1. Film Analysis – The Usual Suspects
• I have chosen to analyse the first 5 minutes of
the usual suspects because again it was one of
the inspirations for my movie opening, on top
of that it is a brilliant film. Released in 95 the
film has won awards and is still an all time
heist classic!

2. Props
• The use of props within a performance is very key, and is a huge part of
‘The Usual Suspects’. Within the opening few minutes they use a cigarette
lighter and a pack of matches. This could be interpreted as a way of saying
that the person standing over ‘Keaton’ as he is lying down bleeding on the
floor is more powerful. This is because Keaton just uses a box of matches,
whereas the large figure above his standing over him uses a golden lighter,
this could show that there is a certain dominance over him and that he is
more important. The next most important prop is the gun that is held
towards Keaton, this is extremely key because again it shows that the man
standing over him is dangerous and perhaps does not care much for his
life. This could also be seen by the performance of Keaton as he is not
apprehensive about dying, so you immediately pick up that the person is
an authoritative figure. I also will be using guns within my movie opening,
this is because with them I feel that it emphasises the real danger of a
heist, and that it is not something to play around with, so in a way it gives
a subliminal message that guns aren’t cool!

3. Costumes
• The use of costume in a piece like this is also essential, as people
judge the characters severity and meaning by what they are
wearing, for example if someone were to rob a bank of a ship (The
Usual Suspects case) in a pink tutu, they would not be taken as
seriously as someone in a long back outfit for instance. The use of
costumes in mine and the use of costumes are very similar in The
Usual Suspects, as both my actors and the actors in the film are
wearing virtually all black, with a black overcoat on top. I feel like
this is important as black is a little more sinister than that of a
different colour. Black could also be represented as deathly or
dangerous, so it is a way of making the audience know who is
involved and who is not. As well as this the main roles faces in both
projects are not shown, for example in Usual Suspects ‘Keyser
Soze’s’ face is never shown on the shot within the first five minutes,
which is similar to mine as all of my characters have masks on to
look more dangerous and to be undetected!