Opening sequence of Halloween conventions- Miss Georgiou

The opening scene shows the audience what genre of the film it is and to give the audience an idea of what is to follow in the film. The opening sequence has to be interesting to keep the audience engaged with the film. Many conventions are used in an opening sequence to create suspense and tension for the audience.

In the opening sequence for the film Halloween there are many conventions of a thriller film are used. A main convention of a thriller film is hidden identity this is where you can not see the killer creating suspense, this is used in the opening sequence when the killer had his identity covered with a mask. Not knowing who the killer is creates a lot of suspense and mystery which keeps the audience entertained and interested in carrying on watching the film. The enigma started when the killer was watching the girl through the window of the house, the shadows from the dark setting do not allow the audience to see the killers identity. Once the killer is approaching the girls room he picks up mask from the floor and puts it on, it seemed as if the killer was being taken over by the mask and it gave him a motive to kill his own sister.

Another convention of a thriller film which is used is a blonde female victim this used in the opening sequence of Halloween- blonde female victims are one of the most stereotypical victims as they are portrayed as weak and dumb so the audience relates to them as the audience can tell this is the character something is most likely to happen to first, this can be proved as this is what directly happens in the opening scene. The audience creates a bond with the character as they can see that the characters life expectancy has been lowered dramatically. This convention is typical of the thriller genre as blondes are always left on there own in vulnerable settings because they are an inferior victim.

There's editing used in the opening sequence, a jump cut is used of the knife where it suddenly focuses on the knife. This reveals to the audience that someone will be attacked by that weapon which builds suspense and excitement for the audience. By focusing on the knife it builds tension successfully as the audience may start to feel on edge or scared. It conventional to thrillers as there is always weapons used in thrillers to kill the victims which panics the audience. There is also timing of shots used where before the kill,the pace of the shots are quite slow including the music. This builds up to the kill, building tension for the audience and leaving them on the edge of there seats. After the kill the shots are faster showing that the killers panicking and might be regretting what hes just done. The shots are ultimately faster so the film is more engaging for the audience and makes it more interesting to watch, Its conventional to thrillers as it adds an element of excitement and engages the audience successfully.