The director’s intentions within the films memento and insomnia:

For this task I have been asked to evaluate the intentions of the directors in the opening scene of the films memento and insomnia. All directors though share on main intention, that is to make conventions otherwise known as signs or hints about what the film is about and what the audience can expect. After watching both of these films it is in opinion that both directors do this very well.

When the opening scene in memento starts the viewers see a murder, this hints to the audience of the film main events and that there will be further murders within the later parts of the film. The title ‘memento’ can also be easily linked to the word memory, when the viewers know this and see the mans arms were covered in writing it gives away that the film has something to do with the main characters memory and what kind of person he is. This could also justify why he has pictures of those he has killed. Music is an important convention within film as it sets the mood for the film; the piece of music in memento is a very slow tune which leaves the viewers confused yet intrigued by what might happen next. The music also uses a minor key which when used in films gives a sad or lost feeling to the film, and also hints to the profile or personality of the character. A thriller such as memento uses such music to build suspense within the audience, to build the suspense and make the viewers tense and unsure of what happens next the director will start the music slowly from a quiet volume to a louder volume. In memento they use a string instrument which is well known for use in thriller music because of the effect a stringed instrument has when played on a minor key as it can create a greater suspense within the audience and without suspense a thriller would not be a thriller.

The opening scene for insomnia I found to be more confusing due to its complexity and randomness, and I’m sure an audience would agree. There are sheets of fabric that slowly soak in blood which give clues to murder or violence. But then it shows something that would confuse the audience about the setting of the thriller as it shows us an icy wasteland or tundra, this leaves the audience thinking what is the connection between the blood soaked fabric and the icy tundra. The director uses this to his/her advantage as confusion can be used as a key aspect in films within the horror genre as it excites the audiences mind with suspense as to what will happen next and to discovering the link between the tundra and the fabric so the viewers will be on the edge of their seats. The music in insomnia is a sort of dark piece of music that gives off a mysterious feel to it, it was made by using stringed instruments in a minor key as usual but the director also added base in a minor key. The director does this to make the audience/viewers uneasy and unsettled as if they had insomnia themselves, the director does all this to create and odd and out of place environment to make the viewers suspense and wary.