Jaws Opening - Analysis of Sound and Camera.

The film truly starts whilst the credits are still being shown. Marine-like sounds are heard at low volume whilst we are watching a mostly black screen. This instantly gives the audience a sense of where the film will begin. Soon after those sounds, the tense score begins to play, it also is at a low volume. The sinister music builds up throughout the opening credits and then into the first shot of the film. It begins with a lengthy POV shot from underwater. This POV shot along with the deadly music makes the viewer subconsciously interpret that whomever's eyes we are looking out of is someone/something to be afraid of. And now that we think this, whenever we hear this music it will bring up the thought in our minds that something scary will happen. It is also key to mention that this music is non-diegetic sound. At the final moments of this long POV shot we are listening to this score which almost becomes unbearable with the amount of tension it is bringing. However instead of revealing something shocking it cuts to a calm location elsewhere. This is effective as it 'hooks' the audience. We force ourselves to keep watching for the very least to find out what is in the water.

The next scene (which is also the second shot) is a track. The camera takes us around a group of happy people. The tracking shot establishes what this group is like. Sound also establishes the overall personality of the civilians, we hear casual chatting which is happy and friendly. There are some playing instruments too. This music is diegetic sound. Since we link the score at the beginning as danger and that is non-diegetic sound, the diegetic sound from the instruments creates a contrast which creates the illusion of 'safety' in this location. On the other hand faintly in the background you can hear bells ringing. Bells ringing connotate with doom.

Next we have an eyeline match, it is of a boy looking out away from the group. This may fool viewers into believing he has seen the thing what is hiding underwater. A little suspense rises from this as we await to witness an image of the creature. However the guy is actually looking at a girl. The duo have a conversation, whilst this is going on the other conversations in the background are 'blurred', this is to make sure full focus is on these two. The couple then run off away from the group. This was a key move from the film-makers as it separates them from the others. It is also worth mentioning that these two are running away from the 'safe' music into a more dangerous scenario.

As the male character is running across the beach he shouts out some expositional dialogue. He jokes about being “not drunk” which obviously indicates to us that he is. The writers have tried to make it subtle, but it is still quite blatant. This speech is here to show that the character won't be of any use if anything bad should happen.

Once we get to the beach and the sea the female character jumps right in whilst the drunk male is laying on the beach. A wide shot is used to show how far the female is away from land and how alone she is in the masses of ocean.

Now for the scene where the girl is attacked. A mixture of close up shots are used to give us great detail of the terror on her face. The close up enhances the horror of what is happening. We are also shown more POV shots just like the very start, this is just to make sure that these water-dwellers are one and the same. During this attack the tense music is brought back. This brings back the feeling we thought earlier during the opening shot of the film. As long with this sound we hear the screaming coming from the lady. During this frightening attack the scene cross-cuts to the boy every now and then. When these shots appear the music and screaming stops, this shows that even if he was in a state where he could help the girl is too far away to be noticed. Once the female is killed everything goes silent. But then shortly afterwards you hear those bells once again. And that is how the opening closes.

Silence of the Lambs Opening - Character, Characterisation, Action & Enigma Code Analysis

The movie opens is a forest-like setting. The first character we see is the main one; Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster). Starling is climbing a hill in what seems like the middle if nowhere, this makes the audience instantly think up many questions. Such questions would include: "where could she be running from/to?" "Why does she seem so out of breath?" "Where is she?" Once she reaches the top of this hill we can see that Starling is wearing a jumper which has 'FBI Academy' written on it. This is one of the first bits of information we learn about Starling; the fact she is an FBI trainee. The addition of FBI hat man (use of a prop) further along in the scene backs up this assumption. Another enigma code is created when FBI hat man says that Crawford needs her. The fact that Clarice was training in her own time alone gives off the vibe that she is a hardworking character.

When Starling is walking through the building a clever action is shown that denies any attempt to say that she is a loner. Starling is shown high-fiving a friend in a corridor. It's a simple but very effective feature that works so well.

Once Starling reaches her destination she witnesses a wall full of newspaper clippings. Showing these images creates more enigma codes in an interesting way. It would have been very dull if this shot wasn't included and Crawford spoke about the incident instead. The second 'important' character we see is Crawford. The first thing he does when he sits on his chair is put his hands behind his head whilst leaning back. This suggests to us that he is a big-headed man as well as trying to promote his superiority. In the piece of dialogue between Crawford and Starling we learn about Clarice's intelligence in her field. This is shown by Crawford reading out her grades, this is to tell the audience what type of character she is. In addition we also learn that she is a polite and respectful person. We know this through the dialogue, Starling addresses people by sir. The enigma code about why Starling is needed by Crawford is answered here. However more enigma codes are created some even quite major such as "who is Buffalo Bill?" All in all this scene seems to mainly be about introducing key parts of the story and bringing more details about both characters. 

To conclude, the film-makers have successfully completed what they have set out to do with this 'mystery-thriller' film by creating some big questions while not leaving the audience confused, which is why it is so effective.

Analysis of the editing on the first minute of Breaking Bad.

The clip begins (after the establishing shots) with a slow-motion shot of a pair of trousers falling down from the sky. This is effective as it gives you a longer chance to process what is happening. It creates a little tension too as you wonder what will take place next. A few shots later the viewer is shown two consecutive eyeline matches. These shots have been added in to make it easier for the viewer to see how the inside of the RV is laid out. More specifically, you are shown which characters are located in which areas. Another reason why it's an effective use of the shot is that you see the events unfold from the perspective of the main character (Walt). The end of the minute long clip finishes with some quick cuts. These add to the pace and to the intensity of the scene.

Layer Cake Opening Analysis

Layer Cake has an extremely stylish opening sequence. First, the viewer is shown a mysterious dark screen which effectively zooms out to show the back of a van. Already we are given a few seconds of mystery as we wait to see what appears. Pretty soon after the scene first begins (what we presume is) the main character starts a monologue. When Daniel Craig ends his first paragraph of speech the viewer is suddenly shocked with an 'explosion' of white. As this happens the calm music also starts. Next we finally understand what is happening with this shot as a robbery is shown. This links to Craig's monologue when he ends with "cops and robbers".
Opening Sequence Part. 1
From a tracking shot the scene smoothly goes from one characters hair to another as if it was in the same scene (which it wasn't). We, the viewers, are given another bit of mystery as the shot begins with a close up on a characters face which then zooms out to reveal what is happening. A clever match-on-action then occurs as a women's legs walking down a hall almost seamlessly turns into an officers legs in a prison.
Throughout this Craig is continuing his cool, calm speech about the events unfolding in front of us. On screen we are then shown how the first two scenes are linked when the characters in the first and second scenes are together.
Another smart match-on-action shot occurs, we are seeing what looks like the camera going through the prison wall but ending up in a drugstore. When the tracking shot in this room begins the camera is close up to the products on the shelves to make sure the audience realises the details on screen without anyone having to directly explain it. Explaining it to the audience would take you out of the story. The main character in the monologue ends a sentence with "me", that's when we first see Craig's character walk onto this film. Again we are told this without being explained in detail who he is.
Next is when one of the best parts of the opening sequence starts. A fantastic, intelligent graphic match is produced as Craig's character's 'imagined' scene transitions to the shop in reality.
After that scene we are slowly beginning to piece together what type of person Daniel Craig's character is. At the start of the scene he says "I'm not a gangster, i'm a businessman whose commodity happens to be cocaine". The writers are trying to make us have some sort of bond to the character even though he seems to be a 'bad' guy. We are then introduced to another character, Craig's character explains to us how this man is a very intelligent student, again trying to give us a reason to support this man.
The director specifically creates a close up shot so we can see the five bags of cocaine, we find out why later... XXXX (as the main character is known outside of the film, since his name is not revealed(i dare you to try and figure it out)) discusses his "rules" to us, again using monologue. This gives the sense that this man is organised and knows what he is doing. A reverse zoom is used which takes us literally out of the window as a siren is heard. At this point the calm music (which has been going straight for almost 4 minutes) changes to a more tense and upbeat score. This adds a bit of thrill to the opening. Another great match-on-action manifests when a police car takes up from London to Amsterdam (helpfully shown with a subtitle) in a seamless scene. XXXX describes what seems like his 'enemy' when we are shown another completely different group of characters. Next we are taken back to XXXX and his friend, another close up is shown this time with seven boxes of cocaine. The filmmakers are showing us another of Craig's character's traits; his intelligence in the business. Later, we are shown a scene where XXXX hands out money to his friends, they don't bother checking the cash which tells us Daniel's character is a trustworthy guy.
Some shots later we are shown a character about to leave a room with the camera in the inside, this expertly transitions to Craig leaving the room when the camera switches to the outside. Once again the writers are trying to get you on the main character's side as XXXX explains that he owns a "legitimate business" which gives him an "honest income".
The opening ends with XXXX saying that he will be leaving the business soon. This is how it hooks the viewer. We know that things won't turn out as they are planned but we don't know how tings go wrong. The team behind Layer Cake have easily made you stay by writing this line, along with of course the many smooth camera shots and clever dialogue written throughout the past scenes.

Opening To A Film PowerPoint

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