The first shot of The Prestige (Nolan, 2006) is a context-less slow panning shot of a pile of top hats lying in the woods. The top hats immediately conjure up associations with traditional stage magicians, and the Victorian era, whereas the fact that a large amount of them are lying in a forest creates an immediate enigma; what are they doing there? Non-diegetic sound occurs in the form of a voice-over asking "Are you watching closely?" and the shot cuts to black. As we do not see the source of the voice, this makes us wonder who is saying it. The film then opens with a parallel edited sequence, with a voice-over narration by Michael Caine's character, who is showing a little girl a magic trick with a canary, explaining the three stages, or acts, of a magic trick. This inter-cuts with footage of Hugh Jackman's character onstage, performing a daring magic act, and Christian Bale's character, onstage to inspect the apparatus as a member of the audience, coming offstage and removing a disguise. Jackman's character is then dropped into a tank under the stage, seemingly unable to escape, while Bale glares maliciously. All of these quick events make the audience ask a number of questions, and the fast pace of the editing implies that this is taking place after the majority of the main events of the film.
The costumes and sets of the piece make it very clear that this is not taking place in the present day, presumably being set sometime in the Victorian/pre-Victorian era. The sequence combines low-key, atmospheric lighting with powerful stage lighting during the magic sequences.
I will be analysing the clip between 01.40 and 03.54 minutes.
Extreme close ups are used frequently in this opening sequence to portray a sense of concealed identities due to the hidden narrative shown in each of the shots. The first of these is the opening shot after a fade to black, we see a glass of milk on a table, with a man's hands placed either side of the glass. Even this insignificant detail helps us to get to know his character so even the smallest of details become important. Also the fact that he drinks a lot of milk is an underlying personality trait running throughout the film. We then get another extreme close up his sunglasses lens, and are able to see the outline of another man going to light a cigarette, we then go to a match on action to a close up of the man lighting the cigarette. The audience work out that this is the same guy that was in the reflection. Both of these close ups combined helps add to the suspense, as we still haven't properly seen either of the two characters.
From the close up of somebody lighting a cigarette, we then slowly pan up his face, showing each of his facial features in extreme close up, slowly revealing more of his face, however his identity his still concealed which adds enigma to the opening as the audience ask questions such as; Who is this guy? Who was the last guy? What is the meeting about? Why are they both concealed? Is it a dodgy/illegal meeting? He puts out his cigarette in the ash tray and we get an extreme close up of his mouth as he says 'lets start business' which emphasises the importance of this business and also the crime related aspect as both identities are still hidden from the camera.
At the end of this first scene, we go back to the same extreme close up of the glass of milk and his hands. While we don’t see the man drinking, only picking up the full glass and putting down an empty one, we do see the other character's reaction shot, despite the fact that we only see his eye again in an extreme close up. The fact that this same shot is at the start and the end of the scene, it gives a sense of importance to the object and the man holding it.
The shots that follows shows a photograph of a man being handed over to the first character that we saw, as this is happening the character handing it over, is speaking over the top of these shots, talking about the man in the picture. The first character has no dialogue until the one line at the end of the conversation where he simply says, 'yeah I'm free Tuesday', which again reinforces the character's mysterious nature as he still has a hidden identity and sits in near silence for the whole conversation.
We see the first character slide the photograph towards himself and then in his reflection, that he takes it with him. One of the last things we see in the first scene is a photograph of a man and when the next scene starts the first shot is of that same man in a hotel. This adds enigma to the opening sequence as we try and deduce how the two scenes are related.
Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010) opens, appropriately enough, with an abstract ballet sequence featuring the protagonist Nina (Natalie Portman) dancing in a black, empty setting. One powerful spotlight provides the sole illumination, reflecting that of a stage performance, which is used alternately to light Nina completely and to turn her into a silhouette as the camera moves and switches position frequently. Another purpose of this low-key lighting is to highlight the muscular tones and shadows on Nina's body, emphasising the physicality of dancers, which plays an important role throughout the film.
The soundtrack, in this case diegetic as the dancers can no doubt hear the music (although the sequence is a fantasy), is an adapted piece of classical music from the ballet Swan Lake, which the film revolves around. The sequence features little diegetic sound effects, other than the panting and breathing of Nina, and exaggerated, demonic avian screeching and flapping noises as a male dancer transforms into a winged monster.
Much of the scene's camerawork is handheld, in contrast with traditional methods of filming onstage performances. This brings the spectator into the scene, creating a more active than passive experience and heightening the audience's emotional response.
As the sequence ends and the soundtrack turns to the familiar leitmotif from Swan Lake, which recurs throughout the whole film, the image fades to black, fading in again on Nina, awake in bed, looking excited.
Diegetic sound such as FOLEYS are increased in volume to add emphasis to certain aspects of sound such as the sound of crashing waves between 00.00 and 00.12 seconds, which adds to the establishing shot as we get a better feel of the location. The screams of the little girl on the beach are also enhanced and more high pitch to create the effect of a flashback or something that isn't really there. Depth of field is used to symbolise that he is regaining consciousness as when he begins to see the children, they are out of focus. The colour saturation is evident due to the contrast between this and the dull, grey point of view shot of him when he washes up on the beach looking tired, weary and just a plain mess. This flashback is also reinforced by the high contrast, colour and lighting added to the shot of the children running around. This creates enigma already as the audience begin to ask themselves whether or not the children are really there and if not why is he seeing them there and what is his relationship with the children; how are they important to him?
Costume is used to give us some establishing information of where he is. The younger Japanese man is in traditional clothing, combined with the surroundings which reinforce this sense of place. The men are all in suits and the guard is shown in a very low angle shot, holding a gun, both of which reinforce his power over the man on the beach. The main guard on the beach says something in a foreign language to a man on the rocks. We see a silhouette of a man in an extreme long shot, showing also the building next to him. The high angle in which we see this building shows its power this combined with the unrestricted narration causes the audience to feel suspense as we can see the building and in the next shot we are inside, we are left wondering what/who is inside the building?
Once inside the building we see a well-lit dining hall in an extreme long shot and are able to see the guards, relating them also back to this new location from the last shot. As we enter the room further we see a man in a chair superior to the others, showing his importance, the audience may wonder at this point who he is. We then go to a close up of the gun which is placed on the table by a guard, there is then a focus pull as he places the other object on the table; what looks like a spinning top. This shallow depth of field on the gun and the focus pull onto the spinning top as the gun slowly fades out of focus emphasises a certain importance about the two objects, suggesting that the spinning top is slightly more important than the gun. The audience will ask themselves why is this small object so important?
We then see the first character sitting at the opposite end of the table, with a slow pan gradually revealing his face, creating a sense of mystery and hinting at concealed identities. The medium shot we end up seeing him in is important to reinforce that the old man has the higher status of the two. His appearance is weary, scruffy and disturbed by something mentally, whereas the other character is shown in a smart suit as being highly rich and manicured. This contrast emphasises the power the older man has over the first character.
Editing is also used to enhance the sense of bewilderment and confusion for the character and to therefore create suspense for the audience. Straight cuts are used, even when cutting to and from the flashback, we are unsure whether or not what he is seeing is real. The shots with the young children playing are edited into slow motion which reinforces his dizzy disorientated state.
This opening has a great sense of enigma as it causes the audience to ask themselves multiple questions to, creating suspense and added mystery to the opening.
The film begins with a non-diegetic soundtrack parallel to the film title (lyrics include words such as operator and the sound of a phone). This overlays a tracking shot through space and shows a satalite orbiting around the earth. The camera then tracks into Earth, then into America establishing the location. Then again on screen it shows inside of the satalite (microchips etc.) with a diegetic sound of people talking and phones ringing. The camera than tracks out through a phone into a long shot of New York city where we see men singing the song overlaying the first shots which turns it into a diegetic song. The camera than tracks through New York in an Extreme Long Shot establishing the location. There is also a variety of close up and medium close ups of phones and people using them. This is the plot device and relates to the film title. There are also close up of guns which also is used as a plot device as it becomes important in the film later on.
From the start of the opening, pathetic fallacy is used to reflect and emphasise the the mood of the scene. The diegetic sound is also increased in volume to enhance the effect of this pathetic fallacy for example; the thunder and rain outside. This sad mood is also reinforced in the close up of his face, allowing us to clearly see his facial expression.
We then cut to a an extreme long shot where we can then deduce that it is some kind of meeting, perhaps official or important. The modern setting and the manicured room for example; stylish, good quality chairs and the lack of other furniture in the room suggests an interview.
The woman in the meeting is often seen from a slightly low angle which suggests her power, dominance and importance in the conversation. Both of the characters moods are shown through the use of body language as well as facial expression. She appears to be comfortable with the conversation, this is shown by her slouching in the chair, and legs crossed. Her arms are propped on the arms of the chair, this causes the fact that she is in charge of the agenda clear as she is confident with the situation. Her body language clearly shows her relaxation with the conversation compared to him who is sitting with his legs and arms very tightly crossed. He is sitting defensively and clearly feels uneasy and uncomfortable with the conversation, evident by the way he places his hands to his mouth, biting his nails slightly, a common sign of anxiety, this is clear to see from the medium long shot.
The facial expression in this scene, reinforces that he is clearly upset or distressed about something towards the end and until the end we don't find out what it is, creating suspense for the audience. His dialogue and the way in which he talks also enhances his upset, shown by his pauses and stutters when talking and towards the end he is speaking through faint sobs, as he tries to prevent himself from crying. The camera has zoomed in at this point into a close up to emphasis his emotion and feeling further.
The non-diegetic sound in the clip begins very faintly at 00.30 seconds and gradually becomes louder towards the end. The piano gets louder, as does the deeper instrument also. The high piano key becomes more frequently played as the build up to the declarative at the end draws nearer. The sound is parallel to the mood and atmosphere onscreen, reinforcing the mood of the opening of this episode.
The start to this thriller shows a man's anxiety with what we find out at the end. At the end of the scene, the male character says that his friend Sherlock is dead, this instantly creates suspense for the audience as we know that he is the main character in the series. An enigma is created as the audience will question what happened to Sherlock.
The first shot is of a modern, clean, white kitchen, containing objects of white or black colour. The only object prominent with colour in this shot is the washing up liquid; a cleaning agent. This suggests certain character traits such as extreme hygiene. This shot also holds surveillance-like qualities as we see the location from a long shot, from slightly behind a piece of furniture. The non-diegetic sound that can be heard in this shot are FOLEY effects of street traffic, reinforcing the location in which the shot takes place.
The use of close ups in the scene also helps to further reinforce his cleanliness tendencies.
An over the shoulder shot of him doing up his tie in the mirror in a manicured fashion reinforces his neat qualities. We then pan up to a close up of his face, allowing us to see his facial expression, emphasising the worried/anxious look on his face.
We then go to a shot of a table where the contents upon it are neatly lined up. As he goes to pick up these objects they are also seen in close up, reinforcing the importance of certain objects. Within these objects he picks up a police badge and a penknife, this combined with his costume, give us knowledge of his job, which in this case is a policeman/detective. A sense of enigma is given here as the audience ask themselves; Where is he going? What has happened?
His jacket is placed neatly on the bed and he intricately picks off a piece of fluff before carefully placing it on. Once again reinforcing his cleanliness, perhaps now obsessive behaviour.
We go from this location, where he police detective is getting ready for work to, a camera pan up a room in another location, slowly unveiling a dead body. The audience assumes that the dead body holds some kind of significance for the previous character. As we see this, we can also hear the dialogue of somebody explaining what happened, how this dead body came to be. Minimalistic lighting is used in the dark and dingy room to add to the tone/mood in the scene. The atmosphere and bleakness in this second location is reinforced due to the dramatic contrast between this and the first setting; a modern, clean home.
We then see the previous character again, this time in a long shot. This is the first time we have seen the character properly. We then see the character walk towards the camera into shadow and into a medium close up which allows for us to see his facial expression and anxiety about the child. The use of a long shot following this allows us to understand the location of the crime better as we can see a lot more of it, we can also clearly see the blood stained wall, reinforcing the reason that the characters are there. This turns into an extreme long shot as we then see another character walking up the stairs, also a detective. We begin to understand the layout of the setting which could later become crucial to uncovering the murder case.
In conclusion, the opening to the thriller, Seven, creates and enigma for the audience as it leaves you asking yourself unanswered questions and therefore builds the suspense. This film also has dark themes beginning to unfold in just the first two minutes which causes the suspense to build up more reinforcing the film genre; thriller.
The start of the film the opening credits overlay the first shot which consists of flashing lights going through a tunnel. It then straight cuts into a long shot of the black car. Connotations of black in the modern world can suggests wealth especially when the car is big, but can also suggests evil, darkness, etc.
Instead of a straight cut, they use a dissolve into the next shot which shows the car from behind. By using a dissolve you can change the perspective of the object and show a transition in time. The lighting is quite dark through the first few shots which could suggests bad things to happen and/or to show the darkness of the tunnel.
A tracking shot is used to follow the car but could also suggest someone following this car. By using tracking as well can show the location. There is then a straight cut establishing the location and surroundings. The camera movement is very shaky in this shot suggesting a POV from inside the car. The title of the film "From Paris with Love" appears over a famous landmark in Paris- Eiffel Tower, making it clear to the audience where it is set because everyone knows where this tower is.
There is then a close up of the man driving the car. He is dressed in a black suit, matching his car and showing his wealth and importance. There is also high lighting on his face suggesting he is good. There is then another long shot of the car (from the side) showing him pulling him into a building with guards by the gate - showing the importance of the character.
When inside the building there is an extreme close up of a phone and the diegetic sound of the phone being dialed. The sound is enhanced suggesting an important phone call. There is then a medium long shot of the office and he is stood next to the American flag; showing patriotism and suggesting it is inside the American Embassy and this guy is related to the government.
Starts with a long shot of the setting a snow covered landscape that is panning slowly to show wildlife there is no diegetic or non-diegetic sound in the beginning to give the impression that nothing is there.
A medium panning shot of the protagonist is shown this makes you ask who it is. What are they doing? Why are they there? A long shot of a moose is shown this has a flat cut as the transition then a panning shot of the protagonist is shown this has a focus pull to show that they are looking at the moose. What are they going to do?
A close up of the protagonist face is shown then fast paced cuts to show that what is happening. A blurred shot Is shown from the point of view of the moose this is used to show that it is dying
The final shot in the sequence is a close up of the protagonist face this has a high colour saturation on it to show that there is a lot of light in the background. It ends with the titles with a loud folly effect to emphasis what is being shown.
Starts with titles to show that this is based on true events. A fast panning shot a city scape is shown with fireworks in the background with a non-diegetic soundtrack of a jazz style song.
A long shot of suburban houses is shown through the view of the protagonist out of a car window with people setting off fireworks and running around this makes you ask what is happening?
A character is shown running towards the car then a shot reverse shot of the dialogue between the characters with a diegetic soundtrack of jazz music that is playing in the car.
A long shot of a 70’s dinner is shown this help to show the time that the movie is set in
The next shot is a long shot of a car that is park behind the protagonists this also reflects the time period that the film is set in. the antagonist is shown in a medium shot but his face is not shown a focus pull is used on a gun in the antagonists hand. This makes you think who is this? Why did he kill them? The non-diegetic soundtrack is contrapuntal to what is happening as it is of a 70’s rock song that is fast paced.
Starts with text showing a description of the work pulp from the dictionary . A two shot is shown of the characters in a dinner a sound bridge is used for the transition of the shots with the sound of a motorcycle .(
A two shot at a medium shot distance is used dialogue and diegetic folly sound is used to make a realistic feel to the sequence and the setting This is shown in a long take until a close up of a waitress is shown.
Long takes are used with little amount of cuts this could have been done to show that this is meant to be realistic this is also shown through the use of diegetic folly sound that are quiet and in keeping with what you would hear in a dinner this does not draw attention away from the dialogue.
A close up of a gun is shown with an enhanced folly sound to emphasis the importance of the gun within the scene. The sequence ends with a still of the two characters aiming their guns this has a contrapuntal non diegetic sound track as it is of a upbeat and happy song.(fig 4)
Hannibal starts with off screen dialogue with a blank screen this continues over the the titles with a parallel non diagetic soundtrack over the top of the dialogue this gives a eerie feel to the opening.
The establishing shot is a long shot of the characters slowly comes on screen showing the characters with a slow gradual panning to show the setting this is a large low lit room this constructs the idea of wealth the lighting of the room draws attention to props that are in the background to further the impresion of wealth. this is shown in one long cut with few other shots shown.
a close up of the antagonist is shown this make you question who is he? and what happens to him? his costume is a suit that also show wealth this continues into a long shot of all of the characters this shows his butler or helper who is also wearing a suit this makes you ask who is he?
the opening end with a close up of a mask that belonged to Hannibal Lecter with a slow parallel sound track this shot shows the importance of all of the characters and make you ask why are the so obsessed with Hannibal?
The first shot of The Prestige (Nolan, 2006) is a context-less slow panning shot of a pile of top hats lying in the woods. The top hats immediately conjure up associations with traditional stage magicians, and the Victorian era, whereas the fact that a large amount of them are lying in a forest creates an immediate enigma; what are they doing there? Non-diegetic sound occurs in the form of a voice-over asking "Are you watching closely?" and the shot cuts to black. As we do not see the source of the voice, this makes us wonder who is saying it. The film then opens with a parallel edited sequence, with a voice-over narration by Michael Caine's character, who is showing a little girl a magic trick with a canary, explaining the three stages, or acts, of a magic trick. This inter-cuts with footage of Hugh Jackman's character onstage, performing a daring magic act, and Christian Bale's character, onstage to inspect the apparatus as a member of the audience, coming offstage and removing a disguise. Jackman's character is then dropped into a tank under the stage, seemingly unable to escape, while Bale glares maliciously. All of these quick events make the audience ask a number of questions, and the fast pace of the editing implies that this is taking place after the majority of the main events of the film.
