Analyses of two thrillers

The opening sequences to Panic Room and Face Off both show typical connotations of thriller films. Panic room shows a number of different shots of city buildings with the credits following the same angle. The credits are big and meant to be noticed which shows that the actors are a big part of the film and are well known. It consists of montage editing with jump cuts between each shot. The clips are long and slow paced with gives a sense of calmness that is not often seen in cities which makes the audience feel like something isn't right. The cinematography in the opening sequence of Panic Room show all the shots to be extreme long shots all resulting in being establishing shots of the city and creates an urban atmosphere. The shots are images that most people see in typical everyday life which is a convention of thriller as everything seems fine and like any other day. The sense that it feels normal and calm allows the audience to become tense as it shows that the storyline could happen to any person even when you think everything is OK. The music is non-deigetic and consists of many loud sting instruments. Strings are typically used in thriller to create edginess and unease the audience.

Face Off is different to Panic Room as it starts the plot of the film and acts as a back story. It uses continuity editing which allows the audience to straight away become engrossed with the film and want to watch on. Although the editing is continuous it does use ellipses in time which allows the audience to observe the situation that is unfolding and allow them to guess what will happen. The sequences uses transitions that make the clips fade into each other which creates a negative atmosphere. The music also links in with this as it has a slow tempo. Face Off also uses strings to create an uncertain atmosphere but as they are slower it makes the audience feel distressed. The setting is a carousel which creates a bigger impact when they characters are shot as the change between the positive setting and negative situation is sudden and unexpected. The actors (John Travolta and Nicolas Cage) are very well known therefore when there names appear on the credits they are very noticeable. The clips are very slow paced and some are even editing into slow motion to allow the audience to see what is happening. It also makes the audience feel helpless as they know what is about to unravel but cannot do anything to prevent it.