'Watching' Documentary on film openings

Extra blogging task

1) What does Thomas Sutcliffe mean when he says 'films need to seduce their audience into long-term commitment. ‘While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for
instant arousal is almost irresistible'. 
They need to grab the audience’s attention within the first 5 minutes to make them want to watch more. 

2) What are the risks of 'instant arousal' according to Jean Jacques Beineix?

If you start off strong then it will be difficult to create something to come next that will be even more intriguing and exciting.

3) Explain why ' 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'.

You have to establish the tone, setting and characters. The audience has to feel that they need to catch up and make sure they don’t understand everything.

4) What does critic Stanley Kauffmann describe as the classic opening?
Why does this work?

This begins with an establishing shot, then a close-up of a building then focuses on a window then into the building leading up to the main characters.

It works because it tells the audience where, what and the organisation of what is taking place leading the audience into the storyline and the tone.

5) Why is Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film seven so effective?

It tuned the viewers into the right dissonant pitch. It is a sequence that works primarily with the footage.

It tells the story and introduces you into the obsessive nature of the main character and foreshadows a lot of the scenes to come.

6) What did Orson Welles want to achieve want to achieve with his
opening to the film ' a touch of evil' what did universal studios do to it why?

He intended not to use a title sequence in the opening this is, because he wanted to plunge the audience into the storyline. The studio on the other hand added credits and different sounds they didn’t understand what Orson’s ideas were. By doing so they blunted Welles originality for his film.

7) What is meant by ' a favourite trick of Film Noir'?  What is the trick?

This is when the beginning appears as a sort of ending. They look ahead at the departure and what is to come. This is common in many great films.

8) How does this opening to the film shining create suspense?

The use of camera angles create suspense. The camera follows the car like a predator high up and behind.  It’s attention is focused on the car and everything tells the audience that the people in the car are travelling in a wrong direction which creates suspense.