Analysing Thriller/Mystery Opening Sequences - Conclusion

Analysing Thriller/Mystery Opening Sequences - Conclusion

Now that I have looked at a number of opening sequences from my genre I have noticed the following conventions that occur frequently:

• Many of the opening sequences start with establishing shots of the locations or begin without establishing shots in confined locations (making the protagonist or victim appear trapped)
• Voiceovers are common
• Side lighting is often used on characters' faces, one side being lighter and the other being darker, leading us to question their motives
• Low-key lighting
• Non-diegetic, slow mysterious music
• Enhanced, pleonastic sounds to make the audience jump
• Introducing main character (often the protagonist rather than the antagonist)
• Point-of-view shots (to unsettle and confuse the audience or to make it feel like the main character is being watched)
• Birds-eye-view shots (showing location or suggesting that the protagonist is under the control of others/not incontrol of what is happening)
• Short pieces of dialogue, that don't give away too much narrative information
• Starting with flash-forwards, or ending with flashbacks
• Fast editing (to create intensity) or slow editing (to create tension and suspense)
• Slow zooms in/out 
• Enigma is created

I'm going to try include as many as these conventions as possible in my own opening sequence. I have already begun thinking about my storyline, featuring a women in a bare room with no idea how she got there, with the only prop being a phone which rings constantly. I am going to keep dialogue to a minimum, to withhold narrative information, and I will include slow camerawork, bird's-eye-view shots and sinister music. I aim to introduce the main character and create enigma about her situation.