General v Slasher Opening Conventions

List of 10 key conventions 
GENERAL OPENING CONVENTIONS
Film idents - Normally 3 or 4. "I looked at 10 film examples and the average/typical amount of film idents was 3-4, here you are seeing the film idents sped up." 
"From the 10 film examples I looked at on average the film idents lasted between 5-10 seconds." The film dents are usually very simple (graphics on screen).

Titles: 
artofthetitle.com
Saul Bass
Font and font colour of titles signifies genre.
Order of titles:
1. Company names
2. Director
3. Roles/cast 
4. Director again 
Point out how titles used to be treated in older films.

Opening shot is usually an ELS, establishing shot (ES)
Use Psycho and Cherry Falls example for the opening shot and slightly beyond

Sound: 
Non-diegetic sound used (music). The genre is usually anchored through the non diegetic sound used. 
Voiceover used (from the main protagonist to provide exhibition). 

Characters: 
usually starts with main protagonist, not antagonist. 

Narrative:
Usually see the antagonist later in the film. 
Equilibrium established - Todorov's 5 part narrative theory  

Duration of film opening:
Usually 2-13 minutes.

SLASHER OPENING CONVENTIONS
Film idents - Normally 3-4 (contemporary slasher films but not in the old slasher films). The old slasher films usually either had no film idents or at least 1 (an old fashioned film ident though- like a title). 
Sometimes the film ident can be a different colour (colour customised to represent the film genre) e.g. in the example 'Friday the 13th Remake' and 'Cry Wolf'. 
The sound is consistent and there may be an audio bridge (non-diegetic music). The film idents can start with the combination of non-diegetic sound or the signature sound/music of the film ident itself e.g. 20th Century Fox. 

Opening shot usually shot at night, may be foreshadowing (e.g. the swing in scream) in the shot. 
Often starts with a chasing scene of the killer chasing the victim e.g. 'Cry Wolf', '

Lighting:
Colour tinted lighting used in film e.g. 'Cry Wolf' - blue tinted lighting also in 'Halloween'.

Sound: 
Denotation - Instruments used: violin (sad and mournful), cello especially, string music (e.g. Psycho), piano/keyboard (e.g. Halloween), metal music (e.g. Jennifer's Body, Bride of Chucky)
Connotation - 

4 ways of creating scare and threat through music:
1. To get the audience to hold their breath is to hold and sustain a note. 
irregular heartbeat
trying to get the audience to have an unsteady heartbeat. 
Mess with heartbeat- makes the audience feel intense.
physiology to psychology 
2. Really quiet music to all of a sudden really loud, harsh music (e.g. Halloween synth music that sounds like a scream, of when the light turns off in the bedroom that Michael is looking up at).  
3. Music/sound that imitates the heartbeat, faster notes makes the audience feel more adrenalised. 
4. Combining long continuous notes with fast notes (both at same time, starts with one or the other). 

Make note on Newell on DB horror blog.

Characters:
First character shown is usually the scream queen and the antagonist. (e.g. Scream- Casey and killer).

Narrative:
Antagonist emerges almost straight away. The false scare is usually in horror slasher film openings. 

Titles: 
Order of Titles:
Film title is usually at the end of the opening. 
Anchorage/Exposition (information) through titles to set the scene e.g. Halloween and Friday the 13th + Remake. 
Voiceover used through exposition e.g Jennifer's Body 

Cuts/Edit:
Cuts used with non-diegetic sound e.g. when the stab or hit is- dramatic sound used to create scare and threat.

Setting:
Usually in isolated spot (e.g. forest, middle of nowhere) to connote no safety, no help because the town/city connotes the opposite-safety. 

Film Opening Analysis 1: Friday The 13th Remake

Director: Marcus Nispel
Year of Release: 2009
Production Budget: $19m
Domestic Box Office: $65m
UK Box Office: $3.1m
Production Companies: Platinum Dunes
Distributors: New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures
BBFC Rating: 18
MPAA Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Slasher
Actors: 
Jared Padelacki
Amanda Righetti
Derek Mears
Travis Van Winkle

POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE:

This film opening has influenced me to make my idents red at the start of the film opening and to have an audiobridge over my idents. I want to experiment with making all the idents red with an audiobridge just like the idents are in this film opening. Also, I really like and am influenced by the non-diegetic music (audiobridge) of this film opening because it is so suspenseful and spooky. This is what I want and need in my film opening.

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This is the Paramount Pictures ident. All the idents in this film are red to connote the horror genre. Also, over the three idents, there is an audiobridge of scary, drone non-diegetic music; this helps to build the suspense/tension and further connote the horror genre to the audience.




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This is a typewritten font to connote an old fashioned theme/vibe. Also, the fact that these titles are white on a pure black background connotes the simple, harsh and serious drama of the film. 







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Order of Titles
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1. First Production Company & Second Production Company present
2. In association with Michael Bay
3. A third production company production
4. Setting (June 13th 1980)
5. Actor 1
6. Actor 2
7. Actor 3

Film Opening Analysis 2: Halloween

Director: John Carpenter
Year of Release: 1978
Production Budget: $325k
Domestic Box Office: $47m
Distributors: Compass International 
Production Companies: Compass International, Falcon Productions
BBFC Rating: 18
MPAA Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Slasher
Actors: 
Jamie-Lee Curtis
Donald Pleasence

POSSIBLE INFLUENCE

I like the stalkerish shots of the sister and boyfriend in this film opening and I want to include this style of stalkerish shots in my film opening somehow. Also, I may want to include similar kinds of non-diegetic music in my film opening, I really like the non-diegetic music at the start of this film opening.

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Before this film institution is shown, spooky, scary non-diegetic music starts playing. This font starts as yellow but then changes colour to red to connote that the film is a horror (the red connotes blood) and is a sans serif, upper case font. The first titles shot is of the film institution: Compass International Pictures. 


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The font colour starts yellow then changes to red just like the first one. This happens throughout all the titles (colour changes from yellow to red). All the titles are in upper case to emphasise the film's dramatic, horror, spooky mood/atmosphere; this gets the audience engaged already. 




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A pumpkin appears on the left side to connote that this film is set during halloween (pumpkins are used only during halloween) and that the film is set around the idea of halloween.



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The pumpkin has gradually zoomed in through every change of titles to connote the prominence and importance of the pumpkin (signifier of halloween) to make the audience very aware that the film is about halloween. The fonts are still red to connote the horror genre.


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This title denotes to the audience the setting once again but this time the setting has changed to in time





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The opening establishing extreme long shot is of a house to establish the setting/ setting the scene to the audience and to connote that the main event (killing) is going to happen here.






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This long shot is seen from someone's view (Michael's) making it a point of view shot and is handheld/shaky to connote that someone is watching these two characters and that something is going to happen to them (these shots are trying to get the audience to feel uneasy and scared). The fact that these two characters are the first to be shown normally connotes that these characters are the main protagonists but since this film is a slasher horror, it actually connotes that they are the scream queens/scream kings. 

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You can see in this shot the person who is stalking/following the couple (Michael) opening the drawer and taking out a knife. You can see the sleeve this person is wearing which denotes to the audience that this person is wearing a halloween outfit (a clown outfit) to further connote this halloween setting.





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This person picks up the mask from the floor and puts it on so the audience can see what this person sees through the mask. This is also a point of view shot. 







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The audience can partially see here a naked woman (the girl from the couple) with blood pouring out of her connoting that this person in the mask has just stabbed/killed her. Also, the fact that this woman is naked further connotes that she is the stereotypical scream queen.




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This is a crane shot to connote the end of this scene/the film opening. It is somewhat countertypical to reveal who the killer is at the start of a film. Also, the audience is being given some context now that these new two characters have entered the scene. It is clear that these are the killer's and the dead girl's parents. So the context given now is that the girl from the couple was supposed to be babysitting her younger brother but instead she invited her boyfriend to come over so they could have sex while her parents had gone out. This is somewhat normative behaviour of teenagers, therefore allowing the audience to relate with the teenage couple (Uses & Gratifications theory).  
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This next shot creates a kind of bridge between the film opening to the main body of the film. The title is the exact same as the title shown at the start of the film opening; so it is being denoted that the main body of the film is set in the same town as where this girl in the film opening was killed. The audience are provided with exposition of the setting again.

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This title is the same as the title shown at the start of the film opening but instead of saying 1963, it says 1978, so 14 years later. Also, instead of the date saying Halloween, it says October 30. This has been done so that there isn't much emphasis put on Halloween because the events about to happen at the start of the main body of the film are not related exactly to Halloween.
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Film Opening Analysis 3: Scream

Director: Wes Craven
Production Budget: $14m
Year of release: 1996
Domestic Box Office: $103m
Foreign Total Box Office: $70m
Distributors: Dimension Films
Production Companies: Woods Entertainment
BBFC Rating: 18
MPAA Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Slasher
Actors: 
Neve Campbell
Drew Barrymore

POSSIBLE INFLUENCE

I really like the main title sequence in this film opening (in this case there is just one title, the main title). I would like to make my main title sequence a lot like this, by making the main title stretch out upwards then stretch inwards. Also, I would like to include the diegetic sounds that are in this main title sequence such as the telephone sounds, the screams and the slams of when the words stretch back inwards sharply/harshly.

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The title size goes from big to small in bold on a black background, twice once in the colour red then in the colour white. This suggests that the word scream has great significance within the film suggesting that there will be a lot of screaming going on from the characters but also from the audience. Also the colour of which it is being displayed in also connotes bad atmospheres where red can be seen to connate danger and white can be seen to connate ghosts. Within the opening of Scream it is only the films name which is shown which may express how low there budget was in terms of not having a company presenting the film. However it could express how quickly they want to get straight to the action.This is an interesting example of a sans serif font, almost a bubble font, with some elements of the font itself (not just colouring/animation) carrying horror connotations that we'd usually expect from a serif font.  



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The opening shot is a close up of a telephone ringing, connoting that this telephone is a major signifier of what the film is about and is going to be an object continuously used throughout the film. The fact that it is not a wireless telephone and that it is quite retro connotes the setting also, that it is set in the 1990's.


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The first character is shown in the second shot here, Normally the first character shown would be the main protagonist but in slasher films, the first character shown is usually the 'scream queen/scream king'. Also the fact that she is blonde, is wearing make up and is attractive further connotes that this character is the scream queen.



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This shot is an extreme long shot of the house this girl is in. This shot has been used to show that someone had just been sitting on the swing because it is swinging slowly. This creates/builds suspense for the audience.




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This shot is constantly referred back to during the film opening because every time, the popcorn packet seems to be rising even higher. The fact that this shot is referred back to a lot makes the audience feel slowly more tense and scared each time there is a shot of it getting bigger. The rising popcorn foreshadows and connotes how Casey (female character) is feeling as the killer keeps calling her.

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A few shots later, the audience sees a close up of the same popcorn cooking but at a dutch angle. The popcorn packet has also expanded a lot more from the shot before of the popcorn. This dutch angle close up shot has been used to create and build even more suspense than the first shot of the popcorn; this is due to the fact that the shots have been getting closer on the popcorn, making the audience even more scared. This shot also makes the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy as if something really bad is going to happen next.
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Semiotics

Signifier - is a single detail we pick out which we think has symbolic meaning. 
Denotation - description of what we see or hear.
Connotation - the symbolic meaning of these factual details.
Intertextuality - The meaning of one text is tied to another, earlier text e.g. to fully understand 'Scary Movie' you'd need to have seen 'Scream'. This can cause contested readings.

Narrative Theories
Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition - The juxtaposition of the refined Voldemort and Harry Potter is an example of juxtaposition. Any mutually exclusive pair form a binary opposition (male/female, rich/poor, rural/urban). Binary opposites are a key device for generating conflict and thus drama. When placed together, we can talk of binary opposites being juxtaposed - paired together to emphasise the contrast; their difference.
Polysemy/Anchorage - the coexistence of many possible meanings for something. E.g. 
Commutation Test - 
Preferred/Contested/Oppositional Reading -

Barthes' Narrative Enigma - Mysterious elements within a text form narrative enigma (information is being held back from the audience), needed in any drama. 

Propp's 7 Recurring Character Types 
From the study of fairytales:
1. The Villain (antagonist) - struggles against the hero. 
2. The Donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
3. The Helper - helps the hero in the quest. 
4. The Hero - reacts to the donor, saves the day, weds the princess. 
5. The False Hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess.
6. The Princess or Prize - the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and father cannot be clearly distinguished. 
7. The Dispatcher - character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off. 

Todorov's 5-Part Narrative Theory

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset.

2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.

3. A recognition that there has been a disruption.

4. An attempt to repair the disruption.

5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.