Film Opening Techniques in Thriller Genre Films (Research)

 In the thriller genre, there are several opening scene styles, but here are the most commonly used ones based on resources such as Ranidance.org, StudioBinder, UVO, ScreenCrafter and more. These openings are:

Emotional Hook: Go for their heart, not just their mind.

What it is: A moment charged with intense emotion that creates an immediate bond with the audience, making them feel as if their emotions are in the world of the story as if it were reality.

Why it works: By having to deal with strong feelings such as suspense, anxiety, and anticipation, as this quickly hooks the audience and makes their hearts race, creating a quick engagement, people gain a unique perspective and create a bond with the character or the situation, if they have feelings for them they will be "stuck'' in the narrative.

How to use it: It is recommended to use a moment that defines the event, furthermore, prioritize visual storytelling and minimal dialogue to have a greater impact, also have high stakes that drive the rest of the film. By maintaining an ongoing risk, threat or danger. Avoid exaggerating the feelings because it becomes a drama or go into "supernatural" situations because if so, that will trespass the limit of the Thriller and instead be a Horror film. 

Why does it appeal to me as an editor? As an editor, this style of opening scene appeals to me a lot because I can do many things with it. For the emotional hook, since it's mostly focused on visuals, I can concentrate on the details without worrying about them being overshadowed by dialogue. For example, I can use straight cuts in certain parts to speed up the action or include a dissolve to calm the audience a bit before a match cut. My intention is that with this approach, I can keep the audience's emotions balanced, accelerating the pace but also giving them a moment to understand what's happening. I will also have to be very careful with the timing, since to maintain the ongoing danger, I must do it in a way that feels "realistic" and not mix too many emotions, but rather concentrate on one, identify it, and intensify it. For example, focusing on moments of anxiety instead of cutting directly to happiness allows the audience to connect more deeply and become more invested before the change.

I think this would be a very good option for our production, since we could capture the audience's attention, but also maintain a concise narrative with emotions and satisfy the audience.  Since this is expected from a film of this genre, we would be delivering on their expectations, which suggests engagement for the rest of the story.

Media Production Example: 

Prisoners (2013)- Opening Scene

In this opening scene, we can observe how the emotional hook is successfully achieved through various elements:

Cinematography:  There isn't much camera movement, as this is done intentionally to draw attention and avoid distracting the audience with shaky camera work or zoom-ins. Instead, the camera remains stable, providing a panoramic view from locations where the protagonist and his surroundings are fully visible. This creates an atmosphere of surveillance and an emotional hook of unease.

Mise en Scène: The fact that the scene begins by showing someone alone immediately grabs our attention because who would be alone in a restaurant so late at night, dressed all in black, on Thanksgiving? This creates an emotional hook of loneliness because even when the waitress arrives, she is distant and tries not to interact with him too much. This intensifies the feeling of isolation, and the atmosphere becomes tense as the scene progresses, showing a dark, isolated, and dangerous setting. When more movement finally appears, and we see more cars, they are police cars, indicating that something bad has happened. This hooks us at minute 1:53: what happened? The use of dark colors also adds to the suspense.

Editing: The editing is quite interesting since the cuts are not based on the order of events but on reactions. This applies the convention of realism. For example, we can observe that when the man receives the message about something happening via a radio (presumably a police radio), his reaction is to leave the place, not frantically but quickly. This intensifies the fact that we skip the event itself and only see his reaction.  Furthermore, the cuts are used patiently, focusing on and giving time to bodily reactions and facial expressions, without resorting to melodrama but rather maintaining the ongoing sense of danger.

Sound: It's interesting to analyze how, even though there's no music, only silence, this gradually increases the tension, while progressively adding sounds like rain, which intensifies with the unfolding events. For example, the man receives the news on the radio, thunder is heard, he gets in the car, and the storm intensifies further. This is used to subtly connect with and guide the audience's emotions, increasing their anxiety. Also, although dialogue is used, it's realistic; for example, when he's alone in the car, there's no dialogue because he's by himself. Unless there's interaction with other people, there's no dialogue, which simulates reality.

Teaser: Get- Feel- Go

What it is: as an opening scene style that engages the audience through a get & go; awakening emotions of curiosity and conflict.

Why it works: Because it hooks the audience and presents the scene in a striking, controlled way, developing it gradually without slowing down the process.

How to use it: It is recommended to use it cautiously as it can easily become an overdone cliché; however, if executed well, it creates a powerful technique. The idea is to ignite interest by not only raising questions but also structuring it in a way that is coherent yet surprising.

Why does it appeal to me as an editor?

This opening option appeals to me because I can include edits that add weight to the structure, for example, fade-to-blacks to maintain momentum while still creating progress. I can also go against the structure in a logical way by using reverse match cuts, or I can play with the order of events to create a bit of controlled confusion, thus generating interest in what happened while also establishing intrigue throughout the opening.

I think this would be a good option for our production because we could create something that is cliché(predictable) in expectations but not in structure or narrative.

Media Production Example:

Memento (2000)

In this opening scene, we can analyze the elements used to create a teaser opening scene:

Cinematography: Although it takes a while to get started, making it seem a bit boring at first, the unexpected use of extreme close-ups and shallow focus on the blood and objects creates disorientation, which maintains the momentum.  Furthermore, the low angles show the vulnerability of the victim, while wide angles create confusion, intensifying the thriller genre.

Editing: The editing here is not only unconventional but also particularly engaging, as the use of reverse footage (not showing the chronological order of act and consequence, but the reverse – the consequence before the act) creates a teaser that plays on the viewers' minds. The jump cuts provide clues, which, interestingly, gradually solve the mystery logically while the audience remains in emotional shock.

Mise en Scène: The decision to have everything take place in one location creates an atmosphere of secrecy and mystery.  Seeing the outcome progressively reveals what happened, increasing the intrigue. The photographs that appear help us understand what's happening, but the blood, the body's position, and the props confuse us, as we don't know who is good and who is evil. The use of an old camera suggests that it's not just for taking pictures but also to avoid being traced, which further increases the suspense.

Sound: The lack of dialogue follows the convention of a thriller but also reflects the confusion the audience feels, and the discomfort caused by what is happening. The intensifying music as more is revealed about what happened also reflects the audience's feelings, creating a persistent sense of suspense.

Takeaways and lessons: Now that I've researched some opening scene techniques within this genre, I realize that combining mystery and thriller elements is much more plausible than I initially thought. However, I also learned the limitations of this genre when applied. I learned the importance of prioritizing elements in a scene to drive the mood and tone, and now I have a clearer foundation for developing ideas for our own elemenst in the opening scene.