Analysis of 3 Opening Movie Sequence

Analysis of 3 Opening Movie Sequence 

The Conjuring:

It begins with an extreme close up of an old ventriloquist doll ‘Annabelle’. This is the first frame of the movie and it is really effective in scaring the audience and setting the tone of the film by making it unpredictable and frightening. The camera zooms out
of the dolls eye to reveal the rest of the face this gives a more detailed look at the actual doll and provokes a chilling atmosphere. 

The camera then cuts to a Mid Long Shot (M.L.S.), in the frame there are 3 character, a guy and two girls, by displaying their torso in the frame, the audience can see their clothing and get a sense of the time period the film is set in (The film is set in the early 70’s). The people sitting are discussing to two demonologists about the possession of the doll. 

As they are informing the demonologist, the camera slowly zooms out, giving the impression that there is something bigger than them.  The camera zooms out to an ‘Over the shoulder shot’ of the two protagonists talking to them. 

During the discussion, the film starts to show flashbacks of the demonic episodes. In the first flashback, the girls enter the house, the camera tracks them as they walk towards it. By filming it with the light behind them it made them appear as silhouettes, which contributes to this idea that the film is dark and menacing. 

While they walk down the corridor, the camera cuts to a P.O.V shot. This immerses the audience in the story and makes us feel vulnerable. While the camera is in P.O.V. we see the doll at the end of the hall lying on the ground. The camera is shaky which makes the entire scene unsettling, for the audience as we are left in a constant state of fear. From the structure, and filming of the opening sequence I could tell this film would ‘CONJURE’ some terrifying moments.

Halloween:

The entire beginning sequence is filmed in a P.O.V. shot. 

This makes the experience more intimate as if the audience is walking around. We are also seeing the P.O.V. from the killers perspective, which makes the audience feel extremely uncomfortable because you are forced to watch. The movement has some minimal shaking, which gives a more natural movement to the scene and makes the sequence even more unsettling.

Start of sequence, symbolism of pumpkin with 'Halloween'

Killer Stalking and peering through the window

After peering through the window into the house, there is a panning movement where the killer looks from right to left, before proceeding to the front of the house. 

Pan to the right of house, the movement is very sudden and adds tension.

When he stares at the front of the house, there is an upward tilt, when the killer looks at the upstairs bedroom window. 

Some of the frames, like when he reaches for a kitchen knife are out of focus, making it more confusing and ambiguous. 

I thought that the use of P.O.V. in the killers perspective, made it very nerve-wrecking for the audience, because it blocks the peripheral vision, which makes the viewer feel vulnerable. The entire opening moves quite slowly, which I think is effective because it builds on the tension and makes the climax even more powerful.

 

When he puts on the mask, the blackness at the edge of the frame, makes the audience feel they are being engulfed into a terrifying and dark world.

Blue Jasmine:

It starts with an Establishing shot  of a plane flying, this gives the audience assurance of the environment and to establish setting. 

The camera, cuts to a Mid Long Shot of the protagonist Jasmine (Cate Blanchett the best actress alive!!!) speaking to an older woman beside her. To use a Mid long shot helped in framing the dialogue between the two women and also to exhibit Jasmine’s clothing, which is very expensive and sophisticated. 

The frame then moves to a tracking shot of Jasmine still speaking to the old women along a conveyer belt in the Airport; the frame starts with a Long shot of Jasmine and the old women but as they move closer to the camera the frame changes to a Mid Shot. 

Start of frame, is a long shot, Jasmine at the back.

End of frame, Jasmine at front, Mid Shot.

The next frame is of them riding down the escalator, this connects the previous frame where they are on the conveyor. This gives the impression that it's one long journey and she hasn't stopped talking. And by the connotation of the old woman's expression, she is clearly annoyed. 

Later on the luggage carousel is in the frame and the camera slowly tilts upwards revealing Jasmine still going on about her life to the old woman. 

I found this opening quite funny because the camera kept cutting to new areas in the airport and the movement was quite slow, and in each frame is Jasmine still speaking, which hints to the audience about her compulsive and chatting behaviour.

One last picture of Cate Blanchett.

Just because!

The reason I chose these opening sequences, was because I thought that the camera angles and movements used in each one were unique and effectively expressed the tone and genre of the film in just the few minutes. Some of the films were more complicated than others, such as 'The Conjuring', which used many camera movements such as zoom, tracking, P.O.V, over the shoulder and close up. On the other hand, the entire of Halloween was a P.O.V. , although both these films are horrors, I realised that the filmmakers use of the camera depends on the plot.In 'The Conjuring' it uses various and elaborate camera techniques because the plot itself deals with themes of demons, supernatural and is itself complex; whilst in Halloween, the plot is much linear and it follows a serial killer, so the camera use is very simple. 

In 'Blue Jasmine' the camera techniques established a calm and slightly comedic quality. The movie centres around the character Jasmine, so the filmmakers decided that simple camera angles and movements were the best way for her character to come to life and be more realistic. Most of the shots ranged from Long shots to Mid shots, anything further and it would have been harder for the audience to connect with the characters and anything closer and it would have made the film uncomfortable and tense. The distance between the actors and the camera is extremely important for a film of this genre, because the relationship we form with these characters are dependent on their proximity to the audience.

I found that the camera use in all three films were effective in assisting the audience to connect and understand the plot.

After reviewing these 3 films, 2 which were Horror whilst one was a Dramatic, Rom/Com, I have discovered some interesting ways that camera use can affect which genre a movie is categorized in. In the 2 horror films, there was a clear theme of ambiguity and unpredictability. For example, from the beginning of 'The Conjuring' the first frame was a sudden image of the dolls face, which is frightening. And in 'Halloween' we do not know from who's perspective we are looking until we see the killer reach for a knife, but before then we only have sound and camera movement to indicate that there is something wrong and that there is a building of climax. On the other hand, in 'Blue Jasmine' We start with an Establishment Shot that gives indication of the setting and comforts the viewer in feeling secure in the atmosphere of the film. Furthermore, we see Jasmine in the next frame, and by the choice of lighting and angle it is evident she is the main character, this assures the audience that there is no drastic and dramatic twists in the plot. However, in the 2 Horror's the main protagonists are not really established, which casts' doubt and insecurity for the audience. It is clear from the first 2 minutes in each movie there are differences and similarities. In the Horror movies the camera angles and movements are constantly teasing the audience and are edited in a way that makes the audience feel unsettled; whilst the Rom/Com is simple in its camera use and is mainly focused on establishing the main protagonist and creating a tranquil atmosphere. Therefore any drama in the Rom/Com plot can be emphasised later on. These comparisons have shown me how different genre's use different camera techniques to set the tone for the film in just the first 2 minutes.