Opening scene analysis - Miss Georgiou

Within this post I will be analysing the opening scene of Halloween released in 1978. Setting the scene to the audience is the intention and purpose of an opening sequence in the thriller genre, this enables the audience to engage and connect with the film and ultimately, gives an indication of what is to come within the film. Furthermore, the opening sequence gives the audience gives the audience the time frame of the film and therefore sets up an enigma. The clip I will be analysing is the opening sequence from the film Halloween.

   When looking at the opening sequence, I noticed the use of cinematography presented to the audience shown through the vital parts which occur within the clip. For example, at the beginning of the film there is the use of zooming in towards the house. This  leaves the audience focusing primarily on the house, leading them to believe that the house will be the main setting used throughout the film, and may also give the feel that something bad is going to happen inside of the house. This indication is proved to be correct when the female victim is murdered in her bedroom. The use of the zooming into the house builds up tension whilst the audience are left scared of the potential people that may be lurking within the house, therefore leaving the audience feeling on edge. This is suitable for the target audience as it created the fear and suspense in which the film intends to do as these are conventional aspects to the thriller genre. When analysing this clip I noticed another cinematography element which is a POV shot used throughout the whole of the opening sequence. There is use of a POV shot from the killer, which allows the audience to be put into the killers eyes whilst being given the feeling that he is looking for someone as they are shown around the whole of the house,creating the feeling that something bad is about to happen. The point of view shot of the killer emphasises the shot of the knife the killer picks up, which leads the audience to believe that someone is potentially going to be murdered and is therefore intended for the audience to feel scared and uncomfortable to what may ne about to occur. Cinematography is conventional withing thriller films, as it enhances the fear and suspense presented to the audience, which creates emphasis on certain aspects of the film therefore allowing the audience to fully engage with the film and characters.

Another element used within the Halloween opening sequence is the use of sound. Such as when we hear the diagetic sound of the clock striking. The clock symoblizes that the girls life is coming to an end, each strike of the clock presents the girl getting closer to death, ticking down the time of her life. This makes the audience feel worried and empathise for the girl, allowing them to build an emotional relationship with her, this makes them feel rather uncomfortable and fearful of the outcome. The use of the diagetic sound is suitable for the intended audience as it builds up a tenseful atmosphere, suspense is conventional to thriller films to make the audience feel on edge. Another use of sound used within this opening sequence is the parallel sound of the piano which is inline with the killers footsteps. This is done to make the opening sequence seem more realistic and therefore connects to the audience more as they are able to put themselves in the situation. Due to the piano reflecting the killers footsteps, emphasism is created on the fact that the killer is getting closer to murdering the victim which builds up the fear the audience will be felling. Off-screen sound is another sound used within the opening sequence, this is evident when the children are chanting to what seems to be a ryhme or possible a spell. This gives the audience an indiction that the films characters could consist of children which makes it seem more creepy. Furthermore, due to the audience not being able to see where the noise is coming from, they are left feeling vulnerable to what may happen, as it could be something completely unexpected which is proved to be right when it ends in the child appearing to be the murderer. Overall, sound is conventional to the thriller genre as we are given a wide insite of what is occuring within the scene, it also creates fear and suspense to the audience, ultimately making the film scary which is a main convention of the thriller genre.

The representation of characters is seen in the opening sequence. Being introduced to the main characters of the film makes the audience aware of why the characters are important to the opening and that particular moment. In the opening sequence we see a young, in love couple who are oblivious to the fact that someone is watching them from outside the window and then inside the house. It shows a typical feature of a thriller because ultimately the victim is unaware of what is going to soon happen and therefore represents the characters at this point as vulnerable and unknowing, therefore creating a sense of enigma. Leading the audience to feel scared and on edge for the characters. At the end of the opening sequence, the masked killer gains his identity when he takes off his mask. When his mask is taken off, we are able to see that it is a young boy. This creates shock for the audience as we wouldn't expect a young boy to be holding a knife and kill somebody. This makes the audience feel nervous and uncomfortable to what happened within the opening as the represntation of the character is seen to be too innocent and vulnerable to do such thing. Both representation of characters are seen to be effective as they are suitable for the intended audience. Because the victim is teenager, the intended audience are led to feel that this could happen to them and makes the sequence more realistic. Also, the young boy is not what we expect to see therefore builds up the enigma.

The narrative used within this opening sequence is something in which is typically used within the thriller genre. For example, we can see it is set within a house in a suburban area giving the impression something bad is going to occur within the house and that it is a main feature of the film. This makes the audience feel vulnerable as it is making them believe it could happen at any time to them and therefore make them nervous to what may happen next. Also, the fact that there is a murder within the opening sequence, makes the audience more aware to what may occur within the rest of the film as a murder is a strong convention of the thriller genre. This then builds up the mystery as to what may happen next.

Throughout the opening sequence there are conventions used. For example, there is low key lighting used up until the murder takes place and then it changes into high key lighting, the change to high key lighting is used to highlight what is going on within the scene and makes the audience focus on the murder. This also builds the relationship between the audience and the characters as we are led to feel sorry for her and also feel vulnerable on her behalf. A blonde, female victim is also another convention is used within the opening. This is typical of the thriller genre as she is portrayed as innocent and oblivious to her surroudings making it seem something bad will eventually happen to her. This leads us to wonder who the killer is, is he going to kill her? This builds up the enigma within the scene and allows the audience to build a strong relationship with the girl as we feel vulnerable for her and sympathise with her. Another convention used within the opening scene is the use of shock, suspense, surprise. The use of these three elements make the audience sit on edge and feel more involved within the scene. We are able to build relationships with the main characters within the scene. The suspense makes the audience feel uncomfortable to what may happen eventually. The shock is created when the killer is revealed and it turns out to be a young, innocent looking boy in which we wouldn't expect.

Overall, when looking at the opening of Halloween I have realized that many conventions are used to build fear and tension. I now know that I can use many conventions within my opening scene to create as much fear and horror as I can.