title is pushed off the screen using a transition that looks almost as if the text has been sliced and pushed out by grey bars. This transition foreshadows violence especially involving knives and a stabbing which is an iconic scene of the film. There is incidental music over the top of the titles which continue in this format for the title of the director, the music is extremley tense and builds in tempo and fluctuates slightly in the high pitch. The music has little percussion and utilises string instruments to create a screetching tone to give the film a surreal and gripping ambience. The music makes it obvious that the film is going to involve many conventions of thriller films and high levels of anxiety.

The music then fades as the black title screen dissolves into a longshot pan of an American city, the location of the film, as the dissolve takes place the music becomes calmer and remains focused on the strings to create tension and apprehension. The music is of an old hollywood style but consits of various pauses to create a jumping effect creating anxiety and tension even though the music is of a slow pace. The pan over the city allows the audience to see the modern city below suggesting those who live there are of good social status and have various luxuries. The next title seen is a white sans-serif font that states the city which the audience can see 'Phoenix, Arizona' the font stands out well on the black and white footage of the city ensuring the audience are aware of the importance of the location. The pan is layered with another pan shot of the city, this shot dissolves into the original creating what seems like a jump in footage that then continues to pan above the city to reveal the next title. 

The next title shows the date when the narrative takes place,' Friday December the eleventh' the title is still placed over a pan shot of the city in the same text style. Like before a layered simillar pan shot of the city is used the create an abstract jumping effect as the pan continues. The music remains the same relaxed hollywood style music that creates some tension, the pan begins to zoom on a certain building in the city scape. As the next title appears over the zoom, this title has the same format as the others and informs the audience of the time 'Two-forty three p.m. ' another superimposed dissolve is used this time as a close up on the building's window. The shot zooms into the low angle of the window illustrating the open window and blind before a straight edit of another zoom. The shot is an extreme close-up of the window and tracks into the window giving the effect that the camera has entered the window. 

As the camera enters the apartment building extremely lowkey lighting is evident as basic furniture is seen in frame. A pan is used to illustrate the room before two occupants are introduced. A midshot of the female protaganist laying on her bed and the male protaganist standing next to the bed shows the intamcy of their relationship. In terms of costume the couple appear to be ordinary young lovers, the woman wears silky lingery and has her hair styled in glamorous curls while the male appears to be half dressed wearing only suit trousers. The interior of the apartment is basic and suggests the couple do not have many luxuries in life. The shot only establishes the female's face but the only character to speak is the male. His dialogue is short as he adresses her 'You never did eat your lunch did you?' .

   

Following this a close-up cut away of the lunch the male is referring to is inserted before a straight cut illustrates the male in a mid shot. He is at the foreground of the shot without a shirt on which suggests to the audience the couple have just shared a moment of passion. The relationship is obviously significant to the narrative as the couple are their intamcy is established in the first scene of the film. This is a long shot which shows the female addressing her boyfriend 'I should get back to the office, these extended lunch hours give my boss excess asset.' this dialogue during a two shot suggests that the female protaganist has a negative relationship with her boss and has little care for her work. The shot then further explores the intamcy of the couple's relationship as the male kisses the female protaganist whilst he suggests that she tells her boss she's 'taking the afternoon off'.

The various camera work, editing and music makes it clear the thriller will be suspensful and consist of tension and crime whilst establishing the protagonists and their relationship which is key to the narrative.

Clip Used:

Analysis of opening sequences - Pulp Fiction

Analysis of thriller openings

Pulp Fiction  Quentin Tarantino - 1994
Pulp Fiction is an iconic thriller film which incorporates violence in a comedic way which is illustrated through the interpretation of typical thriller film conventions. The film follows the journey of two hit men who are sent by their employer, a mob boss, to collect a suitcase that has been stolen. Their boss also requires one of his hitmen to take his wife out whilst he is out of town. The film consists of a series of bizarre events. 

The opening begins with a fade up to black which displays a definition of the word 'pulp', the definition is central on the screen with a white serif font illustrating to the audience that one of the two definitions will be relevant to the further narrative and is significant to the film as a whole. As the definition is shown to be taken from an American source it is evident that this is the location of the film. This shot dissolves into a mid two shot illustrating a couple sat in a diner which is stereotypical of American pop culture. 

The location that is utilised in the opening is not regularly associated with thriller films, therefore suggesting  to the audience that the thriller will not be conventional. The couple converse in the scene in a continuous edit of the stable two shot. The male protagonist is British which is identified his accent and dialogue, his costume also suggests he is not from the area as he is wearing a Hawaiian style shirt that is suitable for hot climates and commonly associated with holidays. 

His dialogue contrasts to his costume and body language, he smokes a cigarette in a relaxed position with open posture which is not typically paired with a headstrong character. As his dialogue includes various swear words and topics that he would not discuss with strangers it is obvious that the couple are friends and comfortable with one another resulting in  a scene with no tension.

A close-up, high angle, point of view shot is then used to depict the waitress who has prevented their conversation to develop. This suggests that the conversation is private and should not be heard by others as it would reveal the crime the couple intend to commit. It is odd and therefore comical to the audience that the couple are discussing a matter like this in a public place where anybody could hear the couple's plans for crime. Tension is created through the female protagonist's reaction to the waitress as she dramatically thanks her for the coffee and her services, this could suggest she is not mentally stable and can convince others she is an ordinary, harmless individual. This shot illustrates the woman is attempting to hide her previous topic of conversation from the waitress and her possible mental instability is reinforced by the quantity of sugar she consumes in her coffee and her body language which appears workout at the time. 

Once the waitress has left the couple's table their conversation resumes now tackling the subject of robberies which the male protagonist appears to be well informed and passionate about. This is made evident to the audience through his change of position which was laid back previously but advances to him leaning forward whilst the female holds his gaze thus illustrating their interest in the topic and the privacy they require for their dialogue. A shot-revers-shot edit is used alongside an over the shoulder shot of the male protagonist developing his points regarding robber. 

This then returns back to the original two shot format before establishing another shot-reverse-shot sequence which then incorporates mid-shots of the protagonists reinforcing the importance of the dialogue in the sequence which gives some background on the crimes the protagonists have committed before. These shots also show more of the diner location suggesting to the audience that the diner has few customers who are extremely ordinary and seem to be insignificant to the narrative as the depth of field used is shallow and does not show the other customers clearly.

The dialogue confirms to the audience that the couple are a team who regularly commit crimes together, the male protagonist describes his theory regarding crimes the couple could commit 'it would be easier than what we been doing.' This conversation's importance is emphasised through the dialogue and camera work allowing the audience to assume the couple's crime sprees will be a significant part of the narrative. 

Various aspects of the scene suggest the female protagonist has an innocent aspect to her personality and is not as cold as he partner. Her caring side is made evident through her dialogue when questioning the male's story during the shot-reverse-shot sequence (1.10-2.00) as she asks 'did they hurt the little girl?'. Her innocence is also reinforced as she states she's 'not going to kill anybody.' Her body languages become timid and innocent as she leans her head onto the table. The dialogue foreshadows her role later in the narrative and the line allows the audience to make their assumptions about the woman and her actions. 

The next scene incorporates the first non-static shot as a mid-shot of the man, a zoom is used as the male protagonist begins to discuss killing someone when in a situation when this would required. The zoom illustrates the significance of this statement and suggests this will be incorporated in the further narrative. The ignorance of the man and his criminal nature is reinforced when he discuss places the couple could rob stating 'too many foreign' that run the shops. This allows the audience to understand the negative portrayal of the male protagonist and how his personality will effect the narrative. The lighting is also darker on the man, though this lightning appears to be natural and effected by the blinds in the dinner the lighting suggests the male protagonist is also dark in personality especially when compared to the female who seems somewhat innocent.

The shot returns to the over-the-shoulder format as the female suggests the couple take 'day jobs' in order to depict his dismissal of this suggestion the male protagonist shouts for more coffee. The man addresses the waitress in an aggressive manner contrasting to the female which again reinforces the difference in their personalities and social skills. The narrative progresses with the couple pondering the idea of robbing the 'coffee shop', this scene incorporates various shot-reverse-shots of the protagonists with mid-shots that are both central and off centre.

The couple's plan becomes more significant as they lower their voices when deciding if 'this coffee shop' is their next target, they use their experience to conclude that the diner is 'not expecting to get robbed'and the male protagonist explores old tactics praising the female for her contribution in past crimes. The scene increases the anxiety of the audience as they become more aware of what is to follow, the soft incidental music playing in the diner increases in tempo as the couple becomes closer to each other. 

As the couple agree on a plan the male protagonist reaches for his weapon and places it onto the table, this is seen in a close-up shot of the gun drawing the audience's attention to the weapon showing that the robbery is underway and that the male is taking the lead. The male then devises the roles before the two become the closest they have been with the first romantic gesture seen in the shots. As the pace of the scene increases a close-up is used to show the couple kiss each other over the table before announcing their love for each other. This shows their softer side and confirms their relationship along with dialogue using the nicknames 'honey bunny' and 'pumpkin'. 

The scene then ends with the male protagonist who stands up in the booth declaring the robbery whilst holding his gun. A tilt is used during a long two shot as the female unexpectedly stands up and takes control at the front of the shot,pulling out a gun never seen before shouting at the public in the diner 'I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you'. This dialogue, camera work and editing illustrate the complete contrast of her innocent personality depicted shortly before this scene where she claims 'I'm not going to kill anybody'. This illustrates her dual personality and mental instability which was hinted before, the unexpected turn allows the audience to question the narrative that will follow and explicitly shows the film will have many unexpected aspects. 

At this point, the iconic music begins during a freeze frame of the couple as the titles begin to roll as seen below in the title sequence :

https://youtu.be/LI1yt38A9-E

The titles begin as the last scene is freeze-framed in an orange serif font with the name of the production company. These titles then continue on a plain black background still in an orange font with some logos of production companies. The director's name then appears before the music increases slightly in tempo as the film's title 'Pulp Fiction' scrolls up the black screen. The orange tones stand out from the black background creating a huge contrast. The title uses the largest font so far and freezes on the screen as the title reaches the centre. 

The title then begins to fade in a reverse zoom style as the actor's names appear onscreen over the orange title in a white sans-serif font. The actor's names appear one by one and are clearly the focal point of the screen as they are central and separated from the other colours on screen.

The next piece of text says 'co-starring' again in an orange font, this appears once the film's title has disappearing into the black screen completely. The use of scrolling titles displaying the names of minor actors in the film is unconventional and illustrates the entire atmosphere of the film that does not utilise the typical conventions of thriller films. 

The music increases in speed and pitch as the titles introduce groups of names as they are not as important and are not households names that the audience will recognise. The music then becomes distorted like someone is interfering with the waves or is changing a radio station. Another track is then heard as the titles finish in a credit style, which remains until the ends of the credits and ends with a fade.  

The titles read :

Miramax Films presents

A Band Apart

and Jersey Films Productions

a film by Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Ficition

(Actors) John Travolta

Samuel L. Jackson

Uma Thurman

Harvey Keitel

Tim Roth

Amanda Plummer

Maria de Medeiros

Ving Rhames

Eric Stoltz

Rosanna Arquette

Christopher Walken

and Bruce Willis

co-starring

Paul Calderon

Bronagh Gallagher

Peter Greene

Stephen Hibbert

Angela Jones

Phil LaMarr

Robert Ruth

Julia Sweeney

Quentin Tarantino

Frank Whaley

Duana Whitaker

Casting by Ronnie Yeskel C.S.A (and) Gary M. Zuckerbrod C.S.A

Music Supervisor Karyn Rachtman

Costume Designer Betsy Heimann

Production Designer David Wasco

Editor Sally Menke

Director of Photography Andrzej Sekula

Co-Executive Producers Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein (and) Richard N. Gladstein

Executive Producers Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg (and) Stacy Sher

Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary

Produced by Lawrence Bender

Clip Used:

Analysis of thriller openings - Fargo

Analysis of thriller openings

Fargo Coen Brothers - 1996

Fargo is a thriller that does not adhere to the stereotypical set-up of thriller films, this is due to the film style of the Coen brothers and the development of the conventions found in thriller films. Throughout the opening of the film, it is not obvious that the film belongs to the thriller genre, the use of the enigma code allows the audience to question how this will affect the film's narrative. 

The opening sequence begins with the production company details which is a typical convention of opening sequences however this then fades to a black screen that features a short paragraph explaining to the audience that the plot is based on a true story and informs the audience that some characters involved have died. By using this extract in the opening the audience is already questioning what the narrative consists of as it is established the film will have a chilling atmosphere. 

The paragraph also establishes the location of the narrative and the year in which it is set. The screen is black and has a white sans-serif font giving a dramatic reverse block effect, this is accompanied with medieval style music with a dark tone and no percussion. The tension between the audio and visuals is evident throughout the whole opening sequence and is introduced during the first screen. This tension automatically establishes questions for the audience as the mood created is explicitly intriguing, dark and mysterious setting up the tone for the narrative. 

                    

The screen then fades up from black to a white-grey coloured screen with the beginning titles over the top in a black sans-serif font. The editing used during the opening titles are dissolve transitions before a straight cut continues the titles to a highly exposed long shot of an isolated bird flying around the sky. The music over the background of these shots is the same as the medieval style music used in the previous screen, as the music is drawn out it is clear the opening of the film will explore little aspects of the plot. As the black font on white, screen is juxtaposing and dreary, drawn out music that builds in tempo is used it is obvious to the audience mystery and suspense will be significant aspects of the narrative. 

This shot is then layered over another washed out scene that illustrates a car exiting the location, the headlights of the car are clearly seen as the car disappears through the snow. Diegetic, ambient sound is used of birds squawking to illustrate the empty location and desolate city. The colours used are harsh and unforgiving giving little information regarding the narrative, the medieval music increases slightly in volume until it reaches a pause as a straight cut is used to introduce the next shot and new music. These shots do not explain any part of the narrative to the audience which creates tension and suspense whilst developing interest, for the audience who want to find out more. 

The shot then switches to a long shot of the car approaching, the shot is clearer aesthetically and gives more information regarding the narrative. Along with this, the music develops into a much more percussive track still including medieval undertones, the music has a massive orchestral tone with bell ringing giving a mysterious and somewhat triumphant ambiance. The shot follows the car that is towing another vehicle, this then turns the shot into a close-up of the car as the shot is static but the subject is moving. In terms of mise-en-scene the low-key lighting, desolate location ,that appears miserable in weather and atmosphere, and the car that seems to be beaten up interests the audience as there is no clear narrative established in the shot, therefore the audience begins to question what importance the car has in the narrative.  

Following this, the title of the film appears in a black sans-serif font on an off-white coloured background, the title is placed directly in the centre of the screen illustrating the importance of the title which the audience begin to question as they do not know how the title relates to the film's narrative. This title then dissolves into a mid shot pan that follows the next step of the car's journey, the car is continuing to be towed through the location. The lighting is somewhat brighter in these scenes which are edited using straight cuts. The music increases in tempo and volume as the scene progresses into a longshot that illustrates the car disappearing into the distance. 

The music begins to acquire a Western style that would be commonly heard during a stand off in Western film, the music ends with an elongated drum roll. As the scene transitions into a fade to black the music begins to fade with the drumroll into the next scene. As the colours have not changed from the monochromatic tones and greyscale visuals tension is evident throughout the opening titles, the audience is made aware of the atmosphere of the film and the importance of the dreary location in the narrative. Though no aspects of the narrative are made clear through the opening so far the audience are gripped at the mystery and want to find out the significance of the opening. 
             

The next scene in the opening introduces the city and changes the atmosphere of the film automatically through the use of colourful  brightly lit neon lights and various warm street lights. The shot is static and shows the car seen previously driving through the snow littered city. The sound in this scene is ambient including the sound of the car driving through the snow, the sound then merges into the music that is heard in the bar, it begins quietly as non-diegetic sound before a straight cut shows the protagonist enter the bar. This long shot depicts the protagonist entering the bar, the audience assumes the character was driving the car which was in the previous scene. The bar is full of mainly middle-aged men drinking and playing snooker, the bar has a dark interior and low-key lighting is used to illustrate the stiff and somewhat mysterious atmosphere.

The incidental music increases in volume, the music is a country style creating an informal vibe, there is little tension in the scene as straight cuts are used to explore the bar and customers seen there. A mid shot illustrates the protagonist locating the people who he is meeting at the bar, his expression is apprehensive before continuous editing is used to illustrate the meeting he attends at the bar. His associates have contrasting expressions as they watch him approach illustrating their frustration at the protagonist, it is evident during this shot that they have the power in the situation creating tension throughout.

Various close ups in a shot-reverse-shot format are used to illustrate the conversation between the protagonist and their associates. There is a low angle point of view shot of the protagonist taken from the point of view of one of the seated characters, the shot illustrates the protagonist's expression when being addressed by the other characters exemplifying his weak and timid personality. In terms of costume, the protagonist is wearing a suit suggesting he dresses formally for working possibly hinting he is from a business orientated occupation and is of a usual working background. 

Contrasting to this, the other characters who are seen with the protagonist are wearing costumes that consist of jumpers which are casual and weather appropriate for the location of the film. The costumes suggest that they are not employed in a similar way to the protagonist inferring they are from a different social class or have a questionable employer. It is already obvious to the audience that the protagonist does not have the power in the meeting however, this is also reinforced by the use of dialogue in the scene. 'Shep said you'd be here for seven thirty, what gives man?' Carl addresses Jerry directly and interrupts him multiple times, the tone of his address is imperative and harsh, the colloquial dialect shows that the meeting is informal and that Carl does not regard Jerry as an important figure who is above him. 

Jerry apologises to Carl when it is discovered he mixed up the time he would meet Carl, 'I'm sure sorry.' the dialogue used illustrates Jerry's naivety and apprehension. The tension in this scene is made evident through the dialogue and positioning of the characters which is shown through camera shots and angles.

An over the shoulder long shot illustrates the table the characters are sat at and the tension between them. There are many empty bottles on the table suggesting that Carl and his associate do not take the meeting seriously and are attempting to intimidate Jerry by asserting their strength and masculinity through alcohol. The shot suggests Carl believes Jerry to be a liability and his long pauses in between shot-reverse-shot edits and dialogue illustrates his impatience. The edits are continuous shot-reverse-shots of an average pace that begin to speed up suggesting the tension between the characters increases suggesting to the audience that there will be friction between these characters further into the narrative as they carry out their plan. 

Titles Read:
Polygram Filmed Entertainment presents
In association with Working Title Films 
Frances McDormand 
William H. Macy 
Steve Buscemi 
Harve Presnell 
Peter Stormare 
FARGO 



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