Reviewing Other Students' AS Thriller Openings

To help gain inspiration, I decided to watch a variety of other thriller film openings made by other students across the UK. Being able to pinpoint both positives and negatives about their final piece will in turn help my group when we come to make ours so that we won't make the same mistakes.

Exemption

The first thriller film opening I watched is called Exemption, which was made in December 2013. The opening is about two boys who seem to be kidnapped and after trying to escape, one of them are recaptured and the last one remaining is faced with a decision; should he run and leave his friend to die? Or should he save his friend and risk getting captured once again?

The initial thing I noticed about this film opening was the cinematography; the attention to detail was clear to see - small elements such as close ups of the scenery help add to the climaxing tension, as it directs the audience attention away from the main ongoing action and forces them to pay attention to the smaller details. This is seen clearly from 0.20 - 0.40, as it helps not only establish the scene without giving the surroundings away, but helps enforce the idea to the audience that this choice of setting isn't normal by showing objects such as bloody, broken glass etc. This is something we'll be using in our thriller opening as it introduces the setting as well as showcase the mise-en-scene without obviously broadcasting the location; this is a good technique to use if you want to keep the surroundings a secret which increases the mystery element and overall escalates the eeriness.

I also liked the subtle editing techniques used; my favourite being the focal pull seen at 2:00 - 2:05 as it draws the audience's attention to something that they might not have seen or noticed yet. It's a way of making sure that small details that add suspense are picked up by the audience. This is something we were interested in creating in our film opening but due to the basic camcorders' that we were given by the school, they don't come equipped with a camera focus lens.

A successful technique to use is to verbally explain as little as much in a thriller opening, using actions rather than words builds suspense as the audience don't know what's going to happen next and when they do, it'll be visual and impacting. Leaving the audience in the dark forces them to be unknowing and therefore vulnerable, this puts people on edge and instantly creates atmosphere. The majority of professional thriller films seem to do the same thing, have very little dialogue during the opening and when it is used, it's short, direct statements or questions; rather than speeches to inform/educate the audience - as you want to create interest.

The use of silence is something I'm keen to use as silence forces the audience to either strain to try and detect sound and/or focus the rest of their attention on the action taking place during the film opening. Silence at a crucial moment, either just before or after a climatic moment heightens hostility, and alters the mood of the opening; it can give the audience a moment to process whatever they've seen or for them to sit wondering what will happen next. From 1:00 - 1:15, the audience are at the edge of their seats waiting with anticipation wondering what will happen and what the main two characters will do. This instantly achieves the main criteria of the film opening, 'to create suspense', and proves that it can be achieved simply and yet extremely effectively.