Drive Opening Scene — How Refn Builds Suspense with Sound Design & Editing

[Music] "- What do you do? - I drive. - You gonna go beat him up for me?

Huh, stunt guy? " - In this video, we'll unpack the adrenaline fuel getaway in the opening scene of "Drve". It's a tense nail-biting sequence.

And while the visuals certainly play a role, the real heroes are the sound design and editing. A layering of sounds and how these elements are tied to the concept of time. "- Less than a minute to play.

" - So, buckle up, listen up and let's take a drive. "- Three, two, one! " ♪ Directing Style - Intro ♪ "- If I drive for you, you get your money.

You tell me where we start, where we're going, where we're going afterwards. I give you five minutes when we get there. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I'm yours.

No matter what. Anything a minute on either side of that and you're on your own. " - There are 3 necessary requirements to generate suspense.

Consequences. Uncertainty. And time.

Remove any one of these elements and the whole thing falls apart. In "Drve", screenwriter Hossein Amini and director Nicolas Winding Refn have given us a fantastic example of how this works. Listen closely.

"- There's 100,000 streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five-minute window.

Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own.

" - Before we see anything, we hear a low rhythm on the soundtrack. It's an active rhythm resembling a quickened heartbeat. But also calm and controlled.

In the opening shot, we have elements that clue us into our hero. The map and its elaborate and methodical planning. "- You give me a time and a place, I give you a five-minute window.

" - The dialogue establishes the time constraints of that plan. The shot continues to a basketball game on TV which might seem random now but will soon become important. The slow subtle camera move introduces the world in an unassuming manner.

"- You won't be able to reach me on this phone again. " - Perfectly reflecting the character's calm and collected demeanor. "- Hey, there you are!

" - He picks up his vehicle from the garage. Again his calm confidence is accented by a leisurely trucking shot matched with driver's nonchalant attitude. We can assume this character is in complete control.

"- Chevy Impala, the most popular car in the State of California. No one will be looking at you. " - Then the music steps up just a bit by adding a click to the beat.

Reminiscent of a metronome used by musicians to stay on time. This track is even called "Tick Of The Clock". And was inspired by a specific piece of wardrobe.

-The music that you hear, the ticking of the clock, was an idea that referred to the watch that he takes off. - The tension is building despite driver's composure. In the car, a new sound is added to the mix.

The play-by-play commentary from the basketball game. As we listen to the game going forward, pay attention to how time is mentioned. "- .

. . here late in the fourth quarter.

" - Drver arrives at his destination. As the thieves enter the building, three new sounds join the cacophony. His analog stopwatch.

The alarm. And a police scanner. Drver turns up the volume.

"- . . .

here with just six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. " - And we get an update on the time left in the game. Just before the police identify their location.

"- Code 30 ringer located at 421 South Alameda. " - Refn creates a sense of mounting peril and the incessant ticking of time running out. When driver opens his door, two more sounds are added.

The cars alert that the door is open. And a police siren in the distance. We hear on the scanner just how close the police are.

"- We are approximately two minutes from their location. - Come on, man. Where the hell are you?

Come on! Get in! Get in!

Get in! " - Finally, they flee the scene. On the scanner, their vehicle has been identified.

"- Possible venicle in question, late model silver impala. " - To avoid being spotted the car pulls over and in this brief lull the sound drops down to a minimum. To help accent the silence as we wait with bated breath.

We don't see where the cop car went but the scanner lets us know it's safe. "- Santa Fe & 7th. .

. clear. " - A helicopter joins the pursuit.

Drver is out in the open and vulnerable, so the music introduces a high-pitched swell to emphasize this high alert moment. "- Got a visual heading west on 7th street bridge. " - Drver floors it and the sound levels also kick into high gear.

With a static camera and no reaction from our protagonist, it is the sound design and editing that is being used to build the peaks and valleys of this thrilling chase. "- We've lost visual on suspect. " - Again, once hidden, the wall of sound is reduced to nearly nothing.

As driver ventures back out into the streets, the layers of sound creep back in. "- Less than a minute to play. " - The camera racks focused to reveal a patrol car and a deep threatening drone takes over the soundtrack.

"- Possible suspect vehicle sighted at stoplight. " - Framed in a low dutch angle, driver is trapped. Without an ounce of panic, he makes his move.

The intensity of the basketball game builds, and the driver's engine revs. The announcers track the final seconds of the game. "- Time winding down!

Four, three, two, one! " - Drver pulls into the arena to disappear into the crowd. Just like he planned.

With almost no dialogue, "Drve's" opening scene is a great example of pure cinema where sound and image alone are used to tell a complete story. Refn and his post-production team showed us the value of great editing and sound design. Especially when generating suspense built with consequences, uncertainty, and time.

There's much more to learn from "Drve's" opening scene. You'll find a link in the description to download the script for "Drve", to see how Amini wrote this sequence. And compare to how Refn directed it.

On the road to great filmmaking, StudioBinder is just the car. It's up to you to take the wheel. Hit "Subscribe" and ring the bell for notifications.