Saw is considered to be a horror but it does contain elements of a thriller (in the opening sequence). There are two types of horror, wet horror and dry horror. Wet horror is more grotesque and gory showing lots of bloods and guts while dry horror infers fear rather than showing it to the audience. This opening sequence can be considered as a thriller because of creating many enigma's, gore and blood isn't seen until later in the film. The key opening sequence we studied was Saw which is influenced by dry horror. Titles in blue over a black screen turn up with production titles ‘Twisted Productions’ showing instantly what kind of film it will be, the production titles is repeated again over silence. The production team then comes up in the titles with the film title with no score but asynchronous sounds of water dripping. The actual opening sequence starts with tracking instantly a key prop which is a key creating the first enigma, which is what will that key be used for?, a shot of a man who wakes up rushing through water and gasping for air, he screams out and someone answers him but the audience is not sure. This instantly creates an enigma, who is the other man who has spoke? What are they both doing there? The medium shot of the camera shows the lost and worried faces on each actor’s face. A long shot is used to display the situation that both characters are in, showing them chained up creating another enigma for the audience which creates more suspense. Why are they chained up? There is then a shot of a person who the audience sees is dead covered in blood showing two key props, a cassette and a gun again creating another enigma, why is that body lying there? What is the importance of cassette and the gun?
What is the purpose of an opening sequence?
The purpose of an opening sequence is to establish the mood or genre of the film, set the subject of what the movie will surround. The opening sequence does not have to be in linear order for instance in ‘London to Brighton’ the opening sequence starts in the middle of the plot. By doing this it will create several enigmas because the plot has already moved along creating confusion and questions for the audience which creates suspense and tension. Opening sequences are used to introduce main characters or to set up disequilibrium’s in terms of narrative. In opening sequences the plot, style and theme of the film is set up for the audience.
What are the common techniques and conventions?
There are many different techniques of an opening sequence, which introduce the key aspect of the film and build a narrative structure. Titles are used which will introduce the main cast and production team, titles are normally over black with the title of the film at the start of the sequence giving the audience an idea of what they are about to see and may cause tension and suspense. Use of non-linear order will create more enigmas as the characters are not introduced but just placed in front of the audience raising many questions about them. Red-herrings or dramatic irony may be used and introduced in the opening sequence to set up enigmas and create suspense which link with later events in the film keeping the audience interested. The colours of the titles used are also important to show to the audience the style of the film, for instance the use of dark colours will show the intensity of the film. Sound is a key aspect within opening sequence and it is normal for thrillers to have no dialogue at all in the opening sequences to create suspense. Scores can instantly set the atmosphere, or the mood for a particular character having an impact on how the audience feels to a situation or a certain character.
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