Thriller Comedy Samples

After deciding on creating a thriller comedy piece, I researched existing thriller comedy productions to evaluate what openings worked well to start off their films. Three of these films include The Pink Panther, Parasite, and Knives Out.

Parasite (2019)

Parasite uses a similar opening scene to Pink Panther in the sense that it introduces the characters and the credits. However, in this case, the intro is not an animation sequence that follows a different timeline than the real story; instead, it starts off the main plot while introducing the characters in live-action one at a time until the interactions between the characters grow noticeable. The thriller elements are absent but the search for the wifi allows the audience to relate to the comedic situation.

Knives Out

One of the more recent thriller comedies, Knives Out utilizes its opening differently from the other two films researched. Instead of using comedic elements the intro focuses more on the setting of the production as it plays a pivotal role for the movie's plotline. The characters are not necessarily introduced with their actions taking more notice than their faces and personalities. The gruesome murder of the man marks the beginning of the transition into a scene more focused on character development like the other two films.

The Pink Panther (2006)

The Pink Panther's opening serves two purposes: to introduce the characters and to display the credits. And a third more subtle motive is to discreetly introduce the plot. Instead of using the live action characters that the majority of the film uses, the opening uses animated characters of both the inspector and an abstract animation of the pink panther. Although the pink panther refers to a prized jewel, the use of an actual animated panther represents the lucrative and elusive nature of the artifact.

Film Opening Genre

Genre

Hello all, it's Mehul again! So after spending half a year learning about film I've been tasked with my next major project: the creation of a film opening! While looking for a genre to best display the skills I've learned this year, I came across an old scene idea of mine, the windows scene. The camera slowly pans to the left as a laptop and a character finally comes into frame. In the background a discreet meeting appears to be taking place and the character can be seen placing audio capture equipment to eavesdrop on the details of the meeting. But as he opens his laptop to access the monitoring portal, the windows logo fills the screen and the uncomfortably loud startup sound bite devastates the silence of the scene, placing the spying character in an extremely awkward position.

Thriller

After thinking about this scene for a while, I found that a thriller comedy genre would best facilitate the production of my film opening. The target audience of thrillers is traditionally those aged 30-50 who mainly watch movies for the suspense and mystery. The older demographic also due to the violence that is present in a large portion of thriller films, which presents disturbing content for smaller kids and families. When looking at males and females, gender cleavages for thriller audiences are insignificant compared to the cleavages seen in other genres such as action.

Comedy

The target audience for comedies is much more ambiguous under examination. Since comedy can be broken down into so many subgenres and levels of violence and obscenity, the overall age range spans the entire range of the moviegoer population. However, when looking at the target range based on certificate ratings, comedies certified with an R rating tend to attract more viewers from the 15-24 age bracket and the 45+ age bracket. Meanwhile, films rated G, PG, or PG-13 attract children and those from the 35-44 age bracket since they are typically more family-friendly. Similar to the thriller genre, both men and women comprise a roughly equal share of the target audience so it is important to consider the likings of both genders when creating a comedy, thriller, or comedy thriller film.

https://stephenfollows.com/patterns-among-successful-comedy-movies/

https://www.slideshare.net/Stanghello/target-audience-of-thriller-genre