Genre: Mystery

Conventions of a film opening sequence

1. Conventions of a Film Opening Sequence2. The purpose of a film opening is to entice the audience into carrying on watching a film. A film opening should also establish characters and genre. Directors can do this in many ways.3. Flashback A scene that the narrative back in time usually to a key event for a couple of minutes or the whole movie.4. Planning of landscape/establishing shot. This is used to set the scene and inform the audience where the film is taking place.5. Narrations Easy and effective way of getting the audience involved straight away. Technique used to give background information on what has been happening or who the characters are, giving the audience an insight so the rest of the film make sense.6. Action scene A fast paced opening to a film attracts the audience straight away and will make them want to carry on watching. As well it automatically shows the genre of the film if included in the opening.7. Chase scene Similar to the action scene, also catches the audience's attention. It involves them as they will want to see what happens after the chase.8. Production Logos At the start of most films they will always show the production or distribution logos. If the film has a high budget the logo will be adapted to reflect the genre and storyline of the film.9. Title sequence All films have title scenes too, these show the cast and production team for the films. The titles can be a way of building up suspense and can show the genre of the film.10. Animation To portray the beginning of the film in a creative way and visibly show the difference between the film itself and the opening sequence. e.g. Juno11. Compilation of photographs For example Blue Valentine which is a romantic film, shows photographs to portray to the audience the theme and the relationship between the couple.12. Narrative content This includes the context (Where/when/who). As well the pace of the narrative increases as level of engagement increases13. Soundtrack This is the use of tone, volume, and tempo, which will generically start quiet and slow-paced.14. Some directors prefer to have an unconventional opening to portray a sense of mystery or giving the film an artistic edge.E.g. Lack of credits, Lack of establishing shot, Main characters are not introduced.

DefinitionThe mystery genre is a type of fiction in which a detective, or other professional, solves a

crime or series of crimes. It can take the form of a novel or short story. This genre may also

be called detective or crime novels. The purpose of a mystery novel is to solve a puzzle and

to create a feeling of resolution with the audience.

Genre: Mystery

General PlotThe main plot, or key events, in a mystery novel or short story focuses on the crime that

needs solving. The protagonist, or central character, is the detective, and the rest of the

characters are usually the suspects.

The plot of a mystery begins with an inciteful action, such as a murder, and uses suspense

to draw the reader into the story. As the protagonist, the detective works to solve the mystery

and often finds him or herself in danger. Each suspect and his or her motives are examined

in the story.

Analysis of SE7EN (Mystery genre)

SE7EN

A credits sequence that has itself been credited with reviving the great tradition of elaborate

credits sequences, the indelible, unsettling opening titles of “Se7en,” David Fincher’s

meticulously tailored serial killer procedural, have prompted many grubby, psycho-chic

imitators over the years. Fincher hired a designer named Kyle Cooper to take on the

sequence, but he was very much involved in its conception and execution. Cooper watched

the film numerous times then set out to create a mood piece that would engage with the

theme and plot of the film in both abstract and concrete ways. Capturing the insular,

obsessive quality of the killer at the center of “Se7en” was the driving aesthetic force: distant,

mechanical beats clang and squeak on the soundtrack — the song is Nine Inch Nails’

“Closer” re-mixed by Coil and Danny Hyde — as though rising up from some dank, isolated

cellar. Preceded by an image of a sleepless Morgan Freeman’s detective setting a

metronome ticking, the credits suggest the X-ray opposite of a morally ordered mind. Fingers

are shaved of their prints and then the nasty, bandaged versions scribble out a psychotic

manifesto in nightmare flashes alternated with the actual titles, which were hand-scratched

onto the film stock and then edited together in layers to pulse with jittery light. Even the

names seem like fragments recovered from some unspeakably dark corner of the

subconscious. The sequence took two days to shoot and five weeks to edit (those stubby

fingers don’t belong to Kevin Spacey, either, a choice that upset Fincher at first). Artisan

work, not animation, achieved the texture and impact of this sequence; the grime of that toil

feels embedded in the film itself.

Genre: Mystery

Iconography & Conventions

Expected Conventions of your chosen

GenreRecognisable Characters: The hero is usually a super smart private detective (e.g. Sherlock Holmes) or persistent policemen. There is normally a very mysterious villian whose face is rarely seen and whose identity is only revealed at the end of the film.

Genre: Mystery

Props: Murder outline; magnifying glass; police tape; police uniform; murder weapon; cars; torch; glasses; guns; blood; evidence. Narrative Structure Most Mystery films follow a common structure. The Hero is going about their day to day life. Then a crime is committed and something expensive is stolen or a really rich guy, who owns loads of land and a big house, is found dead. The hero (usually a police detective or private detective) either hears about the crime or is approached by a source (The princess's father) and sets off to solve the mystery. The hero will then go out of his/her way to catch the criminal even if others think they are mad. A few more people than die as the film progresses. The villain normally makes slight mistakes that the Hero picks up on. The criminal is always caught (The princess) and equilibrium is restored.Another way they can be structured is where a group of people are in an isolated area. Strange goings on occur and the group of people attempt to find out the cause D.I.S.T.I.N.C.T Don't Ignore Setting Technical Iconography Narrative Characters Themes Setting There are many different settings for Mystery films. They can be set in remote countryside towns with a low population density that are miles away from the nearest phone. Pretty much anywhere where a small group of people can be cut off from the world.

But they can also be set in large cities for films based around murder mystery and crime.

Good settings for mystery films can be: police stations; big cities (typically London); big country houses; small countryside houses; deserted areas; isolated areas; forests; Heros home; city streets; forensic labs; hospitals; warehouses; docks; lakes; fields. Themes Good vs BadJustice ConfusionPersistanceMysteryInterrogationCrime always failsMistaken Identity Close up shots or ECU shots are used to show people's fear when they discover a dead body or their anger when their most prized possession has been stolen.

High and low angles to either show a potential murder victim as vulnerable and weak or to show the killer as strong and in control.

If the film is set in the recent past then the costumes and props will have to be matching to the period.

Fast paced music and moving camera shot are used when the Hero is chasing a suspect. This creates tension as the audience doesn't know if he will get away or not.