The Horror Film opening sequence I'm going to be analysing is from the film 'The Woman in Black' which was released in 2012, directed by James Watkins and wrote by Susan Hill who wrote the novel and the screenplay was done by Jane Goldman Starring actors including Daniel Radcliffe. The Film had a budget of $15 million USD. At the box office it received good profit making $129 million USD worldwide.
'The Woman in Black' is a ghost story by Susan Hill, in which Arthur Kipps relates his haunting experiences at Eel Marsh House. It follows a young and widowed lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorising the locals.
The opening begins begins with a close-up shot of small tea cups with little girls pretending to drink imaginary tea whilst grooming dolls. We can tell this is period film because of how the way the girls are dressed in very old fashioned clothes. The close ups manage to show the characters laughing and smiling at one another giving off the impression this may be a happy family film, but the contrasts with the music and the creepy atmosphere surrounding the characters.
It demonstrates the innocence of the girls, the foreshadowing eery non diegetic music makes us feel even more worried and suspenseful about what might happen to them. The non-diegetic music can be heard throughout in the background, it is quiet and light but still gives of a creepy atmosphere, immediately giving us insight that we are watching a horror film. The shots are all very slow paced to match the music and the atmosphere that sets up the film.
The non-diegetic music pauses momentarily allowing a wide shot of all the girls heads turning towards the camera in a way to make the audience feel as if they are breaking the fourth wall or looking at something which we cannot see, leaving the audience in suspense as we want to know what these girls look so scared by. At this time in the opening the music becomes slightly lighter and quieter to convey how something has changed in the tone of the scene, the music has now become more intense and dark. We see the girls, again, all turn their heads to look at the window in the complete opposite direction to where they looked. The camera then cuts to the point of view of where the girls were looking, three big windows at a slight low angle shot making the windows looks demeaning and scary and to make us look small and scared of what is to come next.
we then see various shots of the girls standing up, with the camera maintaining focus on their shoes, all three of the girls are wearing black boots. The shoes manage to contrast strongly between the white dresses that they are wearing, the light dresses represent their purity and their innocence but then the black boots show death and darkness, maybe danger.
The shots of them walking focus on their shoes as we see them focus on their shoes as we see them walking and crushing the dolls and tea cups which earlier in the scene they were taking very good care of them. This now suggests to us that they are not in the right mindset as they were in before. This difference makes the audience wonder what could have taken over them to change their characters so quickly. The camera movement follows the girls walking towards the windows, we can see they all have no expressions as they are walking at the same time as each other in the shot.
The shot continues to move to show the frames of the window continuing the same shot following the three girls, at this point the audience can guess what is about to happen. The same use of a wide shot allows us to see all three girls jump off the edge window sill. they do this is in a calm way emphasising how odd something is here, as we do not know who made these innocent girls do this. The diegetic sound pauses, no diegetic sound is heard until we hear a woman scream of camera, we can assume their mother as she refers them as her "babies". As these screams are being heard the shot slowly on a tracking shot moves backwards as though whatever caused them to do this is is now leaving and going away.
Suddenly we switch to a shot of a creepy doll that looks somewhat deranged. This sudden change of shot after the earlier shot is surprising, and scares the audience. The non-diegetic music makes a slight sudden noise, which makes us jump.
In the last shot, as it is again tracking out of the room the audience can just see over the shoulder of 'The Woman in Black', it is very quick at the end on the right side of the camera, giving the audience just enough time to know it was her. We only see the front of her hat and the veil in front of her face, the audience are left in suspense and want to know more about her and why she did this letting them be hooked into the story.
We can see how this opening sequence clearly establishes the genre as the eerie atmosphere here suggests to the audience that this is a horror film. Having the use of creepy props and clothing, along with the non-diegetic music convey what the genre is to the audience. The way the that something that the audience cannot see convinces these three young girls to kill themselves shows us that there could also be a supernatural aspect in this film, also that this again is a horror film, as we are briefly given an insight into the plot and what it might be about this woman. Although we do not seem to meet any of the protagonists, it seems that we do learn about the antagonist. Despite not being able to see much of 'The Woman in Black' herself, we get a glimpse of her clothing, which seem to be quite old. We do not know much about her but we know she can force kids to kill themselves without hesitation. This idea tells the audience that the protagonist of this film will be the one to take on this sinister force. So the narrative will probably be about the hauntings of the Woman and the protagonists attempts to get rid of her.
The camera shots compliment the music by making certain points in the opening very intense to the audience. The shots of the toys at the beginning of the scene, present ent the dolls in a manner that they look very sinister like voodoo dolls and takes away the innocence of the girls with the dolls, and instantly sets the tone and theme to the audience. The camera shot remains focused on the girls as they interact in some way with 'The Woman in Black', the audience are left wondering what they are looking art and what will happen next in this story, as we don't know what to expect. The way the camera follows the girls in a slow paced type as they approach the window which creates a menacing atmosphere. Briefly
seeing 'The Woman in Black' leaves the audience with many questions. The editing is slow paced, to make it feel calm and comfortable although something very twisted is actually going to happen. The order and timing at which the shots cut between them again compliments the music and sound, making the atmosphere more tense than it is.
The Horror Film opening sequence I'm going to be analysing is from the film 'A Quiet Place Part 2' which was released in 2020, directed and wrote by John Krasinski. Starring actors including Emily Blunt, And John Krasinski himself. The Film had a budget of $61 million USD. At the box office it received good profit making $297.4 million USD worldwide.
Originally as the first film was such a success John Krasinski didn't want to make a second film until he was tricked into writing an outline for the production company and then decided to direct it. This Film is a continuation from the film 'A Quiet Place' which was released back in 2018. The sequel follows the family right where the film leaves off, But begins with how the events of this invasion took place at the start using non linear techniques.
The opening begins with a establishing shot of a street, where instantly the audience can establish where we are which as there are American flags we can tell that we are somewhere in America. The shot pulled off here has hardly any life around the street. Implying to the audience that the film has opened to the post apocalyptic world, as everyone is gone and not there. This gives straight away gives of the convention that this is a sci-fi film from the deserted town.
The next shot is a close up of the traffic light tied in with a high angle shot to show the road below. The lights on this traffic light in this shot is still on and working, maybe to represent there is still an aspect of life here to the audience and to give them a sense of hope. The light goes from green through to red the changing of these colours to the audience could be connoting to danger, for example green could be saying that life is all good and happy, then yellow might be meaning there are a few problems in the way, then red as the final colour is representing danger and life is at steak. Once the light is red there is a single car that appears into frame maybe suggesting to the audience that this is the one of the last survivors here, since the attack.
The next shot shows off the car that was just revealed panning over to the right where we see the car door opening and revealing our first character for the film which is John Krasinski as his character 'Lee Abbert' who we saw die in the first film quickly telling the audience that this isn't taking place after the apocalypse, but by showing us the empty and what looked to be an abandoned road is foreshadowing to the audience for what is to come without specifically telling them. Once 'Lee' is out of his car he slams the door shut on his car cutting to a black screen displaying "day 1" now stating to the audience that they can assume that this is the first day of the invasion, showing to the audience that we are going to before the events of the first film and we may get to see what brung the aliens here.
The shot cuts out from black with a diegetic sound of a tv playing in the background of the scene with a new character in the foreground and with 'Lee' walking into this shop in the background. Throughout this whole sequence of being in the shop there is hardly any sound being made apart from a little murmur from the Tv, this again could be foreshadowing the events of the film about staying quiet and not making any sound, and to put the audience on edge on what is to happen next. as 'Lee' starts walking back to the till whilst on a tracking shot there is a reference to the first film about 'Lee's' youngest son who dies from playing with his toy that it shows here. The camera specifically slows down to show off this prop to tell the audience even the most small things can get you killed. Also to the audience I think using a spaceship as that toy is subtly telling us that these monsters that arrive are from space which are some of the conventions to Sci-Fi the director has done this so we can piece it together without actually telling us.
'Lee' Leaves the store and is followed with a tracking shot down the road as this is happening the town starts to come to life more fore example 'Lee' waving at friends in shops or restaurants and having diegetic sounds of birds in the background, of a way to help try and reassure the audience, that everything is good and happy as we know what's coming for the characters of the film which they obviously don't know yet. The director is basically trying to make the audience believe a false reality.
There is the use of a soundbridge already taking us to the next location which seems to be a baseball game filled with a crowd filled with cheers and whistles, again this is the director creating a contrast between the the rest of the film and the happy life before, which in a sense makes the audience feel more sympathetic for these characters as we get to see what they lost from the start and the trauma that they had to go through. There is a tracking shot showing us all the people around, creating a sense of friendship and family to the audience and how the community are all as one union.
When we see the mum in the scene giving her son advice telling him to "Just breathe" through sign language I think that the audience can tell this is going to be a critical line in the film about staying calm and controlled, so this is a nice and subtle way to tie in certain lines without showing them with a deeper meaning to the audience. This also gives us a little foreshadowing to the fact that the mum is going to be incharge this film and take some sort of leadership after 'Lee's' death which at this point hasn't happened yet.
The next character we meet is talking to 'Lee' while watching the game, we can tell that this character is going to be a critical role to play in this film I personally think this because when 'Lee' or his wife talk to others we don't hear any of their conversations apart from this one, also I think that the daughter and the man are going to be the 2 driving the film forward especially with him asking how to say 'Dive' in sign language we can imply that the line will be used again by him later in through the film, the us these people get along so we can assume if they meet later in the film they will have a good relationship with one another.
Shortly after there is a diegetic sound of the radio up on the stands having some interference. This is the director subtly adding little bits of detail, to show the Happy and bright life that seems calm and enjoyable is getting interrupted so abruptly disturbing the happy lifestyle. This to the audience is creating a sense of tension and to show problems are starting to unfold for the character giving off a sense of mystery.
There is a low angle shot behind the boys shoulder primarily over the shoulder shot too. The camera starts to tilt up at the same time as the boys head to make it look like we are with the boy in this very moment in time. We see up in the sky of what to looks like to be a meteor of some sorts coming from outer space. Now the audience knows almost certainly that the genre of this film is a Sci-Fi as whatever this is looks like it has come from space.
We see 'Lee' walk back up the same street that he walked down with the same tracking shot but now backwards. The street is a lot more busy than before, contrasting to the audience the frantic worry from the town, for example the dog in the truck is now barking like mad when the dog was calm on the way down creating an image that civilization has been interrupted and is going to end manically.
During this shot we can see 'Lee' walking up the road and in the distant background you can see the dark smoke with a bit of fire in the sky. The image for the audience that the director is trying to create here is the image is 'Lee' and his daughter running away from the danger to stay safe while all the others on the street are staring at it with confusion. This a great way for the director to show the impending danger in the background encroaching on the family. So far in the opening we have only stayed with 'Lee' this is the director trying to make us feel we are actually with the character at the time of this happening.
When they are sitting in the truck you can see a police car arriving in the back of the shot, this to the audience is creating a sense of safety to them like a barrier, for example in the far of background you have the thing crashing from space the in the middle the police. This is to show a sense of protection for them.
When the police car is attacked which firstly shocks the audience the camera changes to look at the girl in the car and as she is deaf the director cut off the sound so we can see the world from her perspective which contrasts from the high tense action outside. To the audience this makes them feel worried for her as she doesnt know whats going on until 'Lee' rushes into the car making her panicked also making the audience panic for them. I think the rest of the film will be about the daughters journey and in a way take the role of her father and helping her family and her relationship with the man we met at the baseball game.
The war Film opening sequence I'm going to be analysing is from the film 'Inglourious Basterds' which was released in 2009, directed and wrote by Quentin Tarantino. Starring actors including Brad Pitt. The Film had a budget of $70 million USD. At the box office it received good profit making $321.5 million USD worldwide.
The film tells an alternate history story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germany's leadership, one planned by Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent), a young french Jewish cinema proprietor, and the other by the British but ultimately conducted by a team of Jewish American soldiers.
The opening begins with an establishing shot of where we are where it tells us the time in which this is set in 1941 which we can tie in with the time when World War 2 was going on, we can also see that the location is in the countryside somewhere. We can hear diegetic sound of the man in the background chopping wood and the wind blowing around him, suggesting to the audience that where this man may live is tranquil and could contrast later in the film if it involves the War, also on the right side of the frame there are cows implying he may live on a farm. By one shot in the film we can already get a sense of what the plot might be for the film going forward.
The shot changes to a girl hanging up some washing again to show the reader that this may be a part of their everyday lives. the next shot is a low angle shot of a man chopping wood with an axe. In this shot we can start to understand this character, We can see a building in the background of the shot which the audience can assume this is his home and the chopping of the wood represents his domestic lifestyle and a part of their everyday lives, it connotes that this man is hardworking and is a strong character and is a stereotypical character contrasting from the woman doing her job. This already is conveying to the audience to the time in which this film is set in the war having the woman doing the job they would normally be doing in those times.
The next shot which in an over the shoulder shot of the woman continuing to do her domestic duty, this is useful during this shot because the director has managed to create a type of curtain with the sheet that his hung up that in the very far background reveals cars approaching them breaking the stability of the lifestyle which they were living. This for the audience creates suspense with the interruption to their life along with the non-diegetic soundtrack that starts when the cars are revealed implying to us that danger is coming.
After the woman has seen the cars she calls to her "papa" so now the audience know that this is a family. The shot changes to a view of the perspective of the man, in showing the cars from far away it makes the arrival of these people a lot more ominous. To the audience this is showing the looming danger that is approaching the family, we are able to tell that it is a sense of danger approaching from the way that the family react to the arrival especially the girls.
From the doorway of the house we see 2 more girls walk outside with the father telling them to go back inside and to shut the door this part of the opening sequence is telling us that the wrong attitude and behaviour that the girls display could lead to bad consequences and that the family have to act very carefully with the people approaching them. This can be implying to the audience that maybe they have gone against the government again as this is set during the war.
When the daughter spots the cars coming towards them it cuts to a close up of the father showing through his facial expressions the is no attempt to protest of resist, only a kind of subtle dread and acceptance that he has done something wrong. To the audience this may make them think that he may die as we now know in which time this film was set in.
The shot changes again to an over the shoulder shot of the man, here the director has used a good sense of imagery of having him sitting there, and in front of him he has a sort of barrier of his own domestic life being broken and intruded by an approaching danger. leaving the audience with the anxiety for this character as a sense of trauma maybe he has been hiding from the war conveying to the genre of this film which is about war these first few shots manage to build a high idea of tension surrounding the film so far which could continue all the way throughout.
The shot used of the man washing his face shows us that whoever is approaching is of some importance and the man is quickly trying to make himself look presentable to them, also an external reaction showing us how he should be internally preparing himself. To the audience this makes us feel on edge as to why does he have to clean himself off and why he is looking very worried.
From what we have seen in the opening this is the first time the camera moves beyond panning. This is to show whilst its moving the Man dressed in black to show he is in control while walking past the clothes line and the axe in the wood because the camera hasn't moved yet. The contrast of his movement up to the father allows him to stand out to the audience along with his attire making him important to the audience. We also learn from the characters greeting we learn the name of the man in the black suit is called 'Hans Landa' and the father of the family is called 'Lapedite'. The director took his time when introducing us to this character to leave us in suspense, without even showing us him.
When the men enter the household the camera is pointed in an over the shoulder shot between the two girls as if we were standing with them in the moment. This is used to make the audience feel involved with the moment as if they were really there and that they too should be scared by Landa's arrival. In the background of the shot you can see out of the window soldiers that are positioned there to remind the audience that they are being watched and can't escape. The camera tracks left to where Landa introduces himself to one of the girls showing to the audience again that he is in control and not the family.
When landa goes to sit down the camera again pans with him showing to the audience that he is still in power. Landa asks for a drink from one of the daughters he even grabs her wrist giving to the audience a very uncomfortable setting to be in. Also showing to the audience that he is a very controlling man. This also tells us about the time in which it is set as Landa is very hands on with the girls. By this point we also know that Landa is German which means he is a Nazi, Which the audience can now connote that he is a bad man which explains why the family would be scared as the french did not get on with germans in the war.
There is a medium shot of Landa looking up at the girl who from her facial expressions is clearly on edge about something that is going on and is nervous, which Landa can tell by staring at her. This moment to the audience again is to make them feel uneasy and want to know what she is hiding from Landa.
Once Landa receives his milk the camera is pointed in a low angle shot that allows to show to the audience that Landa is of higher status than us and in a way to belittle us. The key to these angle changes is that they parallel changes in the tone of the scene playing out. This to the audience now makes them want to know the motif for this family and what they are so desperately trying to hide from the supposed Nazi's in the film, so i think the film will be about what this family have hidden or what happens to them after whatever they are hiding is discovered.
The thriller Film opening sequence I'm going to be analysing is from the film 'Joker' which was released in 2019, directed by Todd Phillips and wrote by Todd Phillips, Scott Silver, and Bob Kane. Starring actors including Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz. The Film had a budget of $70 million USD. At the box office it received a huge profit making $1.074 billion USD worldwide. 'Joker' also won the award for best actor at the oscars. In total 'Joker' has won up to 98 awards.
Joaquin Phoenix as Joker/ Arthur Fleck is a mentally ill, impoverished party clown and stand-up comedian disregarded by society, his history of abuse causes him to become a nihilistic criminal with a clown motif.
The beginning opens with the original Warner brothers logo which instantly tells the audience that this is a period movie and isn't in recent times there is also the use of the sounds already beginning with the logo appearing instantly plunging the audience into the heat of the moment and transporting them to the time in which this is set.
The opening of the film begins with a tracking shot inside of what looks to be a old building in a low status part of town, as you can see from the window that this is located under a bridge already implying to the audience that this story may be about the low status of society. During this tracking shot there is a diegetic sound of the local news and the ambient sound of the city outside playing underneath it whilst the audience meet this first character which we can assume is the main character. Who is alone putting on his make-up connoting to the title 'Joker' that he is a clown or is seen as a clown by the world. There is another sense which we could say that the character is mentally ill and has to hide it from the world with his make-up. Having him sit alone gives the audience the feeling to sympathize with the character as he is not with anyone.
The second shot of the films shows us a close-up shot of the the. side of Arthur Fleck's face in the foreground with the background blurred, this could be the director wanting to focus on one thing only that being Arthur. This shot gives the audience a very unsettling feel of this character who is separated from everyone else around him in the room and his character is trying to figure out how to put a smile on his face and his his true emotions. We can assume the film will make us feel unsettled throughout. In this shot we see Arthur physically pulling his mouth up and down in a way of fighting the comedy, tragedy that could be his life as he is all alone with people laughing in the ambience. The shots here are filmed by handheld camera movements, in a way to try and make the audience feel a sense of intimacy with the character.
The tear in another close-up shot of Arthur's face after he forces his smile and his frown, maybe here it's still him trying to figure out whether his life is a comedy or a tragedy. The tear could be representing the start of him starting to lose himself in this crazed alter ego in a way and becoming crazy. His makeup ends up smudged implying that he doesn't care for the way he looks to other people. telling the audience a little about his story like he may have been bullied now he just thinks its normal to be alone and have no one around to support him. this also gives a convention to the genre that it being a thriller because we get a sense of many unanswered questions about this character that we want to know and find out about, and giving us a sense of suspense partnered up with anxiety as this character looks a bit scary.
There is sound-bridge now using non-diegetic sound of a piano transporting the audience to an establishing shot of where we can see we are in a wealthy area, we can tell this because of the lighting as its Dim and of the fog in the background and some of the buildings are worn down. In the bottom right of the screen you can see Arthur which he also looks very different to everyone else here, connoting to the audience that he is different to everyone that surrounds him. Also this is showing a little clown that is looked through in this big imposing and scary world, to the audience i think this shot helps us set the stage for arthur's world. Again this convention helps us establish that its thriller from the explicit moods that it gives off that everyone around is moody, again leaving an element of suspense. we find out in this scene that the sound of the piano is actually diegetic as we a shot of a man playing the piano.
We can clearly see from the expressions on Arthur's face that this is where he feels happy and at home with what he is doing, he has a mask on so therefore he doesn't have to be 'Arthur Fleck' but he can be who he wants to be a 'clown' a 'Joker' as he's pretending to be someone else and gets so invested and lost in his work. From here where he is dancing about we can see that Arthur has musical side of him which is able to show a visual representation of him to the audience almost a way of making the film seem brighter and take away from the dark sense that we fell and the anxiety that the audience may feel. There's an element to Arthur that if he would let go and take of the mask which he has put on he would become himself which his him becoming the Joker.
After Arthur had his sign stolen there are a few shots that track alongside of the the action in the street to make the audience feel apart of the action alongside the thugs who stole the sign to see what it's like from their perspective. having arthur belittled not only by people severely younger than him showing to the audience again that sense that arthur is looked over we get that sense as well from the scenery around him as the building are also towering over him in a way of hiding him from the real world. This makes the audience also feel in a sense trapped and can't escape as the whole of the place surrounding him is filled with no empty spaces. When Arthur is running down the busy streets no one who runs past decide to help him, telling the audience again that arthur is very much looked through and not cared for by society. Which leads to the audience having the feeling of anticipation hoping that someone will help.
Once Arthur makes it down the alleyway and is on the floor getting beat up, there is a dutch tilt angle shot used from a high perspective to make us as the audience are watching over this situation but there is nothing we can do to intervene as we are 'far away' in a sense. also having this down an alleyway makes the film darker than it is as they aren't on the main road anymore where maybe someone could have helped. this us the feeling to again sympathize with Arthur as no one decides to help. The shot used also be showing that Arthur's life has never been easy like a straight line but has always been twisted. When Arthur is hit by his own sign it manages to give the audience the element of surprise which thrillers normally intend to do.
When the thugs run off, Arthur is left alone on the ground in the rain to me I think this is the most powerful shot of the film as it tracks back and really gives the audience an incentive to what the film could have in store and the story for this character. This shot manages to portray Arthur's pain and his loneliness. We see arthur trying to reach out with his arm to grab his sign maybe thinking that he can fix it but can't reach it or doesn't have the strength too.
After he accepts his own fat he rolls over and presses something in his jacket in order to make water falling out of his flower that he is wearing. This could be Arthurs way of crying that he doesn't want to show it through his own tears, because at the end of the day here he is still the 'Joker'/clown figure, he is still there to try and make people laugh. Arthur even though he has been beat up and is badly hurt he still manages to see the comedy in this moment of pain. This puts the audience on edge and leaves them with suspense and Anxiety again, that the Arthur is still managing to see the funny side of the situation he is again clearly showing he is mentally ill.
Over the mournful non-diegetic music that is being played, the title appears when a certain low note is played and the title dominates the whole screen, where you can only slightly see Arthur in the background almost a way of showing that the director is trying to pull us away from Arthur but also hid him in a way to show that we can't help him. I think that the film is going to be about Arthurs decent in his life and ho these traumatic experiences are going to send him on a downward spiral and go insane and wanting to seek revenge on all the people that have hurt him in his life which i think will be the whole society as no one cared to help him so I think he wants to seek revenge on pretty much everyone.
