8/10/2019 Final Destination 3 Film Analysis

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Rikhel Trivedi

Final Destination 3 (2006)

The generic conventions of a typical thriller movie have been shown in Final destination 3 (2006).

The narrative of the film is part of the Final Destination sequel. The third instalment of the series is

about a group of students go celebrate by going to a deadly rollercoaster and a character has a

vision of the character all dying by going on the rollercoaster, luckily a few stayed alive by listening

to the character but as the film progresses death itself seeks to those who escaped their fate.

The start of the trailer, the trailer shows credits which summarize what has happened in the

previous films. The trailer follows the generic conventions of a thriller movie as throughout the

trailer and the opening sequence both build on tension grabbing the audience attention. The trailer

grabs the audiences attention at a slow pace by showing all the characters allowing the audience to

gain an idea about the different characters personality shown in the beginning of the trailer . As the

trailer continues the more and more the trailer follows the typical conventions of a thriller film such

as the dis-equilibrium on how it all started off celebrating and then going through a nightmare withall the best friends meeting death.

The opening sequence of the film is where the characters are in a rollercoaster and the protagonist

is having a vision and is uncomfortable with going on the rollercoaster, she then gets out and has a

fight as she delays the queue for the ride a few other friends come off as they some of them get

kicked out of the rollercoaster since the argument gets out of hand. At the beginning of the opening

credits is a normal typical thriller convention on how to display the opening credits as the directors

have first presented the production company which is the New Line cinema, this is presented with a

slow paced non-diegetic sound allowing to build tension and a suspense within the audience.

The cinematography used in the opening sequence of the film where they are all in the rollercoaster

and are about to start the ride. A two shot is used when Wendy Winstead (protagonist) has just had

her vision, the audience can tell she is uncomfortable through her facial expressions which the two

shot allows the audience to see. The two shot shows the relationship between her friend Kevin

(donor) and her. As the employee at the ride says Here we go Kevin gets more and more excited as

the ride is about to begin. The camera zoom into Wendy showing a close up of her face in tears

implying that she is scared and concerned of everyone as she has saw a vision of them all dying on

this ride. A close up is also used to show the protagonists boyfriend curious and concerned as he

wants to get off the rollercoaster but nobodys listens to him, as the scene progresses fear is built

within the audience as the audience have already seen the worst possible scenario through Wendys

vision so therefore the audience would be curious as a common convention.

The mise en scene used in this film including this scene and the opening credits make the audience

thrilled on what happens in the film as the action makes the audience fear and feel for the

characters as death comes to them. The colours used in the opening credits are colourful and bright

relating to the location of the entire film in the credits. In the opening sequence especially the

premonition scene the colour red is used to through the different characters for instance the

rollercoaster was red, the seats were protected by red guards and some of the characters had red

clothing. The colour represent a generic convention of thriller and horror movies since the colour red

in this movie connotes death and danger as when Wendy has a vision of everyone dying on the ride

blood is a typical convention as blood leads to death and in this scene the colour red eventually

leads to many deaths and many more to come in the film. By having Wendy (the protagonist) wear

red it relates to the whole concept of how red implies that everywhere she goes there is danger and

8/10/2019 Final Destination 3 Film Analysis

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Rikhel Trivedi

death. The low key lighting as the fair is held in the evening and night which could build on more fear

for the characters after Wendy has had her vision. Low key lighting is used to show the different

images that are in the opening credits, which helps to build up the suspense in the audience.

The sounds in the trailer are non-diegetic which creates and builds up tension to the audience as

directors of Final destination follow a generic convention by displaying the production company andthe opening credits in a slow pace with intensive score music. As the opening credits continue the

volume of the score music increases foreshadowing to the audience that the action, meaning the

film is about to start. The sound used in the premonition scene is mainly diegetic characters

dialogues, this helps to portray to the audience how death doesnt start off anything, the characters

themselves and the unsafe ride causes the deaths themselves. As Wendy comes of the ride she

screams and cries persuading the employees to let her off the ride and to stop the ride making sure

everyone is safe. In the background the audience are able to hear people who tend to be waiting to

have their turn next for the ride, laughing at her as from their perspective she looks like a wimp

since she is crying and screaming when the ride hasnt even started.

Editing techniques used in the opening sequence are shot reverse shot to show the interactionbetween the two different characters this is similar to the conventions used as the protagonist

always tries survive mainly in most thriller movies. Other editing techniques which are used in the

film are a fast paced shots which allow the audience to see the different character reactions the

exact time when Wendy begins to have a rampage and try to stop everyone from getting on the ride.

The fast paced shots allow the audience to see who wants to come off the ride and who is coming of

the ride and who doesnt care showing the different types of character on the ride.