Thriller Title Sequence 2010 Group 12

In class on 19/01/2010, we watched a film called United 93, a thriller based on the 9/11 terrorist bombing in America, and one plane in particular; United 93. Suspense is created in many ways, the main one being that the audience knows the ending to the film before they even put it on. The plane was originally set for the White House, as that was the main target, but the passengers refused to be hijacked so easily and took control; not enough to save their own lives, but they prevented the White House from coming under attack.

The film uses such suspense creating techniques as allowing the sound to come before the visuals do, for example, at one point in the film, the screen is black but we can hear the muslim extremists talking, and then we see them, creating suspense as to what they look like. Also, there is a constant use of shots such as Bird's Eye and crash pans, to create drama and make suspense. This is very clever because although we, as the audience, know the plane will ultimately crash and kill everybody on board, we still want the passengers to rebel and land the plane safely.

Another feature used in U93 is that there are many different languages and regionaly dialects used, showing how human everyone is; they don't all speak in English like they would in most films, just with accents. The terrorists speak in Arabic, there are Americans and even Europeans all talking in different languages in the boarding gate as they wait to get on to the plane, this is very effectiveto the audience.

There is slow music too, it begins off ambient and slow, almost unnoticeable, and gradually builds up until the first plane hits the first tower in New York, when it becomes frantic. It then calms and builds up to the second plane crash, symbolising the emotions of the authorities at the time, and their panic. This happens several times, but each time the music stays frantic for a little bit longer. The beat of the music is very rhythmic, it stays in time, conveying the organisation the whole thing took and scaring the audience with it's deep bass drone.

Shaky camera is one film technique used a lot in the film, especially when the camera shot is in the point of view of a passenger on flight U93, showing us that they are scared and shaking with the fear. It is also used to show the plane going through turbulence as it drops and climbs repeatedly, making the viewer feel like they are actually on the plane, in turn initiating fear for the passengers as you 'know what it feels like'.

And so the suspense is createdi n many ways, before coming to a head as the plane hits the ground, going to a black screen and writing, telling us that no-one survived. This makes the viewer feel shocked, as even though they knew it was coming right from the start, they seemed to almost forget it as they became so involved in the film.