Thrilller Opening Analysis

Analysis on the TV thriller opening ‘Six Feet Under’ Pathway

The opening for Six Feet Under begins with the flight with a Raven then an establishing, very wide shot of a tree. Ravens have natural associations with death as they usually circle around dead bodies. The opening also ends with the Raven and the tree. This could be a portrayal of ‘the circle of life’.  

Camera angles & camera movement
- Establish/very wide shot of a single tree.
- low shot, close up’s, extreme close up’s of a Raven.
- Close up of the Raven and washing of the hands (giving the macabre).
- Usually slow camera movements or still shots.
- Time-lapse of a bunch of flowers dying filmed over time then sped up could be a representation that nothing lasts forever and that everything dies eventually.
- Also the music is constant throughout until it’s changed when the tame-lapse of the flowers appear to a slower piece of what sounds like a piano. After this, the music goes back to the way it was. This could be a representation of the fact that even after you die, life still goes on for everyone else.
- Death, which is normally associated with dark colors such as black is contrasted with bright and natural lights.
- The music playing is contrapuntal to the theme of the opening. The opening is about the death of someone, but the music doesn't seem sad or depressing.
- A shadow/silhouette fades into the light, as does the corps which could be a representation of the classic saying ‘going into the light’, another representation of death.
- Shows the stages of what happens after someone dies. 

Analysis Of A Thriller Opening

There isn’t much movement of the camera in this opening and a very frequent use of close ups, for almost every shot. E.g. close ups of the character putting thread through a needle, crossing out words from documents, cutting up pictures and the character writing. However there is a long shot of photographs being stuck into a book, showing a slight variation of camera angles. All of the things he’s doing are quite ordinary yet are shown in a sinister way. In my opinion, there are many close up shots of his actions to give the audience subtle clues for what the character is doing, make them more inquisitive and curious. 
 
The music sounds disconjunctive as if there is a lot going on and intensifies as it goes on. Also, there is a lot of on the beat editing where the protagonist does something of credits appear in sync with the music. From the soundtrack used it’s obvious that the thriller as there are common features used that appear on the soundtracks of plenty other thriller films, such as audiences tension and suspense rises, sounding quite dull and keeps the audience on edge, looking for clues. All of the sound used in this opening is diegetic. It sounds slow and sinister with a few quite technical noises. It begins fairly slowly then the pace increases towards the end. This gives the impression it is building up to something. Right at the end of the opening, the music from the soundtrack they use says ‘you get me closer to God’ as he cuts the word ‘God’ out of money. This could be an implication that people are ‘going to heaven’. There are creaking and rustling noises which is at times is used when something is being opened or used. The first noise sounds like a loud thunder, supporting the emphasis of dull and gloomy weather, often used in thrillers.

The only parts of the character available for us to see are hands and fingers so the viewer’s make the assumption that they are the hands of an experienced killer as they’re trying to remove fingerprints so there’s no evidence. These things that this protagonist is doing can be viewed as abnormal, not what you see someone doing on a typical day as if they’re up to something. An example is using a blade to peel off the skin from hands that are quite dirty with bandages.

Because of all of the faces and articles being crossed out, it sets an impression that this mysterious unknown character is a stalker, or a murderer of some sort keeping evidence of all his crimes/victims. Also, using a razor to cut the tops of his hands probably means that he didn’t want to leave any finger prints; he was doing something he shouldn’t. Throughout the entire opening, all we saw was his hands. This kept the audience wanting to know more about this character. The part that stood out most to me was the way the credits were edited to flicker, on beat with the music. I think this is good and adds to the effect of keeping the audience on the edge 0of their seats and possibly a bit jumpy.