Analysis of AS Media Film Opening Sequence

Script: 'Captive'

What is the genre? How do you know?

Freya – I believe that the genre for ‘Captive’ is horror, due to the conventional features presented.

Mise-en-scene: the character is tied up to a chair and has dried blood all over his hands, which connotes that he’s been trapped there for a while. This immediately conveys the genre to the audience, as you would not expect this in an opening sequence to a romance film for example. Furthermore, another feature is the abandoned location. The use of this location signifies that the antagonist doesn’t want the character to get away as there will be no one around to help him. This also creates suspense and tension within the audience, as it is very mysterious and eerie. The characters facial expressions incline from confusion to desperation and panic. Some props used, such as the doll, are very conventional of the horror genre because they are often used as a ‘mystery’ character and this adds to the scary element of the film and creates suspense and tension.

Robbie - Sound: The sounds is another feature used to illustrate the genre to the audience. The ambient sound emphasises how isolated the character is, due to the fact that you can hear a miniscule sound, such as a droplet of water into a puddle, shows there’s no one around and no help. Secondly, the constant eerie, mysterious non-diegetic music in the background slowly builds up to reach its crescendo. This accentuates the genre even more as this is an effective way to present tension towards the audience.

Freya - Camera: There are many close-up shots of the character tied up to the chair as it emphasises his facial expressions. This also helps the audience engage with the character and see how he is feeling. There is also a use of long shots to exaggerate how alone and isolated he is. High angle shots of the character to present his weaknesses and inferiority. This conveys how hopeless he is and that he cannot get out.

Robbie - Editing: Jump cuts – there are many used throughout the opening sequence. These are very conventional for this genre as they create a sense of disorientation. In this opening sequence it helps show how confused he is.

Flickering – this represents the antagonists mind and how distorted, and not right her mind is.

CCTV – this makes the film look extremely professional.

Freya – The use of narrative enigma throughout the opening sequence is very successful as it engages the audience and gets them asking questions as to what is going to happen next. Also as to why the boy has been tied up and why is the girl tying him up. This would encourage the audience to carry on watching the film, as they will want to know the answers to these questions.

Robbie – The fact that this opening sequence goes straight into action is effective as it can instantaneously get the audience gripped. This challenges Todorov’s Narrative theory, as it does not start with an equilibrium, where all is fine. Instead, the opening sequence begins with a disruption, as it is more effective in engaging the audience. This is conventional of a horror.

What predicted level would you give the piece?

Robbie – I would have given this opening sequence an A grade.

Freya – I would also have given this opening sequence an A grade.

Reasons for predicted grade?

Freya - The use of varied shots gives each scene a sense of depth that makes it engaging for the audience. The use of sound was also effective as it was slow and tense but the speed of the music inclined throughout to build up suspense and tension; which is typical of the horror genre.

Robbie - To add to this, the use of the enigma codes was very effective and conventional of this genre as it makes the audience engage with the scene, wanting to carry on and think about what is going to happen next.

How can it be improved?
Robbie and Freya - The plot of the opening sequence wasn’t completely clear and was somewhat confusing, as it all didn’t make sense. For example, the fact that the boy was randomly taking pictures with his camera was a bit odd. Also, the doll that was used within this opening sequence also had no relevance as to how he got tied up to the chair. Therefore, to improve, they should make the plot a bit clearer.