Thriller Film Opening Title Sequence Analyses

‘‘DRIVE’DRIVE’

Big citySet in a city because it is easier for the character to be lost amongst all the people.

Hotel RoomShows that he could be a lonely character, doesn’t settle in one place/could be part of his job.

LIGHTING

Night time

Dark/Desaturated lighting

Gives a cold effect which creates a grimy atmosphere that could indicate towards his loneliness/lifestyle. Connotes negativity.

COSTUME/ APPEARANCE OF CHARACTER

His jacket has a scorpion on it.

Poisonous/dangerous animals (I.E a scorpion) are used by gangs as their symbol. Could allude to him being in a gang or being involved in dangerous activity. Again, it hints at his profession and life.

PROPS

Driving gloves

Toothpick

Vintage car

The props he uses are more typical of noir films (as it is a neo-noir film).

The toothpick is commonly used by the antagonists in western films, which could represent what type of character he is. The car and driving gloves gives us information about him and what type of job he might have.

BODY LANGUAGE

His body language is reserved; his facial expressions don’t give much away, and he doesn’t smile.When he walks into the hotel lift he has his hands in his jacket pocket.

He is an enigmatic character who doesn’t give much away, maybe he is mysterious because of his job.His hands in his pockets when he walks show he’s cautious and unfriendly.

CAMERA SHOTS

Establishing shot of

city

Introduces the setting

Associated POV of his face w/ toothpick in mouth and gloved hand driving.

it introduces more of his character and the toothpick in his mouth shows more of what type of person he is.

CAMERA ANGLES

Low angle of his face with dark lighting and hand on the steering wheel

Introduces the character to the audience, it is shot in this way to show the character but doesn’t give too much away in order to create mystery. His hand on the steering wheel also introduces a little of his personal background.

The empty room shows his loneliness and the low angle and dark lighting connote he is solitary.

EDITINGThe way the OTS is edited means that the pace is slow, mainly to introduce the setting and character to the audience.

SOUND

The song that plays the whole way through is called ‘Nightcall’ by Kavinsky, and has a very 80’s feel to it. It sets the tone for the film and fits in well with the 80’s style font.Drive OTS with soundtrack and opening titles. -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpXQS5gaAw

It has a very robotic sound to it which fits in with the film, and as Gosling leaves his hotel room and switches the light off the song drops at the same time, which creates a nice continuity effect.

There isn’t any diegetic sound right until the end where we just hear the car driving along.

Driving gloves – he drives a lot for some reason (maybe b/c of a job) although it’s restricted narrative it shows a little more about him.

His scorpion jacket hints at a dangerous and poisonous secret or lifestyle.

The girl coming out of the lift – POV shot of her as he gets into lift – could hint that she has more to do with him later in the film.

Lone hotel room - Suggests he moves around a lot so does not have a fixed home, could suggest something to do with his personality/job.

• Conveys the classic thriller type character that is solitary and doesn’t like to work/be with another person. Mysterious.

‘Gangster’ – which conveys the old noir genre it is a subgenre of (neo-noir), noir films were about the mafia/gangsters.

He is the hero and she is the female he needs to save – more typical in old noir films but could still be relevant to neo-noir.

He is flawed in some way, which is common in protagonists in thrillers, maybe something the antagonist can use against him later in the film.

SUMMARYList of imagery that hints at the

narrative to come How is it conveyed?