'Watching' Documentary
1. What does Thomas Sutcliffe mean when he says the following?
"Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to for instant arousal is almost irresistible"
He means that the first few minutes of the film must be able to grab the audience's attention. However, it must not give away too much, just enough to make the audience want to carry on watching the film. When they watch those first minutes they need to be seduced by it, they need to be drawn to it the way a person would be drawn to something that they desire and get's them aroused.
2. According o Director Jean Jacques Beineix, what are the risks of 'instant arousal'?
The risks of 'instant arousal' are that if you start off with strong opening, yes it will draw the audience in but this will make them expect the upcoming scenes to be as strong as the last. Beineix's main risk is how to make the rest of the film as attention grabbing as the opening. The best thing to do is to leave the strong scenes till the end so that the audience doesn't get towards the end.
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 of a film is a very important part. This is where the mood is set and establishes the genre of the film. There must be enough content that leaves the audience wanting to watch more of it. Too much shouldn't be given away as it will give away the whole plot and make the audience uninterested with the rest of the film. However, it mustn't have not nearly enough content either because this will make the audience feel as though the film is boring and has nothing to draw them in.
4. What does critic Stanley Kauffmann describe as the classic opening? Why does this work?
The classic opening is giving the audience a hint and a feel of what's about to come up.
5. Why is Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film Seven so effective?
The title sequence to the film Seven is very effective because it captures the behaviour and personality of the serial killer very well. For example it shows him cutting off the skin on his fingers in order to not leave any fingerprints. It also shows his writing in his journal. The writing in the journal also matches the title credits which works very well together as it links in with the serial killer. Also the background music gives off an eerie film hinting the genre of the film.
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?
Orson Welles wanted the film opening to begin without any title credits. His purpose was to get right into the film without he audience expecting it. However, Universal Studios changed this and added in the title credits. They needed to mark the authority of the movie.This led to the affect that Orson was hoping to achieve to be lost.
7. What is meant by "a favourite trick of Film Noir"? What is the trick?
This means that the opening of the film starts with the ending of the film. So the audience know what to expect towards the end and witness the events that lead up to it.
8. How does the opening to the film The Shining create suspense?
The opening scene of The Shining creates suspense by starting it off with a helicopter shot which follows the family car as they are travelling. It gives off a predator type feel, making it seem like the family are being followed by something bad. The eerie music also blends in with the scene giving off a scary atmosphere full of suspense.
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