Credits of the the main job roles (Director, main actors etc). Another convention is music that sets the scene.
Other conventions include of using an extreme long shot as an establishing shot and having a production company logo.
After this research and discussions we decided to make the opening of a detective film- Desperation.
For the credits we used a formal font to highlight the formal aspects of detective work like paper work in an office, the font also adds to the effect as it looks like a type writer.
After studying film openings one of the best examples of using these conventions opening of the film se7en:
Conventions of the detective genre include: Fast tempo shots and dark music, another is a seedy back ground and I feel the main convention of the detective genre, crime. Conventions also include corruption, action and a strong partnership between two detectives.
In our product we've challenged the convention of using an extreme long shot. Instead we thought it would be better to use an extreme close up as it is much more in your face and grabs the audience's attention. We also challenged the seedy background convention, instead of a back alley for example we used a built up area, it fits however as the estate's fairly secluded, adding to the enigma (did any one see the killing?).
An example of other films using built up areas in this way is in Sherlock Holmes, where the opening scene is Holmes stopping a murder, starting in the middle of London, then moving into a secluded church.
When writing our character's back stories for our two detectives I took inspiration from one of the biggest partnerships in film Murtagh and Riggs from Lethal Weapon. Mainly the characteristics of the detectives. For example in Lethal Weapon Riggs is the passionate, reckless maverick. This helped influence the characteristics of the character I play- David Stone. Stone's partner is called Dan Cash and he shares characteristics with Murtagh. Both are older than their partner and both act as a father figure and guiding hand to their partner.
We used shots and editing that our fairly conventional to the detective genre such as a balance of mid shots and close ups. Along with tracking shots and point of view shots. The editing was invisible editing with frequent use of dip to black to add a mysterious edge to the night scene especially.
Another detective genre convention we used was the music. This is a convention of film openings but I feel the detective genre developed this to specifically use dark and scary music to create an atmosphere. I feel our soundtrack does this to great effect and captures the mood really well.
Props were also conventions of a detective film, for the murder scene we had:
A flick knife as well as wearing dark clothing and having the killer wear a mask to hide his identity. The use of a mask adds to the enigma of the film, it makes the audience think, who is he, why is he hiding his face.
An example of a film using masks to hide a criminal's identity is in The Dark Knight opening scene.Overall the conventions our film opening has used are:
Mood setting music, A strong partnership between our detectives. As well as having a night time murder scene and a mystery killer.
The Conventions we challenged are:
Having a seedy background and using an extreme long shot as an establishing shot. Instead we decided to use an extreme close up as I feel it is a better way of grabbing the audience's attention but also the shot adds t.o enigma as it is slightly unclear, making the audience wonder what's going on
Conventions we developed are:
The location of a murder- changing it from a back alley to a suburban estate, adding to the enigma. It's a built up area did anyone see it.
Because of this I feel are opening has the classic elements of detective films that people know, but also it gives a fresh take on the genre.
