During the first key 10-15 minutes of any movie, the audience takes a fundamental decision: they make their minds about going with the film or just disengaging.
10-15 minutes is the amount of time that filmmakers, in general, have to set the very basics of the drama which is to unfold.
As well, it’s the amount of time to convey the essential exposition which will make it possible for the audience to follow the film. The main difficulty of delivering the needed information is that it requires to be done without the public noticing.
A very tricky stretch of time to seduce and to inform. Kind of a minefield.
Let’s see how the masters do it:
The following video-analysis is about The First 10 Minutes of a classic: His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940), that offers the fastest-paced dialogue ever delivered in a movie! (10 mins 13 secs long)
More First Ten Minutes? Check Video Analysis: The First Ten Minutes of SEVEN (David Fincher, 1995), Video-Analysis: The First Ten Minutes of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991), Video-Analysis: The First Ten Minutes of 12 ANGRY MEN and Video-Analysis: The First Ten Minutes of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (George Roy Hill, 1969),
More about Making Movies? Check How Billy Wilder’s SOME LIKE IT HOT Was Written, Film Blocking, What is it?, The 5 Best Books on Making Movies, by Darren Aronofsky, First Assistant Directors: Who Are They?, The World of Movie Posters and Foley Artists: Who Are They?, amongst many others!
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