Analysis of another crime thriller opening

As our thriller is a crime thriller and uses the current phobia of youths I have decided to analyse the opening scene of a similar film. 'Harry Brown' is a recent film with the same theme.


Mise-en-scene:
-The credits are displayed in a simple way, just white font on a black background.
-The scene of the characters is dark, and they are all wearing dark clothes. This is to make the scene look dangerous.
-The opening sequence shows the use of drugs, which is something often associated with teenagers.
-Graffiti is on the walls to give the viewer an idea of the city location.
-Gun and shooting are shown, also things associated with young people.
-Overall the mise-en-scene is used to create a typical image of teenagers that people fear, relating them to drugs, guns and danger. It also presents them in a threatening way, as they are in a big group in a dark alleyway, covering their faces.

Sound:
-Loud sound of a motorbike, shooting, woman screaming and boys shouting, adds to the danger of the scene.
-Characters talking; slang and swearing. This shows their negative attitudes.
-The loud crashing sounds etc makes the viewer on edge.

Camera work:
-For the motorbike scene the camera is hand held. This makes the viewer see what is happening from the character's point of view. It is intended to scare the viewer and make them feel involved in the scene.

Editing:
-When the screen is black and displaying the credits, the voices of the characters talking can still be heard, which makes the viewer wander what is happening in the scene, until the scene is revealed. This adds to the suspense.

In our thriller opening we will be including some of the same features, such as the hand held camera effect, as we plan to do this at the beginning of our sequence. Also, we are planning to use the black screen with white writing for the credits, and we could consider playing the sounds whilst the black screen in on, in order to add suspense.