Non Stop Opening

In the opening sequence of Non Stop the opening shot is a close up however within the editing it has been blurred or  put out of focus not revealing the character sat in the car. The mystery in this shot immediately builds tension for the audience because of the questions raised. Questions are raised like: "Who is this character?" and "Where is this scene taking place?". These questions are raised because the audience aren't provided with an establishing shot straight away instead they have a blurred title revealing no information on the scene. This could connote that the protagonist doesn't know what's about to happen to him and is distorted due to his alcohol problem soon to be discovered by the audience. As the scene progresses eye line match is used between his drink and him to show this characters weaknesses. This is different to the conventions in most thrillers because the audience need confidence in the character and by presenting his weaknesses first the audience may not have the same confidence in the protagonist because they want to know that he has the correct skill set for the plot ahead. This could foretell the trust issue later in the plot between the people the protagonist is trying to save and himself because he is accused of being the antagonist by his own agency.

The use of slow motion exaggerates this weakness and pushes the idea that the protagonist doesn't want to get on the plane at all, this is further supported by the real time diegetic air traffic control mixed with the radio which contrasts to the slow motion. This is therefore creating a sense of slow releasing panic because the audio sounds much faster, when in fact is at normal speed. In addition to this build up of sound there is a constant diegetic sound of a planes flying overhead giving the audience information on where the scene is taking place. The following close up reveals a little girl that the audience can link to being his daughter which gives the protagonist something to fight for and the audience something to fear him losing adding to the tension built up by the music. I would like to include this in opening because it keeps an audience gripped due to them being able to relate to the protagonists feelings.

The use of rain in thrillers seems vital to setting the tone because it allows for more overlapping sound for building tension and further adds to the blue colour correction providing the film with the on edge blockbuster feel. In addition this film used blur to make the protagonist stand out but it may also link in with the protagonists drinking problem again showing his weakness. The use of extras to show the protagonists feelings is used near the beginning so that the audience know he has suffered heartbreak and is most probably alone therefore leaving him free to see other women adding yet another set of questions into the audience's mind. This idea is pushed forward when the protagonist ignores another character because he is distracted by these thoughts and the editing uses muffled voices to achieve this.

In these thrillers the power is never balanced its always shifting and this is one of the reasons its so tense because sometimes the protagonist is in control other times its the antagonist.

Credit to George Turner