This opening scene starts with a solitary trumpet playing a morose piece of music, starting a reoccurring motif throughout the film with the song. The trumpet then fades and the camera fades into a close up of a man's face, which captures the emotion of the story he is telling. The fact that there is little background in the shot and silence accompanying it enhances the atmosphere of the scene, as this man tells the story of his daughter being beaten, and the lack of set and music emphasises the loneliness that the character is feeling.
In the scene that occurs in the restaurant the set appears to be quite run down and claustrophobic, particularly in the bathroom when Michael collects the gun. The sound that occurs in this scene also creates atmosphere very effectively as well, as there is very little music and ambient sound. However, there is a reoccurring sound in the train, which plays during the more tense moments of the scene, such as when Michael is preparing to leave the bathroom, and when he is about to shoot. This sound represents Michael's emotions at this time, as although there is in train anywhere near the scene, it represents how he is like a train at full speed, at cannot be stopped, yet also his building anxiousness as he prepares to kill two men. |
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The trailer I used is from the 1979 sci-fi horror film 'Alien' by Ridley Scott. The teaser effectively creates tension throughout its length by very obviously splitting itself into four different sections.
The first minute simply shows a mysterious egg, presumably that of the titular alien, with a building and piercing soundtrack. It then changes to showing us the characters of the film, geared for a space walk and armed with flashlights, possibly looking for the egg. Then the tension begins to build faster as we witness the cast being chased by the camera, although we still don't know what's going on, and the soundscape is still building at this point. Finally the eerie music reaches its climax and the trailer show us the chaos that is ensuing, with shots changing extremely fast, brief glimpses of inhuman shapes and people convulsing vigorously, before abruptly stopping and showing the title card. |
This trailer is effective as tension is built throughout the entire piece, yet it has not given away a single thing about the film, due to each individual shot being very short, and also very close up, lending itself to the claustrophobic feel that the trailer provides. The fact that there is no dialogue also helps in not giving away any story whatsoever, as we don't even know who the characters are.. It leaves the audience wanting to know more about the film, and are thus more likely to go see it.
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