Past student work analysis- Group 4

NO WAY OUT

Micro areas in relations to the genre:

Camerawork
The opening sequence has several close ups, especially on the main character. For example, the camera focuses on her face, then her hands and back to her face. This makes the audience ask questions like "what's going on?" "why is she starring at her hands". This also adds to the suspense of the thriller and builds up anxiety. A panning shot is used at the beginning of then sequence to inform the audience that it's a thriller because it's a lonely place with trees which is commonly found in thrillers. 

Editing
The editing technique used in the opening sequence tells the audience it's a thriller when the main character was walking to the top of the street. She was walking quite slow which added to the tension and uncertainty of the thriller. The length of the opening sequence is in black and white which contributes to the depressing state of the characters.

Sound
The sound in the opening sequence is non-dieagetic which informs the audience it's a thriller. The people's voices and the police siren suggests something has happened (perhaps a crime). The sound of the bells gives the atmosphere a graveyard feeling and this keeps the audience on the edge. The distorted creepy sound effect used when the girl was walking towards the gate indicates some form of danger is about to happen. At the end of the sequence the ambient sound of the gate closing itself suggests the main character is trapped.

Mise-en-scene

The main noticeable prop used in this opening sequence are phones. For example, in the middle of the extract we see the second character sitting down using her phone, then she suddenly looks at the main character and looks down. The use of low key lighting contributes to the dull depressing atmosphere which is an element usually used in thriller films. The location used at the end of the sequence was abandoned which suggests the main character has most likely committed a crime (probably killed someone).

What was good about this opening sequence- An element admired whilst watching this opening sequence is the intense level of mysteriousness. The level of suspense keeps the audience interested and wanting more whilst the characters are successful in revealing little about the narrative. The level awarded by our group for this sequence is a level 3.
What needs improving- the opening sequences flows smoothly, but is very slow, the main character drags on the first few minutes giving it a slower pace than necessary, another event could have been put in to make it more intriguing and for more questions to aris. 

There could have been more dialogue within the opening sequence explaining more of the current sitution, allowing the audience to ask more questions rather than just just a few: who is she? where is she going ? why is she looking at her phone? there could have been a little more interaction with the audience giving them an insight on what is going on.