Breaking the fourth wall

Breaking the fourth wall is when a character looks directly at the camera as if they were looking at the audience or acknowledges that audience by directly talking to them. This diagram demonstrates the fourth wall, as you can see the actors are surround by three visible was which they establish and by breaking the fourth wall they are actually acknowledging the line where a fourth wall would be and interacting with the audience.


An example of a film which breaks the fourth wall is The DUFF. In this film you see one of the characters break the fourth wall when talking about the main villain in the film. He is talking about how pretty this character is by saying "I would totally bang the shit out of her, but I wouldn't like it" The use of breaking the fourth wall hear helps to demonstrate to the audience how popular this character is and how everyone either wants to be her, or date her.   

Another example of a film which breaks the fourth wall is mean girls. The use of breaking the fourth wall here is to help the audience understand more about the character Regina. You can see various different characters in the film talking about her and sharing information to the audience about what she is like. This helps us to feel more connected to the film and also helps us to get a better understanding about what this character is like.

One final example of a film which breaks the fourth wall is The Woman in Black. Here it is used to help evoke fear in the audience by the way the three little girls look directly at the camera. This creates as sense of panic in the audience by making them unnerved that there is something behind them which is what the girls are looking at.

I think that breaking the fourth wall is definitely something I may contemplate using in my film opening. It is good to use to help explain what is going on to the audience and also helps to make them feel more connected to the action which is taking place.