Thriller Credits - Mrs Frisender

Thriller Credits

At the beginning of thriller films credits are employed for a number of purposes. They are used to inform the audience of the most important cast and crew members, for example, the main characters, the director and the producer. The film credits are also incorporated to create suspense alongside the transitions and the music, which therefore informs the audience of the genre of the film. This is also portrayed to the audience with the use of thriller conventions throughout the opening. The style of font used on the film credits also plays an important part in setting the tone of the film and allows the audience an insight into what to expect throughout the film. Opening film credits are extremely important at engaging and setting the interest for the audience, as they should directly relate to the genre of the film, which means that the viewers are prepared for what is to come. 

Se7en Opening Credits

During the opening credits of Se7en dark colours are employed which evokes a sense of darkness and mystery upon the audience, this keeps them engaged as the plot is being introduced, which sets the viewers interests early on. The dark colours also allow the audience to pin point the genre of the film and therefore are aware of what to expect throughout the film. 

The font of the cast and crew members that are included is white, and is set mainly on a plain black background. This allows the text to stand out and convey its significance to the audience. The style of the font is gothic which relates directly to the thriller genre as it is mysterious and gloomy. This creates an impact on the audience before they are introduced to the main plot of the film. The visual look of the font is as if it has been scratched in which links to the image of someone scratching the dead skin off of their finger. This raises the suspicions of the audience as they wonder what the significance of the image is. The scratching effect also links to the thriller genre as it creates an impact on the audience and makes them imagine something violent happening as it is between high pitched, sharp music. 

Throughout the opening credits generic conventions are employed to follow the thriller genre and to inform the audience of the genre of what they are about to watch. Low-key lighting is used to show the darkness of what is being portrayed in the opening. The audience witness a character cutting off his fingerprints, which may suggest he will, or has, committed a crime. The use of the low-key lighting at this specific point allows the audience to figure out the darkness of the plot and therefore raises their anticipation to find out why he has infact cut off his fingerprint. The iconography of the opening credits are all significant to the actual film, which gives the audience an insight into what to expect. The significance of the book to the opening conveys to the audience that it may infact be a diary that the character is recording occurrences that have happened or will happen. This point is also further highlighted by the use of the image of someone that has been scribbled out. It portrays to the audience that it may be someone the 'killer' is after, or is plotting against.

The opening credits as a whole are relatively fast paced allowing the viewers to be introduced to a vast number of significant forms of iconography. This builds the audiences' anticipation as more and more is revealed to them regarding the plot which means their interests are kept keen. This could also signify a characteristic of the character, that they may carry out a number of murders at a quick pace. Sound is a huge aspect of this particular opening scene as it creates a huge impact on the viewers. The employment of the high pitched scratching sounds allow the audience to imagine a violent act being carried out which therefore increases their thrill while watching. The diegetic sound used in the opening scene also creates a great impact on the viewers, as the sound links in with the visuals. This allows the significants of each significant shot to enhance the viewers experiences while watching even more.

The opening credits are presented in the order as follows; the name of the studio, name of the production company, who the films by, followed by the main characters, the film title, featuring actors, then casting by, music by, costume designer, edited by, production designed by, director of photography, co-producers, co-executive producers, executive producer, followed by the more important roles of written by, produced by and directed by. These are presented in the most common form of appearance, allowing the audience to be introduced to the cast and crew members in an order that allows them to recognise their importance and relevance to the opening credits.

The After Life Opening Credits

The opening credits of The After Life are employed onto a pure white, angelic background. The use of the colour white could be symbolic to the audience as it may connote the idea of heaven, which relates to the fact the male character in the opening is a funeral director, who deals with people that have died. The font incorporated on top of the pure white background is red, which connotes the idea of blood, which further links in with the theme of death. 

The style of the font is basic and in capitals which is unusual as it does not follow thriller conventions. The use of the capitals however, allows the information in the credits to stand out and in result the audience are more likely to remember what they read. 

Throughout the opening scene generic conventions are employed to enhance the thriller genre throughout. The idea of death is conveyed through the images the audience are presented with of a dead man in a coffin and also the low key lighting used, which creates shadows and reinforces the theme of death. Forms of iconography are also incorporated to signify different aspects of the plot of the film. A camera flash is used which extracts a pure white flash that could represent the mans path towards heaven, as it then links onto the white background with the red font. This provides the viewers with a further insight into the plot of the film and allows them to know what to expect during the rest of the film. 
 
The order of appearance of the relevant cast and crew members is in the most common order. This allows the viewers to be introduced to the significant members of the cast and crew that is relevant for them to be aware of before they watch the film. This could also inform them of a certain structure of film production by the company involved, this could therefore mean they to know what to expect from the film.