Opening Sequences Part 2
Question:
How is the sequence engaging and how does it conform to traditional thriller codes and conventions?
The Bourne Identity (2002)
The opening sequence to this film serves as an introduction to the character and his predicament, which is his amnesia.
This shot here is also an introduction. In this case it is to one of the symbolic colours in the film. It is blue and it symbolises the past Bourne is leaving behind. At this point however the audience does not know what has happened to him during his past. And neither does he.
This effect is magnified with the way the title card comes up on the screen. The letters begin mixed up which aligns with this idea of uncertainty, specifically around his identity.
The cuts between shots get quicker when the men on the boat realise that the Bourne is alive. This reflects the urgency that these sailors now feel, as they must now make sure that he stays alive. This also links to the new life he is entering. The first people he meets in this new life are trying to help him while the last person from his old one shot him in the back.
This extreme close-up of cutting Bourne's clothes does two things. It slows the pacing and urgency of the scene as well as include a thriller convention with the use of the blade.
The bullet holes tell the audience a very key piece of information about his background. He comes from a most likely spy or espionage background, which is later confirmed. Guns and bullets are also key thriller conventions.
The appearance of the tracker is symbolic to his identity as an assassin. It also introduces the symbolic red hue that represents his new life or future.
The last part of the scene when Bourne wakes and tries to attack the man hints at his violent past. It also shows the audience just before he passes out, the main complication of the film. He can't remember anything.
The opening sequence to The Dark Knight does not include any reference or showing of the protagonist Batman at all and focuses solely on introducing the villain, the Joker.
This opening shot of the man with the clown mask differs from typical thrillers as it does not have an establishing shot as such. However what it does is a little more subtle. It hints towards the character of the Joker with the emphasis on the clown mask. The Joker is known as the "Clown Prince of Crime". To anyone who didn't already know that he was in the film, they can guess because of this iconography.
This extreme wide-shot of the robbers ziplining across skyscrapers speaks again to the Joker's character. His planning is meticulous and a stunt like means there are high stakes but most likely high reward.
The use of a gun is a clear thriller convention. It bears a connotation of violence which is a convention of action and crime thrillers, to which category this films fits in.
In the car there is some dialogue from some of the robbers as they speculate about the shares. One references the Joker as the man who planned the job and it's the first real piece of information we have about the film's villain.
The dialogue continues with more of the robbers as now they speculate about the Joker himself. "Why is he called the Joker?" "He wears makeup - like war paint to scare people." These two brief sequences of dialogue quickly tell the audience they know next to nothing about the Joker. The editing between the car sequence and the robbers on the roof is done so that they answer a question said in the car without hearing it. It is a clever way to explain things to the audience.
Here their objective becomes apparent to the audience. They are there to rob the bank, working for this mysterious Joker person.
Here the first of the robbers gets killed off and the audience is left to ask "Why?" at this point. It is the first moment where it becomes clear this is not a normal robbery. And it hints that maybe the Joker is not a normal criminal.
The grenade is another thriller convention.
Another robber is killed and now more about the Joker is known. He's robbing the Mob of their money and he's getting the other robbers to kill themselves off for a bigger share. And, he's crazy. It explains more of his character than what we knew at the start.
The use of the school bus as the getaway car is ironic as something that is associated with childhood is being used to rob and kill people. A much darker purpose.
The scene ends with the Joker reveal and it tells us a few things. One, the other robbers' suspicions were correct, he is insane. Two, he is very smart as he uses the other criminals to do the work for him and then kill them off, and lastly he is violent and sadistic in the way that he kills the man who tried to fight back, by putting a grenade in his mouth. It also implies that this villain will be our hero, Batman's, greatest challenge yet.
The Maze Runner (2014)
This opening scene takes our character, and the audience for that matter and throws them right into the action, with no explanation. As the audience is soon told, the protagonist Thomas does not have any either.
The opening shot has low-key lighting which is a thriller convention, however it also lacks an establishing shot, which is unconventional. But this is done for a reason that I just mentioned: So that the audience does not know anything more than Thomas does, which in this case is nothing.
The monster in this scene is a convention of a science fiction thriller as they do not exist in the real world at any level. It is unnatural. It also adds to the psychological thriller aspect of this film and it has a shock factor. He does not know where he is and there is a monster trying to get him.
Here there is a POV shot as he now comes into daylight. The sight of the boys staring down on him prompts more questions from Thomas as well as the audience.
A series of extreme close-ups show the confusion and fear on Thomas' face as the boys he's just met don't seem to want to help him in his predicament.
This boy calling Thomas a "Runner" as he sprints away is the first reference to the film's title. The scene is throwing small snippets of information at the audience to give them more questions to ask, which draws them in.
Thomas' attempt to run from the problem he is now experiencing ends as he falls over. This implies there is no escape from this trap he's in.
Now comes his realisation that he really is trapped somewhere though he does not know where yet. The audience can guess based off the title of the film: "The Maze Runner". This again is conventional of a science fiction thriller as a massive life-size maze that is entered with no memory is unrealistic and does not actually exist.
The design of the title card is made to look a little like the walls of the maze that Thomas is inside. Towards the end the letters break apart a move away from each other which suggests Thomas' old life is over. For the majority of the scene there is minimal non-diegetic and when it does arrive it is eerie as it builds to the title card.
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