Opening of Inception - Analysis by Dani

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.