Research - thriller openings

The Prestige opening scene

Camera:

• The first shot focuses in on numerous top hats which have been scattered on the forest floor, they look as though they have been discarded and labeled worthless. Top hats represent two things; the wealthy and the allusions of magic, this symbolises that both or either of these representations are going to fall, become as worthless as the neglected hats on the dirty forest floor.
• A low angle shot is used looking up at the magician on stage, this conveys the importance of his characters power and tells the viewers that the audience at the magic show see's him as a figure of authority.
• A wide shot is used of the young girl's upper body to show her deep amazement of the man's magic trick, we can see both her thrilled facial expressions and her frantic clapping pleading him to show her again.         
• In the court room many camera shots are used including; low and high angle shots, an establishing shot, close ups and a point of view shot. It is important to use a variety of shots to expose further information that can't be established through speech or other types of communication. The camera angles used in the discussion between the witness and the barrister are low angles for the witness and high angle for the barrister, this is uncommon as usually barristers are portrayed with high authority as they uphold the law, but this could symblosise that the law doesn't hold importance in the narrative.

Sound:

• At the beginning right before the blackout an unknown male voice says 'are you watching closely?' whilst the camera focuses in on the top hats, this is a clue to the audience that the truth could be hidden or disguised and they must watch closely as not to miss any important information.
• When the stage magician is drowning, frantic violins and the sound affect of running water is played, the violins show the distress and exhilarated heat beat of both the drowning man an the man who's watching him, the running water is added to increase the tension and show that time is running out for the magician's life and the man watching him's time to decide to get help. 
• There is a voice over of a man explaining the stages of magic tricks through the opening as they're shown on the screen, this helps the audience to understand the narrative whilst making them feel included therefore increasing their emotional attachment to the characters.

Mise-en-scene

• The magician on stage is dressed in a smart black suit which represents his high status and authority, it is black to show that he is a 'bad guy', however normally these characters would be dressed in materials which are less smart (e.g. leather) and seen as more dangerous, this could mean that the character is just as evil as black leather represents but in a clever way, possibly manipulating his enemies rather than hurting them himself.
•  The auditorium in which the magician was entertaining his audience was very large and formal, it was formal to illustrate that magic was an upper class form of entertainment to set the scene for the rest of the narrative, the auditorium was especially large to add to the impact of the magicians trick and it tells the viewers that his magic was very popular in that time. 

Editing:

• The beams of light exerted by the magicians prop on stage had been enhanced to increase the danger of the trick, therefore the impact it will have on the audience is increased and their suspense and amazement when the mam is brought back. 

Narrative:

• The opening is riddled with suspense and tension, law enforcing personnel are involved which are common thriller characters. The truth is hidden from the audience right from the start leaving clear chances for plot twisters and cliff-hangers.