Conventions of a Thriller opening

For a thriller opening the four most important things to remember are:

1. Storyline
2. Music
3. Camera angles and shots
4. Titles

Storyline:
The storyline in the opening of a thriller, I think is the most important part of the thriller because it is usually the part of the opening that grabs the audiences attention, and if the storyline is bad at the start then nobody is going to want to carry on watching it. It is important that all of the needs of the audience are met by the director of the film, these tend to be: Suspense, Excitement and action. As well as doing that the director needs to be careful not to reveal to much of the storyline, this is to make sure that the audience are still excited and ready for more of the film to unravel after the opening.

Music:
Music is key in the opening of a thriller. Having good music can effect the film equally as much as the narrative itself. The type of music for a thriller opening should be tense and build up an effect of tension for the audience. The music that I am using does just this, so I know it fits well with the conentions of a thriller.

Camera angles and shots;


Extreme long shot from "World War Z" - Marc Forster

The use of good camera angles and shots is extemely important for the impact of a film. The shots can introduce the audience to the enviroment (e.g. establisihing shots or Extreme long shots), or to introduce the audience to the charachters and almost place in them in the movie. The opening of a thriller should involve lots of different shots to show the audience
quite a lot because they need to be introduced to the story.


Titles:

Titles from "Se7en" - David Fincher

The title sequence is key because it can actually tell a story, or give the audience extra imformation through them. A good example of titles that I have looked at is "Se7en" - Its excellent use of titles gives a way information and clues of the storlyine. The titles they use are exciting and not just a name appearing in a scene.