What Makes A Good Opening Sequence?

An opening sequence is important in every thriller film and requires to bring question to mind, towards its audience. The three questions that the audience should be thinking about are, who is he/she? What happened? And why has it happened? With these questions in mind the audience must now pay attention to the film to answer the questions that the opening sequence has given them. If these questions or anything related to them doesn’t occur then the audience’s attention is put off and feel frustrated or annoyed, having to wait for information later in the film especially in a thriller.

Most importantly the film has to contain a character that is either struggling or has entered a situation of struggle, for the audience to have an emotional response at the very start of the film. Also the use of micro feature have to sync with the actions presented within the scene so the scene flows together well and creates further suspense and question amongst the audience.

Analysis on the Thriller Opening – Oceans Twelve

The opening sequence to the film Oceans Twelve is confirmed halfway through, when we hear the conversation between Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and the Europol Detective Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones), we discover that Catherine zeta Jones plays the role of a police detective, implying the film is to be based on action. Furthermore with Rusty Ryan’s reaction to Isabel’s Lahiri discovery, he must find a means of escape.

Here is the occurrence of the disruption that causes chaos towards Brad Pitt’s character and the question to what the entire film is about, being a 'robbery'.

Interestingly the opening sequence sets the tone of a neutral basis, because of the mise en scene being low key in a home the character may be in danger, with the use of a tracking sot we follow Rusty Ryan in a medium shot and can analyze the room in which he is in. fortunately the possibility of danger does not happen. This is confirmed further once Rusty Ryan, begins to speak to a woman in a bed. The dialogue provides information for the audience onto who the characters displayed are and what are they to each other. It’s confirmed that the two are a couple or have intimate feelings for each other.

The use of the reaction shot informs the audience that Brad Pitt’s character is the person that the police are looking for within the investigation.

While the conversation, between the two continues we as an audience realise that Rusty Ryan is in trouble within regards to the topic of the conversation, we as an audience are given reaction shots of Brad Pitt’s character and realise he has something to do with a massive international burglary. Further Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character goes on by saying how she found some strong evidence. Being a ‘Shoe with a worn out heel’ and ‘a hair we’ve taken it to the lab so we can find out what shampoo they use, conditioner, hair jell’  

Here is the reaction shot of Brad Pits character realising the evidence being discussed is about him.

Followed by an eye-line match shot, showing the props concluding with the audience that Brad Pitt’s character is in trouble    

This use of dialogue concludes that Rusty Ryan is in fact the culprit of the investigation. This is confirmed with eye-line match, we see Ryan look at something then we see a range of washing hair treatments.

Finally the use of Mise en scene between both characters Catherine Zeta Jones’ character laying in darkness, while Brad Pitts character is sitting on a toilet seat in a bright bathroom. This create strong suspense for the audience, because they are given a choice who to support? And who is the villain? The fact that both characters are together under the same roof, create tension, because both characters are in danger with only one of them realising, being Rusty Ryan’s, means of escape.

Brad Pitts Character means of escape, from the danger. Being physical danger (Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character)

The danger Catherine Zeta Jones as a detective unaware that the thief she’s looking for is in the opposite room.

Overall the scene was able to create both humour, but suspense as well for the audience with the use of the micro feature discussed and others to create an entertaining scene within an action thriller opening sequence.

Micro Analysis The Grudge

Micro Analysis – The Grudge

After been given a chance to analyse a films method for the creation of suspense, we were then given the chance to select our own film based on the genre of thriller and analyse and explain the purpose of these methods. The film I had chosen, was The Grudge (Apartment Haunting Scene).

The scene is about three minutes long, however during the first two minute and 30 seconds of the film there is no use of the non-diegetic sound, being soundtrack. Which means that the character within the, scene is surrounded, by silence which we as an audience are able to experience. Now the method in which the film used to create suspense was that the only sounds we could hear were the projections of diegetic sound, created, by the character which created tension, because of her slowly breaking the silence.

Moreover the use of a tracking shot is used, so we are able to follow the character towards and away from danger. Also the tracking shot allow us to engage with what he character is reacting to, for example the phone rings and she sighs in relief, because she discovers that it is a friend of hers. Which calm not only the character but we as an audience as well, because we believes we’ve escaped from the unknown danger. However the creation of suspense in this horror, begins to take place. The ringing of the doorbell, to find out that no one is there, the use of dialogue for the character to express how she feels in the situation she is in, finally the chromatic sound of a cat growling on the phone and still continues once the power supply is removed.

This causes the audience to hold onto their seats, because of them being unaware of what’s causing these, unexplained scenarios. We begin to zoom into the traumatized characters face, leading into a close up shot of the characters reaction. At the same time the use of a soundtrack, getting louder follows and the sound of the growling cat follows.

The camera angle then changes into a low angled shot to experience the characters vulnerability of this thing crawling towards her from the end of her bed, under the covers. We as the audience get to see what the female character sees with the use of a POV shot, while simultaneously projecting the character soundtrack to scare us, even more, as if the sighting of the creature doesn’t scare us.

Now the use of the mise en scene structure and concludes the suspense made within this scene. The room is quiet again and the surroundings low key. This pull s off the feeling that there is no escape from the creature even if you were to hide from such things as you would do as a kid, being a blanket, turning on lights. Childlike acts will not help or save you.

In conclusion with the use of all these methods, the creation of suspense is strong within the scene with its late build up to suspense, which is why the grudge will always catch me off guard.