Analysis of Thriller Opening: The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects opening is another thriller opening i have studied. I chose to study this because i felt it had qualities i would like to include in the thriller opening we are to produce. When analysing the film opening i looked at these 4 aspects:

1. Camera Work

2. Mise en Scene

3. Editing

4. Sound

1. Camera Work:

Print Screen of shot from film opening

• The opening sequences uses some verry effective close ups. The first shot is an extreme close up of some matches being lit, which burst into flames from darkness immidiatly engaging the viewers attention (also fire is linked with danager and so immediatly we think it is a dangerous situation). Another close up used at the end of the opening sequence is one where the dark clothed hidden man, aims his gun at the injured man. The focus changes as he raised the gun, using a shallow field of depth, so that the gun is cleary visible and is what we focus on.
 



Print Screen of shot from film opening

• The camera work is also significant when filming the dark man. The camera never focus' in on his face, and when his face is in shot the lighting is always behind him so we can never see his face. When ever he is in a light area the camera will never show his face. This is a very good example of restricted narration because his identity is hidden well due to lighting, camera work and costume. Restricted narration is something i feel is very successful in thrillers because it creates suspense and enigma around a character because we can see peoples reaction to him but his identity is just hidden from the viewer and this is a great way of creating suspense and mystery. I think the shot where the man is walking down the stairs and the camera tilts diaganolly to follow the man is a good shot because it moves and the same speed as the man but just cutting his head out of the top of the frame, keeping his identity hidden effectively.
• Another shot that is significant is when the flame is followint ring of petrol and then the dark, mysterious man urinates on to the flame and stops it. The camera uses a low angle as it tilts up to show a dark figure urinating on the flame. The use of the low angle (in combination with the face the man urinates on the flame) shows to us the power and status of this mysterious figure and becuase his identity is not revealed in builds tension for the viewer.

Mise en Scene:

•  The Low key lighting sets the dark, mysterious, tense, sinister mood of the scene. One shot i found where the lighting was very poweful was when the man dropped the matches onto the line of petrol, and the camera follows the flame round and as the flame moves, it lights up the surroundings and a dead man is revealed. This provokes thoughts in the viewer as we begin to question what has happened and straight away it grabs the viewers attention, however because we do not know what has happened it builds suspence and makes it more mysterious.
• Forshaddowing the early point of the mysterious's mans hidden identity, I also feel his clothing contributes to his dark, mysterious persona, because he is wearing black clothes he almost blends in with the surroundings; a small but also significant point i feel that shows he is of higher status is the fact he owns a lighter whereas the other man used cheap matches. Also this shoes are very shinny and smart, possibly indicating he is wealthy. We can tell from his clothing and mysteriousness that this man is likely to be the antagonist. Overall i feel the restricted narration of this character is due to the successful camera work, lighting and clothing; and if i was to use this technique in our thriller opening i would have to use these 3 devices for it to work successfully.

• 

  Print Screen shot of wounded man from opening sequence

  The wounded mans facial expression i think is significant as we can see from when he first sees the mysterious figure, that the two characters know eachother and the wounded man is not pleased to see him. His body language-the fact he looks down indicates that he does not want the man there and as we later find out it is because the man is there to kill him and the wounded man knows that when he first sees him that he is going to die.

Editing:

• The opening of the film uses continuity editing and match on action and edited in order to make the scene run smoothly. The atmosphere is not tense and so the shots are not short and quick, because there is a slightly sad mood because we begin to emphathise with the wounded character and becuase their is not much action, the slow pace of the sequence suits the mood. 

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  Screen shot of cigarrette falling in slow motion

  In one shot towards the end of the opening, there is a shot of the cigarette being dropped by the mysterious figure after killing the other man. As the cigarrette falls down the shot has been edited in to slow motion to emphasise the fact the cigarette is falling and will ignite the petrol that we have seen has been pouring and will cause an explosion. By slowing it down it emphasises what is happening.

Sound:

• There is very little dialogue in this opening sequence. We hear the dark man speak towards the end, but do not see his face. His voice is deep, almost whisper like and adds to his mysterious persona-we want to find out what he looks like.
• There is also a non diagetic music track that begins when we first see the dark figure, the music is deep and sinister, emphasising the fact that he is an antagonist. When the mysterious figure loads his gun, the music gets louder to emphasise what is about to happen. As the cigarrette is dropped the music gets higher and louder and quicker, building up tension because we know something else is going to happen and fades out after the explosion.
• There is also a lot of diagetic sound in the sequence. In one of the first shots you can here the faint ringing of bouys in thebackground, and the sound of water,which helps us to place him in the location of a boat (which we later discover), there are other sounds such as the matches being lit, which are emphasised and very loud, also the sound of the fire (the fire as it travelled along the line of petrol), to emphasise its danger.

By Holly King