1) What does Thomas Sucliffe mean when he says "Films need to seduce their audience into a long term commitment, While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible".
What Thomas Sucliffe is saying is that a film needs to be able to appeal to the audience and draw them in right from the opening and keep their interest until the very end. He then goes on to say that every director wants to achieve this within their films - its almost irresistible.
2) According to director Jean Jacques Beineix, what are the risks of "instant arousal"?
Beineix claims that if the opening of the film is thrilling and the audience become instantly aroused, then the problem of staying on that level occurs as peoples expectations are high.
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 beginning could arguably be the most important part of the film. The director must ensure that the audience are captured and interested in order for them to want to watch on. This is not achievable if they know everything as there is no point in watching the film. The audience need to be hooked and fed information throughout to keep them watching. With that said, the other way is that the audience know to little. This could create a problem due to them losing interest or them not understanding the complexity of the film and with give up.
4) What does critic Stanley Kauffmann describe as the classic opening? Why does this work?
Stanley Kauffmann described his classic opening consisting of firstly an establishing shot, leading into the close up of a building, to the window of the building, in through the window of the building, then past the receptionist desk, to the private office, and finally leads to a shot of the main character. Kauffmann's classic opening works well because it allows the audience what the film is all about and creates them a picture. They see the setting, characters and work out how the film will follow on.
5) Why is Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film Seven so effective?
Kyle Cooper's opening to the film Seven is effective as it provides the audience an insight into the later film. The sound is gripping and thrilling while the visual aspects of the film entice the audience and make them want to watch on.
6) What did Orson Wellies want to achieve with his opening to the film A Touch Of Evil? What did Universal Studios do to it? Why?
For the opening to A Touch Of Evil, Orson Wellies wanted the audience to be caught off guard and have no time for preparation before the film. To do this, the film opening featured no titles or music whatsoever. However, Universal Studios didn't felt this was a risk and would cause a negative effect as the audience were not being introduced to the film properly in the classic way therefore they added music and credits to the opening.
7)What is meant by "a favourite trick of Film Noir"? What is the trick?
The trick referred to as "a favourite trick of Film Noir" is when the opening is actually the end of the film. This is a clever trick as it draws the audience in and keeps them guessing through out the rest of the film how it could possibly result in the previously seen ending.
8) How does the opening to the film The Shining create suspense?
The opening to the film 'The Shining' creates suspense as the camera work used represents a car being stalked. The camera stays fixed on the car and follows it keeping a large distance making the audience feel like a predator. This is combined with the low undertone which creates an eerie and dark atmosphere where the audience feel on edge as anything could happen.
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