Thriller Research

Spy Thriller Research

In our group we decided to make an opening scene to a spy thriller so to get a good understanding of spy thriller title sequences,  I have analysed 2  title sequences of 2 spy thrillers to try and get a understanding of the type of atmosphere the opening titles should create for the audience.

James Bond- Quantum of Solace

Analysis

This opening sequence starts with company logos these indicate to the viewer who the film is produced by, whilst these logos are being shown a very dark deep string melody is being played this leads into the first camera shots, the use of brass in the non diagetic music adds fear to the sequence.
The opening shot is a tracking shot over water this sets the scene, there are then strait cuts to close ups of a Aston Martin and other cars whilst the edit constantly jumps back to the initial opening shot which is zooming in to the mainland. the music suddenly comes to a dramatic climax with the introduction of diagetic sound from the cars.
This starts a sequence of various shots showing the car chase, this involves a lot of diagetic sound used to intensify the action which is taking place. The diagetic sound then starts again when the cars are shown in a long shot leaving the tunnel, this giagetic sound once again uses brass which could represent the male role in the sequence.
After this the action intensify s which is shown in the change of shots and editing, the camera shows long shots of the action followed by reaction shots this is also impacted by the edits  which are stait cuts and change very fast.
i have only analysed the sequence up to two minuets because this is the lenght of futage that we will be filming.

in the opening two minuets no titles are shown only the production logos at the begining, this fits in with the James bond theme as James bond films famously have long graphical title sequences which the start can be seen in this clip from 4:11.
in this title montage all the actors and important figures like directors and production staff and all other heads of crew are listed

Mission Impossible

Analysis

This opening sequence is different from the one above because it does not use a opening scene as part of the title sequence instead it uses various clips from thought out the film showing different situations this involves the use of quick edits. the edit constantly refers back to the initial shot of the burning fuse this could signify that time is running out which relates to the genre and adds tension for the audience. there is no use of diagetic sound as every shot takes place in a different section of the film , so instead the titles use non diagetic sound track which is the original theme for the mission impossible TV show. the non diagetic sound track uses a jazz orchestra to create a lively sound which catches the audiences attention and keeps them interested, the tack comes to a climax with a the brass section on a long note which signifies the end of the sequence.

The opening titles only names the production company, the director, the main character and the film title this does not offer a lot of information to the audience but on the other hand does not bore them with names of all the cast and crew.
The titles appearer in the middle of the screen slowly getting larger and  moving towards the audience where as at the same time the same text is scrolling in the background giving the text a secret agent type of feel.
At the end of the sequence the word mission appears letter by letter before seeing a shot of the fuse for the last time then the whole title appears like an explosion.
The font used looks very rounded and matches the font in the computer shots linking the text to the shots being shown of the film.


Film Genre

Our group have decided to create the opening titles for a spy thriller this is a sub genre of the thriller genre. spy thrillers deal with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John Le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as James Bond) most spy thrillers are based around a government agents and the activity between governments or more recently the interaction between government services and terrorism. our film will be based around the government and terrorist idea but in the opening scene the audience will remain clueless this gives the rest of the film time to set a plot leaving very few details explained at the start.