Past Student Analysis – DrIvE

The opening shot is a mid-shot of a man walking into frame with a weapon in his right hand. While he is walking while simultaneously wielding this weapon, there is a flash-forward to a man restrained in a chair with the man in the beginning shot holding the weapon towards the restrained man. This flash-forward instantly gets the audience wondering who the man is and why he has somebody tied up. Furthermore, this opening clip displays the man as the antagonist.

The following shot is a close-up of blood dripping on to the floor. Blood has connotations of pain and death, which gets the audience speculating the condition of the restrained man. They begin to question: is he alive? How hurt is he? What has happened to him? All of these questions in the audience’s mind add to the uneasy, tense atmosphere -this follows thriller conventions. After the close-up of the blood, there is a cut to another close-up of a name of someone starring in the film. However, the name is displayed on a piece of paper in the same setting as the blood dripping before. This technique allows for the people taking part in the film to be credited without having to stray away from the uneasy atmosphere created. Alternatively, the name could have been placed in the same location as the blood was dripping to show that the actor in the restrained chair is played by the person on the paper, as the blood dripping belongs to his injuries.

The next shot is of a light switching on in a flash-forward. When the light comes on it shows the man restrained in the chair, however, shortly after this there is a cut back to a close-up of the car headlights turning on in the car the antagonist is in. The flicker between these two scenes represents the helplessness of the man tied up through the use of confusion in the lights. The antagonist can be away from the man tied up without worrying about him escaping, amplifying the authority of the antagonist.

The constant cuts to the antagonist carrying out certain actions demonstrate the calmness of the character; for example, when the antagonist is carefully putting leather gloves on before driving off. This calmness further amplifies the antagonist’s authority and diminishes the protagonist’s ability. This follows thriller conventions as it exhibits the struggle the protagonist faces as the intelligence and authority of the antagonist is arduous to overcome.

As the car drives off there is a close-up of a missing poster with the protagonist’s face presented on it. The wheels of the car drive over the paper, which further shows the helplessness of the protagonist as nobody is going to save him. After this there is a fade to black where a production logo and “presents” is displayed.

The car continues down a road while the screen cuts to black every couple seconds. This coupled with the shot of the man struggling in the boot of the car amplifies the tense atmosphere, which follows thriller conventions. The flashes to black also demonstrate the helplessness of the protagonist as the black represents death of the character.

Following this there is a POV shot of the protagonist as the antagonist opens

the boot of the car. The audience can immediately see the antagonist has a pickaxe in hand, which connotes digging and the burial of the protagonist. This creates an apprehensive atmosphere for the audience as they fear the worst for the protagonist. Furthermore, as the boot begins to open, tense, heavy beat music is being played alongside the heavy breathing of the protagonist, which further adds to the apprehensive atmosphere that the audience experiences.

The last clip in the opening is the title of the film “DrIvE”. The letters D, I, E flash in a red colour, which could be to amplify the danger of the protagonist. The red connotes blood and this puts the audience on edge. Moreover, the capital letters spell out DIE, which all but confirms the fate of the protagonist. This leaves the audience feeling incredibly tense and concerned for the protagonist, a technique that follows thriller conventions.

Overall I would give this thriller opening a high level 4 as it displays a wide range of shots implemented successfully and appropriately; it utilises sound and music in the correct places to amplify suspense and tension; and the narrative is particularly clear to the audience.