The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
plot summary: Harriet Vanger goes missing on an island owned by her family, her body never found. 40 years later, her Uncle, who believes it was murder, thinks it was a member of the family. He employes a disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate for him. as the pair begin investigating, they find links to murders that took place 40 years ago. They try to investigate, but the Vanger family are secretive, and try to protect themselves rather than tell the truth.
Saturday 22nd November 2014
Thriller Openings
 the screen has music and text before any shots. this adds that the mystery as the music is quite intense, so you wonder what the shot will be like. |  The first 4 images flash through black, for split seconds. This is confusing, as the audience can't quite see what is in the picture in the time they are given. |  The pictures can seem disconnected, such as a computer keyboard followed by a man. this creates mystery, as you wonder what connects them. |
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 The text is very small in the shot. this is so the audience's focus is drawn to the fast- moving shot in the background. |  There is lots of smooth movement within the shots. This adds to the fluid quality. As you can see, the liquid is running, and shot has moved very little, but smoothly. |  This is the first colour in the opening. This draws attention to it, as a novelty. As a result, we see it as important. |
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 As the people are not entirely human, the audience lack the empathy that they would have if they were human, as they lack personality. As a result, you can see more disturbing images, such as an eyeball on fire, and not be as affected as if they were human. |  the bird on fire is a completely new idea, contrary to the previous shots changing between things such as wires, people, and matches. this is reinforced by the fire, making it stand out. |  The shots of the girl are mirrored with a flower. this is because the audience associate flowers with beauty, and it is a reminder that girls are meant to be pretty, after what they have seen happen to her in previous shots. ( for example, flies coming out of her eyes) . This then makes the girl in the opening seem more humanoid, so the audience start to relate to her, and empathise. |
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Mise en Scene
 The whole opening is edited. This means the people in it don't have any personality, so adds t the suspense. |  the editing is fast paced. As above, there is several shots in a couple of seconds. This means that the audience don't have time to keep up with whats going on. |  As it is edited, you can do things that you can't do in real life. Also, as its not real, the audience lack empathy for the people, so disturbing things can happen, and the audience don't mind as much. |
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 all the cuts are straight cuts. this, added to the fast paced editing, means the audience do not know what to expect, which adds to the tension. |
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Editing
As the titles are before the shot, the audience don't know what to expect. this creates suspense. |  The writing is very small in the shot. this is so he focus is mainly on the shot, as they don't appear for very long. However, the same text may be over several shots so the audience can read them after they have worked out what is happening. |  the text elaborates whilst on the screen ( as you can see on the N and R) This is subtle, as you don't immediately notice, but its slow speed against the fast paced editing is confusing for the audience. |
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 The main title is different to the other text. The writing is in a different typeface, so it stands out to the audience. the writing is more angular than the other text, making he audience associate it with violence. |  The main title also seems to be in the shot, as the liquid reacts with it, and goes over the top of it. this makes it stand out, and shows that its important. |  the text is constantly in the opening sequence, except near the end, when the editing gets faster. the title above is the last text in the opening, and it also comes after a long gap of no text, where the audience are allowed to focus on what is going on in the shots. |
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Titles
The diegetic beat is the fist thing heard. It is fast, and starts immediately without a fade in so surprises the audience. | The picture changes with the beat of the music. this creates a very organised feel, so the audience feel like they are stepping into an intense environment. | As the beat of the music is fast, the shots change quickly, as shown above. This means the audience often struggle to keep up. |
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Sound
