Analysis of 2 student film openings: 'Malignant' and '0 Attending'

Genre

'Malignant' establishes itself as a psychological horror with the consistently suspenseful non diegetic music, with the high pitch tempo connoting a discomforting atmosphere. This is accompanied with titles that fade onto the screen with a blurry texture to resemble ghost-like qualities, physically displaying it's genre as being a horror.

In comparison, '0 Attending' conveys it's genre as drama, by having the narrative regard a group of socially neglected girls. This quickly lends the film towards the genre because this neglecting creates a sense of empathy and therefore an emotional attachment to the characters, compelling audiences to continue watching for the sake of closure.

Editing

Continuity editing is used in the 'Malignant' opening, with a slow pace being used to gradually build tension, and in the process engage the audience and compel them to continue watching. The long length shots also help for the audience to make sense of the location, what the main focus of the shots are and what they connote.

By contrast, discontinuous editing is used for the '0 Attending' sequence, with the camera quickly jumping to different scenes so that the audience are given context as to how others reacted to their party invites. This combined with the diegetic dialogue creates a faster pace, that suggests it will be reflected in the rest of the narrative.

Sound

'Malignant' lacks diegetic dialogue, however the opening does contain a consistent non-diegetic soundtrack that has traits stereotypically associated with the horror genre. For example, at the beginning of the sequence, the first shot of a rusted metal object is accompanied with a simple yet high-pitched piano, resulting in a distressful tone.

When it comes to '0 Attending,' the diegetic dialogue establishes the characters based on the lack of formality within their language and the content of what they're saying. An example can be found with one of the females states 'Maybe no one's seen the Facebook group?' Being so sincere about a social networking site makes this character seem insignificant in society and lacks purpose. Also, the non diegetic opening sound effect of a keyboard appeals to the target audience of teenagers, with computers being a stereotypical association with that age group.

Camera angles

A majority of 'Malignant's opening consists of establishing shots to make the most of the darkly toned factory setting that connotes solitude and emptiness. There are also some contrasting close ups to incorporate an element of sincerity to make this horror more relatable. A dutch tilt is also used when the camera focuses on the factory, and this has connotations of locational significance and abnormality.

Unlike 'Malignant,' '0 Attending's opening sequence mainly consists of mid shots and long shots. The problem with this lack of establishing shots is that an opening of a film is meant to establish at least one location, as well as characters. Despite this, the long shots help to establish the stock characters via dress code, while the mid shots are used during the dialogue scenes, such as when the three females are surrounded around the computer.










Mise-en-scene

'Malignant' has contrasting lighting conditions, with the establishing shots of the factory being highly lit, while the internal shots are differentiated with low lit shots to connote an element of danger, suggesting that it is inside the factory where the darker themes take place. The prop of the broken bicycle has connotations of childhood innocence, much like the lighting conditions, these connotations are contrasting from the films genre being horror; this contrast amplifies the darker themes to make them stand out and appear all the more adultery.

'0 Attending' has multiple settings that are never fully utilised, due to the lack of establishing shots, however the props and lighting conditions make it easier to distinguish each location. The main setting of the sequence is the house where the three girls are talking, but it does soon cut to a wide variety of locations to show diversity within the people in the shot. For example, two other girls are seen to receive the main characters invite in a bedroom while another group are seen on a high street. This suggests similar variety in locations can be seen in the rest of the narrative.

Titles

In terms of positioning, not only do 'Malignant's titles convey the signifiers of a horror by their ghost-like texture, but also in the strange and inconsistently varied angles and parts of the screen they're placed on. An example of this can be seen in a dutch tilt establishing shot of the factory, with the title also at an angle that's parallel to the factory. This makes the title appear more as though it's actually integrated into the shot, giving the sequence a more stylised and memorable feel to it.

Because 'Malignant' and '0 Attending's genres are so contrasting, their fonts differ to establish a different tone, while still conveying the attributes of that particular genre. A lot of dramas today refer to technology to make it more relatable to the target audience, in this case teenagers, therefore it's fitting that '0 Attending's titles relate to the technological aspect quite strongly. The opening titles appear as though they're actually being typed onto the screen (one letter at a time) and this being accompanied by keyboard sound effects solidifies the genre and what in particular this drama relates to.

Character

'Malignant' doesn't introduce any particular characters, other than using the binary opposites of the masculine male vs. the insecure and incapable female. Although the female is a ghost, and that creates suspence, it results in a lack of empathy, giving the audience no reason to care about either of these characters. This implies that the male's contribution to the narrative is minimal and is more so just in the scene to symbolise normality in contrast to this ghostly figure.

 

The fact that the narrative of '0 Attending's opening focuses on a group of girls being socially neglected by others, makes them appear inferior and insignificant to others in society. This is conveyed by the way other characters of the same age group (teenagers) reacted to their party invitations humorously. In terms of dress code, the three girls also wear very informal and distinctive clothes, displaying them as independent and carless when it comes to fashion sense. In comparison, the others are seen to be wearing designer labels and more varied dress codes, conveying them as more socially popular.

To conclude, 'Maligant' establishes it's setting and genre very well, using stylised and professional camera techniques to set the film up as having a very dark and solitary tone. Despite this, throughout the entire sequence, the audience are only introduced to characters, both of which have no diegetic dialogue to create any element of empathy. They are, however, varied and equally distinctive to cancel out any sense of repetition, while also generating questions such who they are and what do they contribute to the story. '0 Attending' also does a good job at conveying a distinct genre and tone but, unlike 'Malignant,' the constant diegetic dialogue means the audience knows a lot more about the characters within the sequence. That having been said, the repetition of shot types makes the sequence appear repetitive and therefore results in a slower pace, not doing as good a job at enticing and exciting audience members.