Strengths
-The lighting is used very effectively. The main light is a floodlight in the corner of the small room. This creates the atmosphere of isolation and enclosure for the protagonist. The main light is also directly above the non-moving puppet who we later find out is the apprentice of the antagonist. Because the main light is directly above the apprentice, it casts the apprentice in shadow which makes him another 'mysterious character' to involve into the plot. This involves the audience further because it makes them question the identity of this character.
-The camerawork is very good. They used a lot of handheld shots when the protagonist is getting more tense when trying to escape. This causes the audience to be on the edge of their seat a lot more. Also, a POV shot from the puppet (we don't know he is the apprentice yet) influences the fact of the 'supernatural' and the fact that something is amiss. It also makes the audience very uneasy and excited for the rest of the film. This good for a thriller audience because they go to the film expecting to be interested and involved in the storyline.
-The music is excellent. The main strength in terms of music is the fact that it builds up when the protagonist is trying to escape. This is very effective for viewing pleasure because it contributes heavily to the tense atmosphere. It also increases the audiences interest in the plot and characters because the audience realise that the music is building up towards a big event, which draws their attention.
Weaknesses:
-I think the actual plot isn't very good at all. The fact that they decided to do a saw-like film is just a complete copy of a franchise which is not what the task. It doesn't seem original, especially with the 'puppet' characters because they are a complete copy from the Saw franchise. Also the plot of saw films rely heavily on gore and are based more around the horror genre than the thriller genre. This opening fits into the thriller genre but sets up the rest of the film to be a horror type film, not a thriller.
-The character of the puppet master's costume is not very effective. It is almost comical. It is not the kind of thing that thrills audiences, it scares them. The point of a thriller film is not to scare its audience, it is to make them use their imagination instead if being a passive watcher. Also, the pupeteer character looks extremely fake and unrealistic. This storyline may not be completely realistic but that character makes the whole opening seem fake and shatters the suspension of disbelief. I don't think the use of this character is very effective.
-The editing is not very good. All shots are either very short as in half a second, or very long as in ten to fifteen seconds. This makes the film drag on a bit. Even when the plot and the protagonist is becoming more tense and the music is building up, the editing does not which makes the sequence drag a lot. It makes it slow for the viewer because when the sequence is building up, and creates the an only partially tense atmosphere.
Points to take from this:
-Firstly, we know to make our plot interesting, but also to make it as realistic as possible.
-Secondly, our characters need to be as intriguing as they can because the aura of the 'mysterious character is very intriguing for an audience member.
-Also, the use of music and lighting can be very effective in a thriller opening. It creates atmosphere but also influences the personalities of the characters and highlights them for the audience.
-We need to consider music and sound a lot more because the use of sound is used very effectively in this opening, and contributes a lot to the main bulk of the plot and story. It also reflects the entirety of the situation and what the atmosphere is like.
-Lastly, we need to plan costume and props a lot better because we don't want our characters to look unrealistic and we want to suspend their disbelief and make them interested in our story.
Thanks for reading :) x
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