Detailed Analysis of Thriller clip analysed in class - Amy Nicole Fitzpatrick

In our lesson we were shown various openings to Thrillers movies such as:

• The Shining



• Marathon Man



• Arlington Road



• Dead Calm



• Seven

The thriller opening i decided to go more in depth about is Arlington Road. Movie Trailer :

http://http//www.dailymotion.com/video/x55y6x_arlington-road-1999_shortfilms

Arlington road is a 1999 film, tells the story of a professor who believes that his neighbours are terrorists, and becomes obsessed with trying to ruin their terrorism plot. In the opening clip to Arlington road, throughout the clip we can see shots of various houses and a road, a road, and a sign post which reads Arlington road. In terms or mise on scene, in the first 2 minutes we can see white picket fences, which are repeatedly shown, many houses, children playing on the street, swings and a dog, which would represent normality and present the image of a typical normal sub urban street, where nothing suspicious or not normal occurs, however in the film, this is found not to be the case by the professor.

The use of camera in the thriller clip is distorted, has allot of movement and appears to be filmed by a hand held camera. the effect of this is that it adds pace and makes the shot seem more realistic, whilst allowing the audience to feel like they are on the street in real life. Editing in this frame is also very fast pace and a negative effect is used, which speeds up tension and tempo in a thriller. the use of negative makes the film seem scary or worrying, giving off the message that something bad is going to happen on this street, creating suspense for the audience.

The sound is this clip is non dietetic. it sounds to be very eiry and daunting. train rails and trains can be heard and at the same time babies or children screaming and a child's whisper can be heard. this adds a traumatic effect and gives the audience the impression that a child may be in danger, also creating suspense to what the outcome or involvement children may have in this film.

When the film starts, there are opening titles of key actors, directors, producers and other people who made the film. The font looks hand written and is white and static, which move in side ways into the frame. this also helps to add movement to the scene.