'Watching' Documentary on Film Openings

      We watched a documentary in class demonstrating the different types of film openings for thrillers, presented by Thomas Sutcliffe.

  Firstly Sutcliffe says, "Films need to seduce their audience into a long erm commitment. While there are many types of sudction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistable" basically implying that you have to be able to set the scene and grip the audience and make them want to watch your film. This helped us to think through how we need to entice our audience with our first 3 minutes. However they're are some risks in having an 'instant arousal' as sometimes the film does not live up to the expectations then set to the audience, or follow through with what the beginnings set.

  We also learned that a good beginning needs to allow the audience to have some knowledge of what is going on, but enough which keeps them in the dark. This then will then help the audience to establish what is going on but also leaves enough unknown to keep them gripped for the rest of the film.

  Stanley Kauffman describes the classic opening from North by Northwest, where we see an establishing shot of New York, then an office building, then his office, then Carey Grant, all in an elongated tracking shot. Enabling the audience to know what it is there getting in to.

  Sutcliffe also described in the video why the opening to Seven is so effective. At the title sequence of the film we see that it sets the tone of it being a gaury thriller, with some psychopathic tones. It hits the audience on the head and prepares us for the following events in the film.

  The video also taught us about, "a favourite trick of Film Noir" which is a technique involving putting the end of the film at the beginning, like 'Casino' which sets the tone of the film, enticing the audience and wanting to know how the characters got there.

  Sutcliffe looked at 'The Shining' and how at the beginning of the film we see in the music that its bleak and tense, but also how the camera persues the car like a predator, stalking it. Showing the audience that the car is heading in the wrong direction and that something bad is going to happen.