I have looked at The Butterfly Effect as it is a suspenseful thriller and the opening of the film will be good to reference to when I create my own film thriller opening.
The film starts off with the title of the company that has made the film "New line cinema" which works with TimeWarner Company to make the film. A new title then is displayed on the screen with the second making of the film "FilmEngine". A quote is then displayed on the screen which is unusual for an opening of a thriller film to have. "It has been said that something as small as a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world" Chaos theory. This is used to relate to the name of the film "The Butterfly Effect". There is non diegetic sound used of which is open to interpretation of the wings of a butterfly fluttering but is only used for a couple of seconds to just reinforce the use of butterflies. Then it turns to silence to make the audience wonder what is happening and what the butterflies are symbolising. A panic? The Non Diegetic music is used to emphases that the person is running away from the something.
The backing track has a fast tempo and makes the audience instantly engage in what is happening. Subtitles are used on the scene to show the audience the makers, producers and cast. A figure is seen in the windows blurry, running along the path outside of the room. This makes the audience wonder what is happening and who it is running. The music comes to a climax as the character pushes the door open in a rush with his foot to show the audience that the shape outside of the room was in fact a person played by Ashton Kutcher. The empathies of his movements are shown through the fast pace. For example, when he closes the door the diegetic sound of the door shutting is made louder to exaggerate he is in a rush and doesn't have much time before someone he is running away from comes. The non diegetic sound then stops as the man hides under the table, gets his notepad and pen and starts writing. He speaks out loud what he is writing on the pa to make the audience wonder what he is saying and if it has anything to do with who he is running away from. A close up shot is used to show his face and to emphasise that he has to be quick with whatever he is writing before the police start to get him. The camera then zooms into a close up of specific words that he has written on his page "save her". This makes the audience wonder who he is wanting to save and how what he is writing has any significance.
The non diegetic sound then begins and the close up of the paper then shows rips in the paper flying around. The sound of butterflies then begins as the butterflies are seen flying on the screen. Several butterflies then changes to one butterfly with the name of the film in the background "The Butterfly Effect" in a skull. This can suggest that the film is something to do with psychology and mental problems that someone may have and the human mind. The non diegetic sound that is playing in the background is of a heart beat to make the audience feel tense as to what it could all mean. It is different for a film to have the title of the name of the film after the first scene, but I feel that this was effective as it leaves the audience wondering what the butterflies could represent.
The scene then changes to a mid shot of a boy playing with his dog with a subtitle of "thirteen years ago" so the audience know that what happened in the previous scene is going to happen and they're going to find out how.
This opening of the film was interesting to see as it shows lots of different angles, sound and titles to create suspense of what is going to happen. The fast pace increased the worry that the audience had and makes them want to find out what is going to happen as the film goes on. This opening has helped my group and I come up with ideas that we can use for our own opening sequence.
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