Research: Thriller Openings- Team 7 productions- The Therapist

The opening sequence shows a young adult walking through the woods.  Mise En Scene is looked at, we can guess his age and social 'group' due to his shoes.  The bright colour of them could suggest innocence of a brightness to his character.  This gives us an idea to his character but conceals the rest of his body to add an element of mystery from the outset.

The next shot is of the boy's whole body, and over the shoulder (front on) shot which tells the audience that he is being followed, but the character does not know.  This technique of dramatic irony allows the audience to be emotionally involved in the story and understand completely.  It also adds an extra twist because we feel different emotions to him, we are scared for him but he is oblivious.  This technique is narrative retardation, because information is held back from the character. The man is wearing all black and his face is hidden.  Team 7 productions took into account Mise En Scene whilst creating this scene, the black clothes suggest a dark or evil element to his character and has very negative connotations.  This ensures that we don't trust him and we associate him with danger.  

Towards the conclusion of the opening, scenes cut in and out with the transition of a black screen.  One scene is of the family in bright lighting with a red glow, to induce happy and peaceful emotions, the scene then rapidly cuts to a dark shot of them in the woods.  The boy's facial expression in the dark scene is riddled with panic and distress.  The way one scene cuts from the next creates stark contrast and the happy juxtaposes the dark and evil.  We can see just how happy he is in one scene, resulting in the emphasis of just how bad his situation is, in the dark scene.  By seeing the good, this enables us to see the bad in a more severe light due to the contrast.

The sound effect of a heartbeat is used to good effect, creating suspense and adding an extra dimension to the atmosphere; one of tension and mystery.  Music is barely used in the thriller opening, I think it could be more effective if more was used to mark the character's emotions and to highlight the panic that he feels.  For example, music with clashing notes could be used at a high volume to form a more suspenseful atmosphere.  The silence used in certain scenes is effective because it allows for added attention to be payed to footsteps and other diegetic sounds which (by themselves) create tension.