Response to Watching documentary on Film Opening

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 an instant arousal is almost irresistible".

He means that when an audience watch a film, they need to be commited to watching it, especially if the film is and hour and a half long, or even longer then that. The film needs to be eye grabbing from the very start of the film so that the audience are interested in the film, so this is when the 'Instant arousal' should be at its best, to capure the audience's attention.

2) According to director Jean Jacques Beineix , what are the risks of 'instant arousal'?

He believes that starting his film with 'instant arousal' can be both a big risk but also an advantage. Advantages of this would be getting the audiences attention straight away. However, it can also be a risk as he's left with the question, What to do next? if he starts the film very strong, the rest of the film will not be as interesting as the beggining of the film. Therefore, if a film is not started with instant arousal, this gives the audience a chance to work a little, and wonder what will happen next, rather then knowing the plot of the fil and starting the film off strong and giving too much away.

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."

The beggining of the film should be where the audience allow themseles to get to know the characters in the film. The plot of the film should not be given away straight away, because if the opening of a film gives alot away then when the auidence are hit with a cliffhanger, it will not be that great. Also, the tone of the beggining of the film will allow the audience to know what they are in for, they will then establish what kind of things may happen but leave them wanting more.

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

Firstly starts off with an establishing shot of a city and then shows a close up of a building, and as the camera is panning the building, it goes to a window where you can see a typical office layout. you pass the receptionist to an office where you get an insight of the characters and perhaps what kind of carear they have. This technique is ery good as it identifies the characters the audience are going to be watching and the loaction its set at.

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

I personally feel the title sequence of 'Seven' was really good as it sets the tone of what the film will be about. You already know that it has a psychotic tone and is trying to preper the audience of what is going to happen. You know the main character is a psycho already, howeer, this is a good thing to tell the audience. This helps them to know the character however, still not knowing of what the character is capable of. The creepy opening grabs the audiences attention straight away and lets you know the film is going to be reallygood, this is what makes the film opening so effective.

6) What did Orson Welles want to achieve with his opening to the film A Touch Of Evil? What did Universal Studios do to it? Why?

Originally, Welles wanted to hit the audience with a BAM! So that the audience can immidietly get into the film without having shown signs of preperations in the titles and music. However, at the end of the production, Universal studios added in titles and music, which went against Welles original plan to grab the audiences attention without that stuff.

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

'Film Noir' is a very good and useful technique that shows the end of the film at the beggining and then tells you the story of how that conclusion of the film happened. This gives away the ending of the film however, also leaves them asking how that conclusion happened. When using this technique, the director of the film must make sure the the ending of the film is a ery good ending, because if the ending is not good, then there is a risk of the audiences losing interest in the film.

8) How does the opening to the film The Shining create suspense?

 The opening of 'The Shining' was very good as it has the quality of filmed shots to grab the audiences attention. It starts off with a shot of a helicopter, which is fixated onto the moving car below. As an audience you want to know whats in the car, and this is how the opening creates suspense, as it almost teases you.