Research Extension Task ; The Watching Documentary

AS Media Studies

Extension Exercise

‘Watching’ Documentary on Film Openings

The ‘Watching’ Documentary is in the Thriller folder on any of the Media macs. It is half an hour long. ‘Answer the following questions as you watch it.

1)      What does Thomas Sutcliffe mean when he says “Films need to seduce their audience into long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible”

-          In the statement above Thomas Sutcliffe infers that directors have to ‘lore’/ ‘seduce’ the audience into the cinema via film trailers and other promotion such as posters and merchandise. The next stage is getting the audience to stay to watch the film. And that is when the long term relationship/ commitment is created in the first few seconds/minutes of a film.

2) According to Director Jean Jacques Beineix, what are the risks of ‘ instant arousal’?

3) Explain why “a good beginning must make the audience feel that itdoesn’t know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make surethat it doesn’t know too little”

4) What does critic Stanley Kauffmann describe as the classic opening?Why does this work?

5) Why is Kyle Cooper’s title sequence to the film Seven so effective?

6) What did Orson Welles want to achieve with his opening to the film ATouch of Evil? What did Universal Studios do to it? Why?

7) What is meant by “a favourite trick of Film Noir ”? What is the trick?

8) How does the opening to the film The Shining create suspense?

To Be CONTINUED