Analysis of The Title Sequence From 'Panic Room' - Billie

The title sequence of 'Panic Room' starts with an extreme establishing shot of a city, this is uncommon in thriller films because you wouldn't typically associate a large city with a thriller film. In the start of the clip there is non-diegetic incidental music, the sound is incidental because it correlates to the thriller genre, as it sounds quite creepy. 'Columbia Pictures presents' is centre frame in bold, capital lettering. The font has a round 3D look to it, this subverts the thriller genre and you probably wouldn't guess that this film was a thriller if it wasn't for the sound.

In the second shot it cuts to another establishing shot of a large building with a smaller road by this side of it. This could be to convey the title 'Panic Room' and show that even in a large city there is still small secluded areas. The non-diegetic incidental music continues on a sound bridge onto this clip. You can also hear the diegetic sound of traffic and moving vehicles, this reinforces the fact that the film is in a city and there is a lot going on. Again the lettering over the shot is in bold, white capitals just like the pervious shot, this writing continues through the title sequence.

In the third shot of the title sequence from 'Panic Room' we see another establishing shot of many high buildings with a bright sky behind them. This subverts connotations of the thriller genre because usually you would see a dark grey or very dull sky to show darkness and portray fear, but this background is bright which does not give much away about the film. This might throw the audience off as it isn't the norm in thriller films, but it will also encourage them to continue watching because it gives a sense that the movie will be very unique and original.

The fourth shot from the title sequence in 'Panic Room' is the actual title shot. This again an establishing shot of a city witch could convey that the film is going to be very open and we are going to know a lot of what is going on, the film could be an omniscient narrative. The sound in this shot becomes a lot creepier and much louder, this is to get across that the film might be quite dramatic, it also fits the title of the film because it s the kind of non-diegetic incidental music you would hear in the build up to a big event happening in a thriller film. In this instance it was the build up to seeing the film title.

The last shot of the title sequence that we see is a large open plan field or park. This again could be to portray that the film has an omniscient narrative. Although large field usually convey the thriller genre because they are empty and nobody is around to help the protagonist in danger, this field does not because it is surrounded by large sky scrapers and the field of grass is full of people. This could be to portray the idea that there is something usually so safe was no help at all in a bad situation. It could also portray that many people are going to be led into the disruption of the film from the equilibrium.

Overall, this title sequence does not conform to the usual stereotypes of the thriller genre because, it is based in a large city, the colours are very bright and highly saturated in contrast to the usually dark and desaturated colours that are in thriller films. Although, the sound in the sequence does conform to the stereotypical thriller genre because the music is quite creepy and has the tension build up of a thriller genre.