Before we begin the process of planning and producing our own thriller, we needed to thoroughly understand what the thriller genre entails. Therefore we did some research on thriller suspense films, closely studying some previous thriller films that have been made.
The Thriller Genre simply intends to 'thrill' Its audience. More specifically, the objective of a good thriller is to create a high level of excitement, anticipation, uncertainty, surprise, and terror. Suspense is key to a Thriller film, it stimulates the viewers mood and engages them throughout the film. The suspense is born out of the plot which usually involves the investigation of an enigma, such as a crime. This convention drives the film, accompanied by action and violence. The narrative usually consists of a battle between a protagonist and an antagonist, featuring a disruption in the equilibrium. The story will build the tension until the climax, where the protagonist will restore justice and reinstate equilibrium.
Typical conventions of the Thriller Genre are:
Suspense
Action
violence
Interesting camera work (e.g Dutch Angles)
Close ups
Fast cuts
Montages
Flashbacks
Tension music
Low key lighting
Shadows
Cold grading
Thrillers are very often Hybrids. Here are the most popular sub-genres of thrillers:
crime thriller - Plot revolves around a crime
physiological thriller - conflict is mental and emotional rather than physical
political thriller - Hero/heroin has to ensure the stability of the government
spy thriller - The protagonist is generally a secret agent who must take on, an enemy government/terrosits
Alfred Hitchcock: 'The master of Suspense'
The english director Alfred Hitchock is considered the master of Thrillers. His films, such as 'Strangers on a train', 'vertigo' and 'Psycho' helped shape the modern day thriller genre. Alfred Hitchock is one of my favourite directors, I especially like his films 'rear window', and 'strangers on a train'. In these films his visual style creates so much suspense that you crave to find out what will happen next. He draws you into the world of the film,
with his exciting and strange, yet believable, characters and situations, making you desperate to see the outcome. His films are highly rewarding. Hitchock shows his audience the story, rather than telling them, meaning more thought is involved. As an audience we are given more involvement. We are left to make revelations and connection with the characters and story, thus making it a more satisfying experience.
He exerts the full potential of suspense, making him one of the most iconic figures and influences in the film world.
How is suspense created?
I believe suspense is created when the audience begin to anticipate bad or dangerous events, and they feel helpless to prevent it. A good director will create suspense effectively by giving the viewer subconscious hints about the forthcoming events. This plants bad thoughts into the audiences mind and engages them to the film, making them desperate to see what happens. Sometimes the best films, create lots of suspense where the audience presume something bad to happen but then nothing does, Leaving them on the edge of their seat.
A great example of this is 'The shining'. Leading up to the corridor scene where the twins appear the viewer is put on edge by the great low angle, stedicam shot following the boy as he cycles around the hotel. Every corner he turns, we have the idea implanted in our heads that something scary is going to be on the next turn. This is because Stanley Kubrick and the conventions of horror/thriller films have led us to believe that something is going to burst out onto the screen giving us a 'jump scare' in the traditional style of movie suspense.
Finally after watching the boy cycle around for 2 minutes, he finally turns a corner to reveal the twins. Our minds our now telling us that something bad will definitely happen. However what Kubrick chooses to do is hold the suspense with some uncomfortably long shots, before the boy continues on his tricycle releasing the suspense as nothing scary actually happens.
By doing this, the director does not waste away the suspense he has created throughout the film in a cheesy 'jump scare' featured in many poorly made horror or thriller films. Instead he builds the suspense to a point where, we are completely engaged in the visuals and the story, and have more of a psychological connection to the events, meaning we get a bigger reward at the end of the film when everything is revealed.
Sometimes our imaginations create much more fear and adrenaline than any visuals could.
We have decided to go for a location shoot to give the feeling of a natural environment compared to filming in a studio. Our chosen location is a forest. This is because we want to create a sense of isolation, and secrecy for the murder. It can also be a very peaceful and beautiful place which I believe makes a nice contrast from the events. In the entire narrative it is not revealed until the end that the boy was the murderer, therefore the murder needs to be commit in a deserted location such as this forrest. the reason they end up here would be explained in the film.
Ideally I would like these woods to appear very cinematic and picturesque like this image on the right. However, that all depends on the weather. Bright sunlight is what we hope for, however it is possible that we may get rain or cloud. Rain would be good as it adds pathetic fallacy. However cloudy weather throws soft dark shade over everything, making it appear dull and plain on camera.
We have discussed using the woods behind Peaslake house. Which look very similar to this.
CASPER the murderer who is running through the forest;
RICKY the victim who is shown in the flashback scenes.
We decided that our main character should be about 17-18 years old (A2 student). Tall and sporty so that he can run without any problems for a whole day. He needs to look innocent and unlikely to be a murder. Someone who appears smart and clever. We also require someone with very good acting ability to communicate the fury building within him as he is provoked by Ricky. He also needs to convey the emotion at the end of the sequence where he breaks down. Our film will not be effective unless he can convincingly convey this on camera.
The Actor portraying Ricky also requires good acting ability. This character needs to show extreme rage and adrenaline as he fights back casper leading to the murder. He also needs to look intimidating, like a bully, short hair with a tough looking face; Very different to Casper.
Basic Description:
Capser: Male, 18, white, physically fit, good looking, smart and innocent-looking.
After various group discussions, we have all agreed on a final idea for our thriller. Here is a narrative action list explaining exactly what happens:
Begin with two Establishing shots of picturesque forest, over the top we hear the sound of someone running.
Boy 1 (The murderer) then enters the frame.
The camera follows him as he runs through the forest, we see little of his face.
He is clearly panicked and distraught.
Intense music begins to grow, along with siren sounds.
As we see his expression more clearly as he is running, a flash back cuts in.
Flashback - It shows Boy 2 (The victim) pushing around Boy 1, provoking him, they shout at each other. Boy one is saying under his breath "Stop", as he builds with anger.
Cut back to Boy 1 running, we now begin to realise he is running away.
Flashback - shows boy 1 exploding with anger, boy 2 has pushed him to the limit. He throws him down to the floor and punches him in the face.
Cut back to running. He now starts to slow and stumble as he tires and begins to break down.
The camera tracks up to reveal one side of his face. Reveal that he is a teenager. He is crying.
He hits his own head, as if to get the thoughts out of his mind as we cut to another flashback.
Flashback - Boy 2 bursts back at boy 1 for punching him, They both struggle. Boy 1 defends and resists boy 2's attack. Blood from his wound drips onto boy 1's face.
Boy 1 now fully stops running, he falls to his knees and begins to cry in the middle of the forrest. camera tracks from one side of his face to the other, revealing a big splatter of blood on his cheek. he looks at the blood on his hands. As we see the blood, the music turns to a high tension, synth sound.
Flashback - great struggle between the two. boy 1 pushes boy 2 away. As boy 2 crazily ludges towards boy 1 to attack him again, boy 1 swings a log uppercutting boy 2. On the impact the screen cuts to black.
Echoed screaming from boy 2, boy 1 crying and distant sirens can be heard as the synth noise fades out.
Here is a selection of clips in which myself and my group have found inspiration for our Thriller. The shots, and use of camera is the main influence in these sequences.
THE CHASE (Action Short): (Forest chase sequence)
Inspiration: Handheld, chaotic camera movement/ Music
This chase sequence effectively creates a sense of chaos and anxiety, and establishes a clear narrative. Despite the CinemaScope ratio being a little over done, it is also very cinematic and is similar to what I want my thrillers' running sequence to look like. The film maker has used fast cuts and chaotic, unfixed, movement of the camera, to create a sense of disorder and panic. Ignoring the chaser, I picture the shots of our murderer running through the woods to look something like this. I intend to use a combination of handheld, medium and close up shots, creating panic, and revealing very little about the appearance of the runner.
The director has chosen to use a slow camera shutter speed, whilst quickly panning with the actor, this blurs out the background and intensifies the pace at which the boy is running, I intend to use this technique, to increase the pace at which my actor is running.
The music featured in this sequence is also suiting to the mood and atmosphere I want to create in my thriller. The high tension drums, combined with the violin adds a sense of empathy needed in my thriller. As the man has just commit murder, simple fast paced action music is not sufficient. therefore we need music that also expresses his feelings of desperation, regret, and fear.
SHERLOCK HOLMES - A Game Of Shadows: (Forest Chase Sequence)
Inspiration: Use of Slow Motion/ fast paced editing
I love the shots in this scene, they are incredibly interesting. The director offers many different angles and perspectives of the action. I am particularly intrigued by the use of slow motion. On the right you can see the camera rapidly crab through the forest, where a man bends down to grab his riffle. although our character may not be reaching for a weapon we could perhaps use this editing technique as our character looks back over his shoulder at his abandoned crime scene.
I also admire this extreme slow motion shot exhibited on the left. Here the character leaps over a log as a bullet passes close by him. This makes it seem epic and has a massive impact on the audience focusing their attention to the danger of the scene by pin pointing how close this bullet was to the man, this enables them to appreciate the intensity of the scene. This also creates a more interesting perspective on the action and adds a twist, so that it isn't just plainly a man running through a Forrest.
The last section I find very exciting and interesting is at 1:51, we see a medium close up shot of the man from a profile view, once again in extreme slow motion, however this time the music completely stops, and it is silent. This holds a huge moment of tension and is very alluring. We hope to create lots of tension in our thriller to keep the viewer engaged, this use of silence may be an effective method to create it.
Twilight - Forrest Scene: 360 degree shot
Starting at 0:49 there is a 360 degree track in medium close up of the two characters, this would be challenging to achieve however it shows depth and extent of the forest, making the character seem isolated creates a sense of the audience being in the forest watching and observing the character. It is elegant and engaging and I can imagine this working moments where we see the character break down. We coud use this to reveal the splatter of blood on the side of his face, moving from one side of his face to the other, creating a pivitol moment where we realise he has killed the other teenager. It rotates on the same level and keeps almost in eye line with the woman in the scene, this retains our interest through out the shot as it has quite a long shot duration and lasts for about 8 eight seconds. The whole shot creates suspense and dramatises the situation, and this could easily be applied to our opening sequence.
The Talented Mr Ripley: (Accidental Murder Scene)
I saw this sequence in a movie I recently watched which features a scenario very similar to the one in my thriller. This accidental murder is what will happen in my thriller however will be shown with no dialogue and in a serious of short flashbacks. This is what happens: Boy 2 provokes boy 1, thinking that he wont fight back, but he takes it so far that boy 1 explodes with anger and does fight back in an extreme sense. Hurt badly, Boy 2 goes crazy trying to kill boy 1 until boy 1 has no choice but to use a weapon to kill boy 2.
This build up of anger between the two characters, is required from my actors to display how this boy has been led to commit murder. I need two very good actors that can make this scenario appear real, If the on screen events are believable then the audience will feel more engaged and connected with the characters.
I hope for my flashback sequence to look like this. Here are the key moments I intend to focus on:
The first flashback shows the moment where boy 2 provokes boy 1. This is what it should look like however set in a forest of course. Boy 2 will shout at boy 1, slapping him around like he is worthless and pathetic. We will see the anger building in boy 1 as he does this. Boy 2 here shows his dominance by standing above boy 1 and looking down on him. I intend to do this also to show who is in control of the situation.
This will be the second flashback showing the point where boy 1 is pushed to the limit. After boy 2 mocks him, he makes a drastic move in an outburst of anger. In this clip he hits him with an oar from the boat, in my thriller boy 1 will grab boy 2 and punch him in the face. This will be the turning point in the flashback sequence where the serious violence really begins, and the audience now begin to presume that this is going to end badly.
In the third flashback, boy 2 who is injured from the punch will fight back, between them there will be a great struggle. Here boy 1 will be defending himself as boy 2 goes crazy trying to fight back at boy 1 for punching him in the face. These shots will be very shaky and cut fast creating an intense sense of danger and struggle.
This will be the fourth flashback. Here the two will be mid fight. Boy 1 will be frantically trying to defend himself from boy 2 as he uncontrollably attacks him. Blood from boy 2's punch wound should drip onto boy 1's face. Boy 2's expression will be filled with intense anger and adrenaline. Boy 1 will show fear and panic. After a few seconds of struggle boy 1 will manage to push boy 2 away from him into a tree.
In the final flashback the final murder will be shown. after pushing away boy 2, boy 1 will quickly stand up. As boy 2 crazily lunges towards him from his knees. Boy 1 will grab a log and swing it at boy 2, uppercutting him and killing him. The screen will cut to black a split second after this has happened and we see some blood fly close past the lens.
After some more group discussions we have now decided to discard the second half of our sequence. We now will only see the boy running through the forest without the section where the mother is informed by the police. We did this in order to focus our storyline to one moment. We also researched murder, and how the police inform parents, and they very rarely tell the parents themselves, they are either spoken to by a lawer, or the person themselves.
We have also decided to add flashbacks in order to make clear what is going on without giving away too much.
We also think it is an important factor of the storyline that the murderer and the victim are both teenagers. So we have decided to hide their identity until the end of the sequence showing just shots of the murderers body as he runs until the end of the running sequence where the boy will break down to the floor as he has a realisation of what he has just done. This is where we will reveal the Murders face, with a distraught expression and a splatter of blood on one side.
After our initial production meetings, we have all agreed on the second idea; Embers. We believe this idea is more practical and is more effective because of its realism. Room 7 is an unlikely situation that doesn't often occur whereas murder is a, horrific, yet common thing to happen. We also felt that a location shoot would look much more effective than shooting on a fake set in a studio
Here is a simple synopsis of the title sequence:
Begin with a boy running through a forest, he is panicked and scared (just commit a murder) we see flashes of the murder combined with the shots of the boy running. He slows as the music reaches a climax, when we see a very quick shot of the boy swinging a log for the final hit on the victim. On the impact we cut to a mother sat at home, accompanied by a doorbell, the sound from the previous moments echoes out. She walks to the door, where the police tell her that her son has commit murder. We hear no sound just simply the intense music and sirens. In slow motion we see the woman break down before the title appears.
Today we were placed into random groups in which we will make our Thriller Opening Sequence. In my group is: Me, Grace, Bertie and Ksenia.
We had our first discussion, where we proposed each of our ideas and decided which ones were the strongest. We combined and developed them to produce two main ideas, which we felt could be effectively portrayed on screen to evoke tension in our audience. 'Embers' and 'Room 7' are the ideas we came up with:
Idea 1: Embers
Begin with slow motion flashes of someone screaming in a forest, flashes of fire and water. The person is clearly distraught. As the tension reaches its peak, fast cut to a close up of a mother, breathing heavily, accompanied by a doorbell, change to slow motion, music kicks in. Police at the door, without audio they tell this mother the bad news that her son has commit murder in slow motion to an epic song, she breaks down.
The whole film tells the story of a family that was once very rich but has now broken apart. After being provoked by a bully the main character a boy of 15 takes out his family problems on the bully and kills him accidentally. The Father who works as a detective, investigates the crime without knowing his son is the criminal. The mum discovers what the boy has done without telling her husband. Arguments begin to start in the family as the Father knows that they are hiding something. The father begins to have an affair, whilst the Mother and son try their best to destroy every bit of evidence the father finds which could lead him to discover who the murderer is. After a huge family argument, the Mother, who is drunk, engages in a physical fight, when she discovers that he has had an affair. He ends up hitting his wife as she goes crazy, and the son screams at his dad before he makes the revelation the his son is the murderer. He has the choice to either protect his son, or put him in prison. He decides to turn in his police badge before leaving the town and not reporting the crime.
Idea 2: Room 7
Opens with a man waking up in a room, it is cold and bleak, He is dazed and confused, lots of intense close up, with slow movement of his head, after a few seconds he properly wakes up, he is out of breath and scared. He realises he is in danger. He stands up and walks over to the wall, where there are scratching saying things such as “Help Me!”…. “Your going to die in here”… He looks at his distorted reflection in a smashed mirror. There is also a table with scalpels and surgical equipment on. We see the mans fear. He slowly walks towards it, there is a key hole, he bends down to look through the keyhole, pause for a few seconds, suddenly an eye appears through the key hole, shot of the door which says “Room 7”
The film is about a testing facility which is secretly funded by the government. In order to understand certain things about humans, testing which includes torture is necessary. A 17 year old boy is kidnapped and brought to the lab. Although speaking to the subjects is banned, a cleaner at the facility makes contact with the boy. The cleaner helps to free the boy, so they can expose the truth to the public, and get the place shut down.
Opens with a man tied to a chair in a room, room is cold and bleak, similar to a mental hospital cell. He is dazed and confused, lots of intense close up, with slow movement of his head, Suddenly fast cut to him in same position yet this time he is screaming and moving his head, blurring on his face, cut back to normal dazed and confused, this happens a few times before he properly wakes up fast, heart beat noise can be heard, he is out of breath an scared. He realises he is in danger and tied to a chair. He manages to wiggle a zippo lighter out of his pocket which he uses to burn the rope, and untie himself. He stands up and walks over to the wall, where there are scratching saying things such as “Help Me!”…. “Your going to die in here”… and religious cross symbols. He then sees a door, he slowly walks towards it, there is a key hole, he bends down to look through the keyhole, pause for a few seconds, suddenly an eye appears through the key hole, hot of the door which says “Room 45”.
The entire film is about a Man who she he reaches 18, is expected to take over the family buisness. He believes this is a psychological testing lab. He soon finds out that this is not the case. The business is an underground extreme testing lab, which consists of a series of rooms going all the way up to room 50. People are selected to be brought into the rooms where they are tested to their limits and challenge in a series of ways, every case is different. Some victims put through challenges to see how they cope under certain circumstances, others are tested on their mental stability, and some are tortured. All however, of those who enter the rooms, come out either dead or mentally unstable. The boy next in line to become leader of the rooms sees the immorality in the business and works together with a victim in room 45 to shut down the rooms, and stop this forever. Most of the scenes are conversations involving flashbacks between Victim 45 and the boy next in line, they each tell each other their stories, and see the gruesome mistreatment occurring through out the rooms.
Urban location. One teenager starts a fight on innocent teenager. He fights back and they get into a big fight in a backstreet or on small bridge. The innocent boy defending himself either badly injures or kills the other boy, by either, pushing him over a wall into a river, or pushing him back onto a spike, or rock onto his head, The boy is terrified, and panics and runs away, side shot of him running, the camera slowly drops back, and on screen we see the title “Confess”.
Film about a boy who spends four years covering up his accidental crime. After putting the wrong person in jail, four years later, the case is brought back up. he confesses and gets put into jail. The wrongly convicted man takes vengeance upon his family, and the boy plans escape to save his family from what he is going to do.
Begins with black screen, only hear a conversation between two people, discussing a document of great importance. Ink dropping on the page. We see extreme close ups on writing, like in the opening sequence seven. Then suddenly this fades the music stops, there is a pause. Suddenly we see a shot of a man bursting open a door, in the woods, he is chasing after a man holding the document. Chase sequence through urban streets, lots of close up and handheld, Begin to intercut with extreme close up from sparks of a lighter, tension rising and rising, when finally the man reaches a corner where he looks down and sees the document on the floor slowly burning away. Extreme close up on the document, it burns away the screen to reveal the title. Embers.
British Gang warfare. Failing gang that used to be very powerful, but there are only a few members left. The document that could have saved their gang is gone and burned. They must now try to save their gang and prevent attacks from opposing gangs.
Bleak day with rain, man digging a grave, slow, big tension,bit of dialogue, “keep digging”.
Guy comes running through the woods, sees whats going on. the guy points the gun at the new runner, the man digging suddenly turns, swings, hits him in the face with his shovel.
Cuts to title “undertaking”
Whole film about a man who owes money to an important group of people. He Is in a dangerous situation at the beginning, which goes in his favour as he avoids death. He struggles to find the money so he plans a robbery.
This sequence follows a man wearing a hoodie, through a council flat. The man is clearly determined as he walks up a flights of stairs, carrying a baseball bat, carelessly dragging it along behind him. When he reaches a specific house, he rings the doorbell and waits. As the door is opened he swings the bat and on impact the shot cuts to the title 'Turf'.
From the opening sequence I imagine the film to be set in an urban estate dealing with the rivalry between gangs over their neighborhood and how they assertauthority. The man has either been order to do what he does, or is out for revenge. This title sequence suggests lots of violence and conflict between criminals in a low income estate.
I believe the casting was very appropriate, the man appeared old enough to commit such a violent act, yet young enough to be in the crime, gang scene. he looked around 25, made to look slightly younger by the costume with a hoodie. It was believable that this man would be in this situation. His body language and expression conveyed the violence and sense that this man means business and you wouldn't mess with him.
This man is a very mysterious and shady character, he creates lots of enigma, thus drawing us in. As there is no dialogue throughout the sequence just simply ambient diegetic sound of sirens, the baseball bat, and his footsteps. There is no dialogue to reveal anything about this character. We merely base our judgement on his costume, his gesture, and his actions. We can tell this man is violent, and determined. He shows no hesitation whatsoever when making his way to the flat of his victim. This is clearly a regular occurrence in his world and he has little fear, because of it.
The sequence consists mostly of static tripod shots, of the actor, occasionally cutting away to close ups on spider webs, windows and walls in the council estate, illustrating the lower class urban setting. these static shots are very affective in building tension. In my opinion the occasional pan shots featured that track with the hooded character as he turns a corner almost break this tension. cutting from static to moving shots doesn't always work in a sequence such as this. I believe it breaks the realism of the scene, and reminds us that there is someone operating the camera. I find the go pro shot from inside the bag interesting. It is simply a creative POV shot, that adds another dimension to the scene. The handheld movement conveys an unstable atmosphere, and things are about to turn bad. This is also true for the close up handheld shot at the end of the sequence. We know there is impending danger from the instability and shakiness of the camera.
This sequence features no music, which I believe is an effective decision. It is very real, as we only here the diegetic sound in the scene. The sound of sirens reinforces the bad neighborhood setting, and further builds tension as the sound increases in volume through out the sequence.
The director has chosen to use a slow camera shutter speed, whilst quickly panning with the actor, this blurs out the background and intensifies the pace at which the boy is running, I intend to use this technique, to increase the pace at which my actor is running.
I love the shots in this scene, they are incredibly interesting. The director offers many different angles and perspectives of the action. I am particularly intrigued by the use of slow motion. On the right you can see the camera rapidly crab through the forest, where a man bends down to grab his riffle. although our character may not be reaching for a weapon we could perhaps use this editing technique as our character looks back over his shoulder at his abandoned crime scene.
I also admire this extreme slow motion shot exhibited on the left. Here the character leaps over a log as a bullet passes close by him. This makes it seem epic and has a massive impact on the audience focusing their attention to the danger of the scene by pin pointing how close this bullet was to the man, this enables them to appreciate the intensity of the scene. This also creates a more interesting perspective on the action and adds a twist, so that it isn't just plainly a man running through a Forrest.
The first flashback shows the moment where boy 2 provokes boy 1. This is what it should look like however set in a forest of course. Boy 2 will shout at boy 1, slapping him around like he is worthless and pathetic. We will see the anger building in boy 1 as he does this. Boy 2 here shows his dominance by standing above boy 1 and looking down on him. I intend to do this also to show who is in control of the situation.
This will be the second flashback showing the point where boy 1 is pushed to the limit. After boy 2 mocks him, he makes a drastic move in an outburst of anger. In this clip he hits him with an oar from the boat, in my thriller boy 1 will grab boy 2 and punch him in the face. This will be the turning point in the flashback sequence where the serious violence really begins, and the audience now begin to presume that this is going to end badly.
In the third flashback, boy 2 who is injured from the punch will fight back, between them there will be a great struggle. Here boy 1 will be defending himself as boy 2 goes crazy trying to fight back at boy 1 for punching him in the face. These shots will be very shaky and cut fast creating an intense sense of danger and struggle.
This will be the fourth flashback. Here the two will be mid fight. Boy 1 will be frantically trying to defend himself from boy 2 as he uncontrollably attacks him. Blood from boy 2's punch wound should drip onto boy 1's face. Boy 2's expression will be filled with intense anger and adrenaline. Boy 1 will show fear and panic. After a few seconds of struggle boy 1 will manage to push boy 2 away from him into a tree.
In the final flashback the final murder will be shown. after pushing away boy 2, boy 1 will quickly stand up. As boy 2 crazily lunges towards him from his knees. Boy 1 will grab a log and swing it at boy 2, uppercutting him and killing him. The screen will cut to black a split second after this has happened and we see some blood fly close past the lens.
Urban location. One teenager starts a fight on innocent teenager. He fights back and they get into a big fight in a backstreet or on small bridge. The innocent boy defending himself either badly injures or kills the other boy, by either, pushing him over a wall into a river, or pushing him back onto a spike, or rock onto his head, The boy is terrified, and panics and runs away, side shot of him running, the camera slowly drops back, and on screen we see the title “Confess”.
Begins with black screen, only hear a conversation between two people, discussing a document of great importance. Ink dropping on the page. We see extreme close ups on writing, like in the opening sequence seven. Then suddenly this fades the music stops, there is a pause. Suddenly we see a shot of a man bursting open a door, in the woods, he is chasing after a man holding the document. Chase sequence through urban streets, lots of close up and handheld, Begin to intercut with extreme close up from sparks of a lighter, tension rising and rising, when finally the man reaches a corner where he looks down and sees the document on the floor slowly burning away. Extreme close up on the document, it burns away the screen to reveal the title. Embers.
I believe the casting was very appropriate, the man appeared old enough to commit such a violent act, yet young enough to be in the crime, gang scene. he looked around 25, made to look slightly younger by the costume with a hoodie. It was believable that this man would be in this situation. His body language and expression conveyed the violence and sense that this man means business and you wouldn't mess with him. 
This man is a very mysterious and shady character, he creates lots of enigma, thus drawing us in. As there is no dialogue throughout the sequence just simply ambient diegetic sound of sirens, the baseball bat, and his footsteps. There is no dialogue to reveal anything about this character. We merely base our judgement on his costume, his gesture, and his actions. We can tell this man is violent, and determined. He shows no hesitation whatsoever when making his way to the flat of his victim. This is clearly a regular occurrence in his world and he has little fear, because of it.
I find the go pro shot from inside the bag interesting. It is simply a creative POV shot, that adds another dimension to the scene. The handheld movement conveys an unstable atmosphere, and things are about to turn bad. This is also true for the close up handheld shot at the end of the sequence. We know there is impending danger from the instability and shakiness of the camera.
