Opening sequence analysis of Halloween

Introduction:

The opening sequence shows the audience what characters are going to be in the thriller film and what it will contain such as who's the protagonist and who's the antagonist. In thriller films there's always a victim and normally is a female which shows the audience that she's in need of someone saving her as she is in distress. It slightly explains to the audience as to what the plot is going to be like and how the suspense is going to be created throughout the sequence. An opening sequence shows the audience what the film is going to be like throughout, shows the audience suspension within the first part of the film. Opening sequences always reveal how the rest of the film is going to be, for example if there is a murder in this beginning of a sequence then there will either be a hunt to find who did it or the murders will continue.

Narrative:

The narrative of this film is based on a young girl on Halloween sitting in with her boyfriend- he eventually leaves, leaving her home alone on Halloween night; This is conventional itself as on Halloween scary things are suppose to happen. The opening sequence has a fast scan of the setting, but from then the final moments of the opening sequence is slowed down to create suspension. The killer slowly enters the home and stabs the innocent girl leaving her to bleed to death. Towards the end of the film the killer reveals his identity which was hidden throughout the sequence. This is conventional as it's an enigma, a sense of mystery was created throughout the sequence until the ending. The narrative is based on a young boy who kills his sister for an unknown reason which creates an enigma for the audience, this is conventional to the thriller genre because it's creating a sense of unknown.

Soundtrack:

The first element I will be analysing is Sound. For example in the sequence there's tense music throughout which creates suspension, this makes the audience wonder what is going to happen as tension is being built up. Moreover this creepy soundtrack was used as it's key for an opening scene to have dramatic and clear plot. Tense music is conventional in a thriller film as it builds up anticipation until the killing eventually happens, which will have the audience at the edge of their seat.

A creepy piano soundtrack is used on top of the suspense music this is to create anticipation up to the point where a new character is shown in the sequence( the teenage boy). The piano noise is to show that the killer is walking towards the room where the girl is, but the piano music stops as does the killer does, this is showing the audience that the creepy piano soundtrack is representing the killers footsteps. This is conventional to the audience as it's create suspense. This makes the audience think that something bad is going to occur.

A bell begins playing when the killer is walking up the stairs which would show the audience that the girls time is up and that the killing is about to occur. The bell is symbolising to the audience that it's time for the killer to kill. This makes the audience think of what is going to happen, even though there's a soundtrack of a bell we don't necessarily understand why it's used, which creates a mystery to the audience.

There's a sudden screeching noise when the killer goes back to the bedroom window and sees that the bedroom light has been switched off, this gives the audience an alert of when he can go and begin his killing. The sudden alert shows us that something bad is going to happen very soon because of this particular sound. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the boy and the girl in the room as they are unaware of what is happening downstairs, you feel scared for them both.

Cinematography:
In this sequence cinematography is used at the beginning of the film which is a point of view; this is used for when the killer is entering the home. This is to put the audience in the killers shoes which creates anticipation, It will begin making the audience think what is going on and who the killer is as he/she is anonymous to the audience which is conventional to a thriller film as it's an enigma.

 In this sequence A zooming out effect is used at the very end to show the audience that this part of the film is over and also to take away attention from the main character(The Killer). As something bad has just happened, it's now going to be ignored until further on in the film. When the zoom-out effect is happening his identity is also being revealed as the clown mask is being taken of his face, a zoom-out effect is added to this as it will leave the audience in shock as you wouldn't normally see a young child as a killer in a thriller film.

There's a high angle shot when the killer is stabbing the girl, this shows the audience that there is someone more dominant and stronger that's in the scene. The shot is showing the audience that the girl is weak and incapable to defend herself as she's the victim in this sequence. High angle shots highlight the weakness of a victim which is what is happening in this part of the sequence. This shot is where the killer has a mask on and you can see through the holes of the mask, which isn't very clear but however it is a high angle shot this is to signify the killers dominancy. Even though it isn't very clear, you can still tell it's a high angle shot.

Editing:
At the very beginning of this sequence Tracking is used this is to show the audience the setting in detail, even though it's being rushed. It's rushed as it begins showing the audience a mystery as to why everything is happening quickly, it jumps from just a normal night to a tracking of the setting to showing the characters, which would show the audience that something is going to happen to either the innocent girl or the teenage boy.

 A kuleshov effect is used towards the end when the mask is pulled off of Michael's face revealing his identity, It's used as his holding the knife in his hand with dripping blood on whilst his parents are standing there in shock just staring at him, this shows the audience that a murder has occurred/ something bad has happened and there is more to come later on in the film. This creates tension as the 3 of them are just standing there, this is conventional to a thriller as suspension is being created.     

Linking of section is used when the camera looks at the victims and then at the bedroom, this shows the audience where the killing is going to happen, also it shows the killer where to go, as he's watching there every moment, which is creepy and makes the audience eager to know what the killer is going to do next and how he is going to do his killing. This editing technique is conventional as it has a change of shots which is one of the many conventions in a thriller opening.

Before the killing happens, the girl see's the killer and screams out his name saying "Micheal" unaware of what he is about to do, her reaction to him standing there holding a knife shows the audience that she is scared and confused, as she doesn't know why he would do this to her, due to her being the innocent one in the sequence. A reaction is key as you get to see the victims reaction to the  Killer before being stabbed to death.


Representation of Character's:
The character's are all portrayed in different ways.For example the Innocent girl is dressed in a white blouse which can symbolise her innocence and also her weakness, The girl is a normal teenager boy is messing about on Halloween, she's doing nothing wrong that could anger someone to kill her. This is how it always is in thriller films, the most innocent character always gets killed.

The teenage boy is shown to be immature and silly as he uses the mask and plays round with it whilst laughing and making jokes( This particular mask is used later on in the sequence).

The killer in this sequence is shown to be mysterious as he/she is hiding their identity until later on in the sequence. His full identity is shown when he walks out of the house as the camera rotates the killers mask gets taken off it soon becomes un-conventional to a thriller genre as the killer was a child, children in thriller films are normally seen as the innocent and pure ones.

Codes and Conventions of a thriller:
Low key lighting is used inside and outside the house, which shows the audience that it's a thriller film as it creates an eerie atmosphere throughout the sequence which will make the audience feel wary, as the killing could happen at any time. The low key lighting makes the audience more engage also more eager to know what is going to happen. Suspenseful/tense music is used when your put in the killers shoes until the killing happens, this makes it scarier and more suspenseful for the audience.

 The iconography in this sequence that is main, is the mask and the knife. The mask portrays that identity is going to be hidden in the sequence, we first see the mask when the teenage boy is messing about with it, so it shows us the killer was watching them when the teenage boy put it down somewhere. It's conventional as a mask means hiding something, which is a mystery.

 The knife is one of the main iconography elements as it's the weapon that is used, using a knife is also conventional as in a thriller film weapons are always included.  The victim in this sequence is an innocent female, who is seen as weak and vulnerable, this again is conventional because a female victim/victim is always included in a thriller.