5 Thriller Openings - Fraser Ward

Inception

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VXkUzf1et4

            The establishing shots during the first few seconds of the opening of inception give the viewer an understanding of the setting. This is very important due to this being a key setting during the film which is revisited throughout. The close-ups of Cobb also communicate his distressed and weary expression. This is accompanied by the fact that he is wearing ragged clothes ad is unshaven. These two elements create a sense that he is at the end of a long and physically demanding journey. (Below)

            The lighting in the mansion, where the old Japanese man is, creates a feeling of eeriness and stereotypical oriental culture. This reflects the aging of the old man. The pace of the shots is quite slow which represents how Cobb is slow and unaware of his surroundings, yet the pace speeds up when he enters the mansion. This adds more excitement to the scenes.

The Dark Knight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0

           The establishing shot of ‘Gotham City’ shows the audience the setting for the film. The smashing of the window employs the match on action technique to highlight which building is being used. The two bank robbers on the zip-line are shown in an extreme long shot to establish which building is being used for the bank heist. More mid-shots are used in the scenes to communicate body language as all the bank robbers are wearing masks, which makes body language far more vital to the opening sequence.

            The clown masks instantly relate the thugs to the films villain ‘The Joker’ (Above). This helps the viewer identify them easier and also adds a sense of evil and mystery to them. The pace during the opening scenes is quite slow, yet as soon as the car pulls up to pick up ‘The Joker’ the pace speeds up at a highly increasing rate. The soundtrack also elevates from a low and thin sound to a louder, pulsing soundtrack. This adds atmosphere to the bank robbery and makes it a high-octane experience.

 The Prestige

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLba9pC7qZ8

           

The Prestige starts using a panning camera shot. This introduces the title of the film, yet shows in the background multiple top hats. This is a clue to the twist in the story, yet the silence and rolling title draw your attention away from it. The shot also establishes a setting that is later revisited in the film. This is a clever example of foreshadowing which adds mystery and gives clues in thriller films.

 The next scene is of one of the key characters, Cutter. His voice narrates over one of the scenes that would normally be seen during the middle of the film, yet it is used as merely a clue towards the twist of the film. His voice acts as a sound bridge to link the first scene to the following scenes to keep a steady flow of continuity. The pace of the scene is quite slow towards the beginning, yet as the trick being shown creates more tension, the pace begins to speed up. This adds more to the anxiety the audience may feel due to the danger of the trick. Also the use of parallel editing whilst Cutter explains the anatomy of a magic trick shows peculiar similarities between the two tricks being performed.

            The lighting in the flash-forward of the magic trick has quite a Brown/sepia tone which helps establish the time the film is set (Above). The colour shows that the time is set before the use of technology, yet electricity is available. The dress of the young girl in the scene with Cutter is quite old fashioned, which also gives a sense of time.

Quantum of Solace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXJiYV9K77Q

The establishing shots of the car and the setting help give the viewer an understanding of the location in which the car chase is. The sea and landscape gives an idea of an exotic European country. The car chase explodes into a flurry of high speed action using Steadycam shots which adds deliberate camera shake to heighten the action. The POV shots also add the experience of the driver to the scene to immerse the audience into the film further.

            The car is the vital prop in the car chase. James Bond’s signature car is the Aston Martin and it has been used throughout the films (Above). The suit that James Bond wears is also a signature feature of the opening scene, as the Steadycam shots make the characters and their cars difficult to establish, so the signature costumes and props make the characters a lot easier to separate and identify.

            The slow pace at the start of the clip helps the audience take-in the setting and scenario. The pace of the clip the quickly escalates into the high speed chase. The dramatic change of pace really emphasises the speed and danger of the car pursuit. The simple use of straight cuts keeps the conflict between the cars crisp and fast to keep the action flowing.

            The soundtrack in the opening sequence starts off at quite a thin texture, yet as the chase accelerates so does the music. As soon as the cars leave the tunnel the music booms into a flurry of instruments that adds more drama to the sequence. The silence when the final enemy is killed highlights the gunshot and allows the audience to take in what has happened easier and to signify the end of the car chase.

Pulp Fiction    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwusCDRiDwE

            The camera work is not overly exploited during this scene. Mainly eye level shots that show the full body of each character are used (such as medium shots to mid close-ups). This may be to reflect the pace of the shots during the opening sequence.

The pace for this scene is very minimalistic, which is a trait of Quentin Tarantino’s films. He uses interesting conversations intertwined with long camera cuts to highlight the conversation itself. This gives a unique feel to the film. The slow pace also allows the audience to process the nature of the conversation. The strange talk between the couple about robbing banks and liquor stores is easier to watch as the slow pace allows the viewer to not have to focus on two very intricate things at once.

The costumes of each couple are quite average (Above).They each are wearing normal clothes you would expect from two people living in an America or two tourists. This adds to the fact that the conversation starts off quite normal, yet escalates in to a robbery, which is very different from what you would expect from the two. The coffee shop/restaurant has been made to look like a typical ‘New York diner’. This helps establish the setting without the need for an extreme long shot to fully show the setting.

 Instead of having a soundtrack as a sound bridge between each scene the conversation runs fluently to link the scenes together to make up for the lack of a soundtrack. The reason for there being no music is to highlight the conversation and not distract the viewer from the crimes that the couple are talking about.