30 minute documentary

In this lesson we watched a 30 minute documentary which was like an introduction to thriller films we piked up loads of information and were asked questions like What makes a opening effective? and How could you make your opening create tension and suspense? This made us think about what we wanted to do for out thriller opening and how we could use particular codes and conventions of a real thriller film.

There are 4 main types of openings, these are:
- Classic: this opening contains a lot of action and temptation which can help to grab the audiences attention, which is also known as 'Instant Arousal.' This opening should tempt the audience to continue watching the film.
- Classic (2): sets questions as it starts of with something small and then gradually builds up.
- Title Sequence: sets tone through titles and/or credits.
- Flashback: the opening scene starts at end of the movie, then slowly works back to the beginning. This is often affective, as audiences are trying to put together clues

Quotes were given to describe what different directors thought that good opening needed.
1.Thomas Sutcliffe
'Films meed to seduce their audience into long term commitment. Whilst there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible'

This means that with the opening of any thriller film it must be made in the best way possible to "seduce" his audience in order for them to watch the entire film

To achieve this directors use the 'instant arousal' technique. This is when they use a shocking scene in the beginning of the film.

Risks of instant arousal:
- high expectations
- you have to answer questions that the audience may ask at the beginning.

'A good beginning must make the audience feel that it doesn't know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that it doesn't know too little'

Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film 'Seven' is so effective. It tunes the pitch, sets the tone, sets an idea. We are given information that someone is investigating some sort of crime and putting together an investigation. This was good as it didn't reveal main characters but kept the audience on the edge of their seat.

This lesson was very useful to me and i think it will help me to make my thriller film very effective in creating tension as all of the advice and techniques were very useful and helped me to think about conventions that could be used.