James Bond - Goldeneye (Michael Maddock)

James Bond - Goldeneye Opening

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

This really has to be one of my favourite thriller openings. Although you never really get introduced to the main characters and there is no real dialog it still works well. The song fits the on screen action amazingly, for example when the words “golden eye” is song an eye appears in shot. This shows nice editing. Also the way the girls dance almost in a sexual nature fits with the Bond stereo type and this kind of shows that this film will be no different.

Right at the start a bullet if fired and from then on all the shots involve fire really shows that this is going to be a true action film, and although there is no dialog there is text. The text isn’t massively relevant to the film it just shows who made the film.

The song is similar to a narration as it is telling a story if you listen to the words, although I wouldn’t want this in my opening I do like how different it is and thing it works well in this kind of opening.

Final destination (Michael Maddock)

Final destination 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KrbzTxTaJk

This opening is very different from most thriller openings, for a start it is in black and white this could be because the real story hasn’t started yet and its almost like a flash back to the other final destination films. It also has no dialog this backs up my first idea that it is a flash back, showing you all the past deaths and blood to get you in the mood for the film you are about to watch.

The only characters in this opening are people who are dying in almost comical ways. This also could be to inform you that the film you are about to watch isn’t the most serious thriller you will see.

I like how this opening shot has been edited. It is fast and upbeat creating the feel of an action film. It also a cut from a real person acting to some cleaver computer work witch shows the person almost like an x-ray.

Although there is no speaking in the opening there is text. It doesn’t really add to the overall feel on the start but gives me the idea that in are opening we might not have to have talking and we would have writing explaining the events or telling the story.

Sin City (Michael Maddock)

Sin City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm4YTs_Mr5M&feature=player_embedded#

Straight away we are drawn into this film as it is all black and white except the woman’s dress; This is a very interesting technique and the fact it is very uncommon buts the film into a different mindset of your average thriller.

How the characters talk would suggest they know one another witch is strange because the film has only just started and we haven’t even been introduced to the characters.

Most of the speaking in the scene comes from the male character, The way in witch he speaker makes him seem very cold in my opinion this is then backed up when he says “I didn’t come hire for the party I came hire for you”. Narration is also used at the very start of the shot, explaining his mind. We can also tell he fills very much in control at this point as he says “She only goes still for a moment” suggesting he is almost planning to do something as he knows she is scared of him.

Also the use of editing and mise en scène is very nice, for example when her eyes turn green.

I think the way that effects have been played with in this is brilliant and is a concept that could look great in are thriller opening, maybe playing with the saturation to try and create a tensor feel.

No Country For Old Men (Michael Maddock)

No Country For Old Men - Opening scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSyC45584jM

The opening to this film if very different to most thriller openings. It starts with a shot looking out into the darkness when a voice kicks in. With the way the man talks and the words he says making us feel this is a old film, This could have been done to create a false sense of security as when we think of thrillers we don’t typically think of western film and this first shot looked very much like the start of a western. Then sutely we start to notice modern icons like telephone polls until the camera eventually pans and we see the talker clearly. He is a sheriff putting a man in the back of his car, at this point we don’t know this but the man under arrest it the main subject in the film.

When we eventually get round to seeing the sheriff he looks like a typical American sheriff and because he looks normal we then turn and look at the other man.

The way this scene is shot is also not like most other thrillers. It doesn’t have fast cuts or lots of exciting camera movement it is very slow and controlled and in doing this we almost want to keep watching to find out why a thriller is so carmly shot.

I like how the director has chosen to do a voice over explaining the sheriff’s mind but still not explaining every think like who the criminal is so this is left for us to decide. And although I really like the opening and the voice over I don’t think I would chose to do my opening scene this way.

Adam Marshall Thriller research- Casino Royale

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/324089/casino_royale/
The opening to this film is very interesting as it is all in black and white. This could have been done to make it look like it is from his past, he states in this scene that this is the first man he kills so it is obviously has some sort of importance to him. It is a look into his past to see how different he was to the more aged Bond he grows into.
The black and white effect also creates a vast amount of darkness in the room he goes to, the first shot of Bond, low key lighting is being used, we can see this because one side of his face is visible, and one side is in the dark.  This room is a complete contrast to the bathroom he fights in, which is very bright. I think this is so we can see the fast paced action and the vast amounts of fast paced shots used in the scene.
As with all other thrillers, the action withing the scene involves lots of shots being taken at loads of different angles, they are all very short takes. The jump from watching the scene in the office, to the scene in the bathroom shows the huge different in shot numbers.As the enemy is being drowned by Bond, the takes seem to be longer, this could be to show his life draining away and the mood calming down again.
There is ambient music in the scene. This is used for a number of reasons, it could be to show a certain emotion or perhaps it could be to build tension. When it cuts to the fight scene in the bathroom the music greatly increases in dynamics and there is a whole ensemble of instruments playing.

Adam Marshall Thriller research- Deja Vu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BFPLNdv9-Q

As in most Thrillers the main problem/ dilemma happens in the first five minutes of the film. This is to get the audience on the edge of their seats and making the atmosphere very tense. The rest of the film i mainly solving the main problem or mystery in the film, then there is an ending that puts us in the same position we were in at the beginning of the film.

There is minimal dialogue in this scene. this is done to create even more suspense. The diagetic music within the scene is contrapuntal, this is also done to make us think that something in the scene is wrong or out of place, or perhaps dangerous. This music builds a lot of tension as it is a relatively happy song, we know that the film has lots of action in it and something is bound to happen that will affect a lot of peoples lives for the worse.

In aspects of  mise en scene the ferry that most of the scene is set on seems to be a ferry with lots of sailors from the Navy, they are all wearing the same outfit. The families of the sailors are obviously wearing normal clothes.

The shots in the opening are relatively drawn out and are around the same time length, this shows that the mood is relaxed and nothing that would cause distress is happening. The shots during the explosion and after are of a much quicker pace and a lot more shots.

I think this is a brilliant start to a thriller film because it is so tense the whole time the man is investigating the car and immediately has us on the edge of our seat, it also crates mystery because of the ELS looking up to the bridge seeing a silhouette of the man looking down on what was happening. People watching immediately know that this man is behind it and they want to find out who it is.   

Adam Marshall Thriller research- The Dissapearance of Alice Creed

In the opening to this film there is very little dialogue, it is almost as if the men (most likely antagonists) have planned what they are doing, and know exactly what to do at the time. They don't need to talk about it or question one another, they just need to do their work as efficiently as possible. They don't seem to have any morals either, they show no regret when stealing a van, and don't seem to think what they're planning is wrong. they are like machines who have been programmed to do something and won't let anything stop them.

The music in the couple of shots that pan around the flat showing the surrounding seems to create yet more tension in this scene, along with the robotic movements of the men and the places they show they are planning something very sinister. This is a different type of ending to The Matrix because it is at a lot slower pace and seems to be a lot more relaxed.

There are at least five settings in this opening, as they plan out the kidnapping. This means that for our thriller work we won't have to stick to one setting, we can have many more than that if we wish. The settings are mostly run down or unused places, a place where something that they won't want anyone seeing to happen, this is obviously an ideal setting for a thriller film.

I really like this opening because it shows exactly how they plan the kidnapping and shows what the whole film is going to be based on. When i watched this clip I actually wanted to watch the rest of the film to see what happened. This is what a good thriller opening should do to the whole audience.