Research for Thriller Openings - One Hour Photo - Mathew Garrett

The main character

• When we are introduced to the Male character we see that he is most likely in his late forties



• His hair is short and fair. He is also going bald so he has his hair swept to one side of his head



• His clothes are pale and do not stand out which suggests that he doesn't want to draw any unwanted attention to himself



• He holds himself in a slightly hunched manor



• He looks quite calm but also nervous. His eyes look sagged and sad as if he knows he has done something wrong



• The computer monitor says "threat" at the top of his Police profile picture which tells us, the audience, that he actually has done something wrong and that he could be a danger to others



• From when we are first introduced to the male character we see cameras



• When he is in the questioning room, he asks about the development of the pictures needed by the police department which suggests that he has an interest in photography



• The pictures that are laid down in front of him are evidence and he also wants to see them which again tells us that he has an interest in photography



• I think the audience is supposed to feel sadness for this character but also we are meant to know that he has done something bad and that he isn't really that innocent

Opening credits

• When the credits appear on the screen they are shown to represent images being put through a photo developer and being exposed to light then processed



• This could mean that the film is about photography and after the credits we find out that photography is a big part of this sequence



• I could also hear the sound of machinery in the background which also made me think it was representing a developer



• By creating the credits this way we are introduced to the set up of the film immediately and we know that the story could be about photography

Setting

• The first shot made me think that the set was supposed to be camera lab of some sort, because of the big camera and the noises of what sounded like the developing machinery from the opening credits



• The sound before the shot is taken was load bass and suspenseful



• Once the photo is taken the shot reveals a police station and that this character is having his "mug" shots taken



• The computer set up suggests that they are not as technologically advanced as other computer systems to date but they are all that they had at the time



• The room we see the character in next appears to be some sort of questioning room which is usually common to a thriller film. The iconography of it is recognized in nearly all thriller films and t.v shows



• the room looks secure and isolated suggesting that it may not be intended for the nicest of people



• As the camera pushes in from an office to the questioning room we see the character from a high angle shot which is used to create smallness towards the character and we are supposed to think less of him, rather than a normal shot which wouldn't make us think about it as much

Flashback

• The flashback