The opening of a thriller is very important as the director needs to immediately entice the viewer so they will continue to watch the rest of the film, there are a few techniques used by these directors that are common in many thriller openings These can be as simple as introducing the main character in fine detail, but still leaving more to be revealed, leaving a sense of enigma. Or by developing what the story or plot of the film is so that the viewer wants to continue and find out what will happen and how it will end. Lots of the techniques are based around leaving the viewer not knowing the full picture, so that their questions are answered.
A great example of this would be in the opening of Se7en, Morgan Freeman's character Detective Lt. William Somerset, we see that he is a very organised and neat man from the state of his apartment and the alignment of his personal belongings like his pen. It is all in order and this tells us a bit about what he is like. But it is not just the character the director is trying to introduce, it is also things like the plot, genre and theme. The first thing we hear before we even see anything is the sound of police sirens in the distance, we can assume that this film has something to do with crime (genre, theme) and also it tells us about the location, possibly a run down area, or a crime ridden city. In just a few seconds so much has already been hinted at that can be developed on later, capturing the viewer and making then want to watch more.
Other films done by different directors may focus on other areas with there opening. For example Rise of the foot soldier looks much more at the character and the plot of the film. We see Carlton grow up and his job and business (of sorts) develop. It is important to do this in this film as it is important to know who everyone is and their involvement, not all films are like this where other characters aren't important and we don't need to know who everyone is. Different films require different bits to be established from the beginning.
Monday 17 December 2012
Treatment
We fade into a forest, illuminated by the cold mid-winter dawn.
A man is seen venturing through the woods. The leaves crunch beneath his feet, the snow gathers on his toes.
Twigs snap in the background; he thinks nothing of it.
Seconds pass, and he begins to dwell on the sound.
Fearing a presence, he takes a brief look around, as if someone was there.
He reaches down to bury the contents of his pocket, wrapped in a small plastic bag.
In the background, a suited man wearing a Venetian Carnival mask appears, just watching.
He stands up again, looking around, clicking his neck. Unaware of anything else; the Venetian masked man in the distance behind him.
He looks around, noticing the man.
He says nothing, and they maintain eye contact.
He promptly starts walking forward to leave the forest.
He looks back as he's walking, the man closer than before, but standing perfectly still in the same stance, as if he never moved.
We cut to a darkly lit scene of him sitting in a room, evidently trapped.
We then return to the forest, the man behind him again.
It begins alternating between him walking through the forest, slowly being caught up, and him locked in the room.
The screen goes black. Silent too;
It cuts to the dark room again, the man is sitting in the corner, clutching his knees, whilst the masked man is staring at him, looming over.
It ends as he looks up at the camera, Turns back to the man, and removes his mask.
The story itself takes it's thriller influence from Dead Man's Shoes - a revenge film involving gang warfare and violent intentions. We borrow the mental ambiguity from a character and give it to our protagonist.
It also takes influence from The Strangers; a cat and mouse style thriller involving murder; the villian in ours slowly catches the protagonist, as happens in both films, in different senses. We also take the scary, impending and unknowing torture element from horror film giant SAW.
Film Noir elements have influenced the writing of the story line, such as the brief emphasis on props, the extreme close angles, the use of suit and mask (mask to represent a hidden emotion or motive) and the limited visibility (interruption and obstruction by trees)
The idea of an enigma is created, as we know nothing about either of them, we have no contextual information behind them or the story.
A man is seen venturing through the woods. The leaves crunch beneath his feet, the snow gathers on his toes.
Twigs snap in the background; he thinks nothing of it.
Seconds pass, and he begins to dwell on the sound.
Fearing a presence, he takes a brief look around, as if someone was there.
He reaches down to bury the contents of his pocket, wrapped in a small plastic bag.
In the background, a suited man wearing a Venetian Carnival mask appears, just watching.
He stands up again, looking around, clicking his neck. Unaware of anything else; the Venetian masked man in the distance behind him.
He looks around, noticing the man.
He says nothing, and they maintain eye contact.
He promptly starts walking forward to leave the forest.
He looks back as he's walking, the man closer than before, but standing perfectly still in the same stance, as if he never moved.
We cut to a darkly lit scene of him sitting in a room, evidently trapped.
We then return to the forest, the man behind him again.
It begins alternating between him walking through the forest, slowly being caught up, and him locked in the room.
The screen goes black. Silent too;
It cuts to the dark room again, the man is sitting in the corner, clutching his knees, whilst the masked man is staring at him, looming over.
It ends as he looks up at the camera, Turns back to the man, and removes his mask.
The story itself takes it's thriller influence from Dead Man's Shoes - a revenge film involving gang warfare and violent intentions. We borrow the mental ambiguity from a character and give it to our protagonist.
It also takes influence from The Strangers; a cat and mouse style thriller involving murder; the villian in ours slowly catches the protagonist, as happens in both films, in different senses. We also take the scary, impending and unknowing torture element from horror film giant SAW.
Film Noir elements have influenced the writing of the story line, such as the brief emphasis on props, the extreme close angles, the use of suit and mask (mask to represent a hidden emotion or motive) and the limited visibility (interruption and obstruction by trees)
The idea of an enigma is created, as we know nothing about either of them, we have no contextual information behind them or the story.
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