Analysing a Thriller Opening

Frank Miller’s Sin City

The Opening Credits

• Opening Scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV1436VsnZY

• Opening Credits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57bnZY8Nq_g

What we see:

• The film has been done in the noir style, but with a modern twist as the pictures are done to reflect the graphic novel of the same name. in this case, chroma-key techniques are used to colour in certain aspects of the scene such as a woman’s dress.

What we see:

• There is also a fully black and white-silhouette effect used that reflects the graphic novel almost completely. This effect is mostly used in death/romantic scenes and almost emphasises the feelings expressed in the scenes.

The same effect is used at the end of the movie

What we see

• In the opening credits, we see pictures that appear to be taken from the graphic novel accompanied by the corresponding actor/actress’ name. the typeface used also reflects the style of the graphic novel.

What we hear• Firstly we hear the sounds of police sirens (digetic sound) and a

smooth, jazzy, 1920’s style soundtrack (non-digetic sound) as the woman is looking over the city

• The man’s inner monologue is narrating, we hear his thoughts but no one else does

• In the credits, we hear the track titled ‘Sin City’, which has the tone of a 20’s gangster film with the use of the saxophone, bass and drum kit.

What we read

• We see the credits after the opening scene• These start with the cast, and end with the

major production roles and additional notes.