Inpsiration

Below is the beginning of the film Secret Window. I gained inspiration from this film in two different aspects. Firstly I liked the way suspense and enigma are created by showing the audience the man in the car and hearing a voiceover talking to him. This allows the audience to question who the man might be and who the voice belongs to. It also creates a build up to the end of the opening sequence where the man finds the couple in the hotel room. The scene in the car allows the audience to really appreciate this scene as we wonder where he is and why he shouldn't go back and what he may discover. This was something I wanted to include in my final opening sequence, a build up to a final action or scene. This would mean that the clip would have to be really suspenseful and enigmatic, which would retain the audience's interest. Doing this would cover two conventions of thriller opening sequences.
The second reason I gained inspiration from this opening was with the camera work. This opening used a lot of tracking shots across the water and this along with the music created a feeling of tension and suspense, which is necessary in thrillers.

In comparing our opening sequence with Secret Window it is possible to see similarities. These include the idea of using one main character right at the start to create suspense. In Secret window they use the shot of the man in the car for the first minute of their sequence to create enigma, to get the audience asking questions and wondering what is going on. In our sequence we similarly used a male, of a younger generation, to create this feeling of suspense and enigma. Our establishing shot of him on the bench and then later shots of him walking around also make the audience ask questions and think about what might happen next.

In our sequence we use music to help create an atmosphere of tension and anticipation. Secret Window also does this but much later in the opening sequence than with ours as they start with a voiceover. This means that there is a reliance on the main character and the voiceover to retain the audience's interest using enigma and suspense. Whilst in our sequence the reliance is on the main character and the music. The other difference with our sequence and Secret Window aswell. Such as the camera shots. In Secret Window the camera remains still and it is only the character and car that move at the beginning whilst in Relapse we used a variety of different shots and angles from different distances.

Both sequence's work well to build up to the final scene in the opening. They both have the ability to retain the audience's interest in similar and different ways, which is essential for a successful thriller opening.