What Makes an Effective Thriller Opening?

There are a lot of different techniques and effects that can be added to a piece of film in order to make it into an effective thriller opening. First of all the basic contents needs to be correct, this includes the setting, lighting, sounds, characters, props and dialogue. Generally the less revealed the better. This means that the setting needs to be darkened down quite a lot as well as the costumes on the characters. Any important or significant props need to be concealed so that not all is revealed and the characters faces may need to be hidden also. This means that very little information is revealed to the viewer which can help to build up tension and make the viewer ask a lot of questions. The more questions that are left for the viewer to answer the better in regards to a thriller opening. This is because they will then want to continue to watch in order to unravel the story and find the answers to the questions that they have. As little dialogue as possible needs to be in a thriller opening. This helps to hide the personality of the characters giving a sense of mystery and really helps to build up the tension and suspense that will be carried on into the rest of the film.

A good order of events also helps to make an effective opening to a thriller, this includes flash backs and pass of time sequences. By doing this a thriller opening can really help to set the scene for the rest of the movie however without revealing too much for the present time. This is why flashbacks are very important. They can help to show what has gone on and what the film may be about without revealing what is still to come. This means that the mystery is still there and that the viewer still has something to gain by continuing and watching the remainder of the film. Not all thriller openings contain flashbacks and they are not necessary but they do add a great effect.

Pace of camera shots as well as a wide variety of different camera angles will have great effect on the opening of a thriller film. A slower pace and less speed when switching between different camera angles and shots may not work here as it doesn’t show any urgency or action. In a thriller opening people want a glimpse of what they are going to see throughout the rest of the film, this is why a faced paced method works much better here. It provides more action and makes the film seem much more exciting but also means that as much detail cannot be covered which stops the film accidently revealing too much information to its audience. This makes the audience more likely to continues and watch the rest of the film.

Suspense and the build-up of tension are a must in the opening of a thriller film and this tension and suspense must not be let go until into the actual film. Without this the thriller opening with not seem appealing to many people and so people may be less willing to continue and watch the rest of the film. Stairs and the use of mirrors are just another couple of things that can be used to build up tension within a thriller film as they allow the audience to look around corners where the characters cannot see. This makes the audience rather tense as they can only watch as the characters may not know what is going on.

How titles are incorporated into the opening of a thriller can be very effective in the film. There are thousands of different ways that titles can be made and included in the opening of a film. The more tension building and exciting they are the better. A lot of people think that titles just have to be written but this is incorrect as sound effects and music can also go a lot towards making effective titles in a thriller opening. The titles of a thriller could reveal some important information such as showing items or people of significance. A good example of where sound effects and items of significance have been used in the titles of a thriller a in the film ‘Se7en’.