Alex - 5 Thriller Openings

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Camera Work - At the start of the film the first shot is a long shot of a large road which has a large amount of people on it. It also shows children playing on the swings looking happy, but it is edited into slow motion. This is used to show a large amount of people living and enjoying life as the next part shows that there has been a war of some sort which many people have died in.
- There is a close-up on a human skull which creates as suspense as you don't see how the person dies.
- In the same show a low-angle shot is used to show the robot. It makes it look more menacing as it looks taller from the low angle shot.
- A small panning shot shows a few machines and this adds suspense for the viewer as you don't actually know how many of the machines there are.

Mise-en-scene - The clothing in the opening scene is generally combat uniform. Excluding the very beginning the opening of this film is set in a war zone. At the very beginning the clothing is normal, average everyday clothes where it shows the children on the swing.
- The opening is set in a war zone so the set design is one of rubble, craters, etc from a destroyed city.

Sound - There is a build up of noise in the opening of the clip. The only sound in the area is the wind, until a machine steps on a skull and as the camera moves up the rest of the machines come in sight and the noise level picks up.

Editing - In this opening scene there is a Narrator. The Narrator is a woman and she reveals that she is a character in the film. The Narrator sets up the story for the viewer as she explains why there are so many skeletons about and a large war is going on.
- When the camera just shows the skull on the floor, there is a long Pan across the surrounding area which then goes into a close up on the skull. While the fighting is happening the cuts are going much faster which makes the viewer think the fighting is more exciting then it actually is.


2. Vertigo
Camera Work - It begins with a Close-up of a ladder which then zooms out and shows a person running away from two others. It makes the viewer wonder why this man is running?
- An extreme long shot and a pan shows the distance which these three people are running.
- When one of the men slip and is just hanging off the edge of the rooftop, a close-up is used to show the fear on the man's face.
- A Long-shot is used to show the drop down off the edge which shows the viewer how high up the men are.

Mise-en-scene
- The three men in this scene are generally wearing a smart attire. The first man is wearing just a suit while the next two look like Police Officers. This explains a little bit of why they were chasing the other man.
- The set is of a city rooftops which is where quite a few chase scenes have been.
- The lighting is dark as it is set at night in the city.

Sound - There is music thrughout this scene. It is fast-paced music and it is also quite loud. This makes the audience feel more excited with the chase scene. Also when they're running the Police Officer shoots a few times at the man he's chasing which shows the viewer that this chase is serious.

Editing - The scene has got a large amount of quick changing cuts. This makes the audience think that the action is happening faster then it actually is which builds up excitement.

3. The Dark Knight
Camera Work - There are a lot of close-ups on certain objects for example: a mask that one of the men is holding. When the men have broke in, there are other close ups for example close ups on the money in the safe. The close-ups show the audience which objects in the film are important.
- At the beginning of the scene there are a lot of long-shots as it is set in a city. When the two masked men zip-wire over to another building, there is an extreme long-shot which shows to the viewer the risk that these men are prepared to take.

Mise-en-scene - In this scene the people who are stealing from the bank are all wearing clown masks. This can scare some viewers but it will definitely make the other viewers think about why are they wearing them and not just balaclavas.
- The men are all wearing suits which would let them fit in with the crowd when they escape.
- The Setting is a large, rich bank in the middle of a city in America.

Sound - The sound at the beginning of this scene is very quiet and seems to be building up. This creates suspense among the viewers.
- The music then drops after they have entered the bank and it is fast paced which goes with what's happening in the film.

Editing - Again, the cuts go very fast when the action in the film builds up.
- During the period's of dialogue, the music and the cuts both slow down. But when the bus crashes through the wall at the end both speed up again.

4. GoodFellas
Camera Work - At the beginning of the scene it shows three men driving in a car. While they are in the car the same camera shot is used. It is a mid shot which can get the whole car in view.
- When the men get out the car, they are not sure what's really going on in the boot. The camera zooms in slowly on the boot before they open it to build up the suspense.
-When the Men are waiting to open the car boot, a low angle shot is used to make them look big, which makes them look powerful.

Mise-en-scene - These men look quite rich from the suits they're wearing. And by the end of the scene after they have killed the person in the boot, the viewer can tell that they are a gang or a mob of some sort and that they probably didn't acquire the money for the suits by legal means.
- Apart from the inside of the car, the only other setting in this is hidden away from the road and in some trees.

Sound - Only at the very end of the scene is there any loud music. The whole, rest of the scene is with very quiet music. This can create more tension as the viewer is even less likely going to expect when some things happen.
- When they are driving in the car, the tapping noise from the boot can make the viewer feel the suspense as the characters d not know what its from either.

Editing - At the very end of the scene a Narrator comes in. This can help set some of the story for the viewers.
- All the cuts in this scene are very slow. There are a few long panning shots and this makes it different to the other Thrillers as it makes you even less likely to know what's coming next.

Face Off
Camera Work - There is a few close-ups of John Travolta and his son. The viewers can see this is a happy part of the scene.
- Then it changes to a long shot of Nicolas Cage. It creates suspense as the viewer cant see him clearly but can see he as a gun. The shot changes to an extreme close up of his mouth which creates even more suspense for the audience as they cant see his face clearly.
- Another extreme close-up is of the gun this time as Nicolas Cage fires.
- A couple of different Mid-shots show John Travolta hit. The Mid shot lets the viewer see exactly what has happened.

Mise-en-scene - The costume worn by John Travolta in this scene is just everyday wear as it is being made to look like an everyday scene with his son.
The setting is on a Carousel which is good contrast to the fact that someone is going to get shot.

Sound - The music at the beginning of the scene is generally quite happy music. This changes later on during the time when John Travolta and the child get shot.

Editing - There is a lot of slow motion at the beginning of this scene as it is showing family time. The director is trying to make it as nice and family l-like as he can up to the point where Nicolas Cage is shown.
- There is also slow-motion when they get shot which is good contrast to the slow motion before.