Analysis – Signs 
Another appropriate film to analyse is ‘Signs’ which is of a thriller genre but a good example of an effective opening scene after the roll of credits and tense music.
This is the first shot in the opening scene and consists of the camera focusing on the outside to convey that it is early morning and something eerie is going to happen outside, due to the silence from the shot. The camera zooms out and shows a portrait shot through the window so show it is inside. The lighting in this shot makes the audience feel anxious and on edge about the opening. The intension of a tense yet effective opening scene is to keep the audience drawn in to the film and want to watch further to see what the outcome may be, as the film progresses.
After the first shot, a close up of a family is focused on to show vulnerability against anything that will emerge in the film. The audience can also recognise that perhaps a character/characters in the picture will be main characters and important in the film again, creating a tense atmosphere to keep the audience interacting with the actions that are/will occur in the scene.
After a quick breathe from the character, to convey that there is a problem, we are given a wide shot of the man in bed, early morning, in his room. We are left to comprehend that he has woken up by something in his dream. This keeps the audience drawn in due to the change in shot to help them to understand what is happening in the scene. Mise en scene contains a bed, lights beside his bed, half opened blinds and a picture above the bed to indicate that he is in a bedroom. We can see daylight from underneath the blinds to show the time of day.
We are then given a close up of the man’s face so we are able to identify what his reaction to the situation. The effect of this is to help the audience recognise what is going on and the extent of the problem by seeing the character’s reaction.
Here, the sound is repeated and we are introduced to a new character in a new setting to help us to recognise that whatever is disturbing the man in the other house, is a large enough problem to affect someone else who has heard the same sound. The portrait shot puts the audience outside as if we are looking in on the man from outside where the problem is occurring. The character here jumps with fright out of the bed showing that the noise is loud enough to wake him up and make him fall out of bed from this sleep.
This mid shot and hand held camera effect on focus to the two characters we saw previously shows the audience that they are looking for the problem and again creates a fast pace within the scene to sustain the tension and panic that the characters are creating as a reaction. The sound of the children shouting alongside the actions of the men feeling perturbed helps to endorse the tension and fear for the audience.
Another appropriate film to analyse is ‘Signs’ which is of a thriller genre but a good example of an effective opening scene after the roll of credits and tense music.
This is the first shot in the opening scene and consists of the camera focusing on the outside to convey that it is early morning and something eerie is going to happen outside, due to the silence from the shot. The camera zooms out and shows a portrait shot through the window so show it is inside. The lighting in this shot makes the audience feel anxious and on edge about the opening. The intension of a tense yet effective opening scene is to keep the audience drawn in to the film and want to watch further to see what the outcome may be, as the film progresses.
After the first shot, a close up of a family is focused on to show vulnerability against anything that will emerge in the film. The audience can also recognise that perhaps a character/characters in the picture will be main characters and important in the film again, creating a tense atmosphere to keep the audience interacting with the actions that are/will occur in the scene.
After a quick breathe from the character, to convey that there is a problem, we are given a wide shot of the man in bed, early morning, in his room. We are left to comprehend that he has woken up by something in his dream. This keeps the audience drawn in due to the change in shot to help them to understand what is happening in the scene. Mise en scene contains a bed, lights beside his bed, half opened blinds and a picture above the bed to indicate that he is in a bedroom. We can see daylight from underneath the blinds to show the time of day.
After a strange sound in the scene, sounding like it is coming from outside, we are then given this shot from the man who is uncomfortable in the situation appearing from behind the bathroom door quickly with a torch because of the sound happening again. The long shot puts us in the scene as the man is directly looking at us and holding the torch facing us. This ups the tension of the scene because the audience feels as though they are unable to escape like the character. Following this shot, we are given a selection of short shots with action from the man going about the house to up the pace and convey that there is an unidentifiable problem making the audience want to watch with caution what is about to happen.
We are then given a close up of the man’s face so we are able to identify what his reaction to the situation. The effect of this is to help the audience recognise what is going on and the extent of the problem by seeing the character’s reaction.
Here, the sound is repeated and we are introduced to a new character in a new setting to help us to recognise that whatever is disturbing the man in the other house, is a large enough problem to affect someone else who has heard the same sound. The portrait shot puts the audience outside as if we are looking in on the man from outside where the problem is occurring. The character here jumps with fright out of the bed showing that the noise is loud enough to wake him up and make him fall out of bed from this sleep.
This mid shot and hand held camera effect on focus to the two characters we saw previously shows the audience that they are looking for the problem and again creates a fast pace within the scene to sustain the tension and panic that the characters are creating as a reaction. The sound of the children shouting alongside the actions of the men feeling perturbed helps to endorse the tension and fear for the audience.
Codes and Conventions
Music – None, to make the scene out to be real life.
Lighting – Dark within the house to show vulnerability, light outside to show the change in lighting levels and lack of control.
Camera Angles – varied to create a sense of worry.
Music – None, to make the scene out to be real life.
Lighting – Dark within the house to show vulnerability, light outside to show the change in lighting levels and lack of control.
Camera Angles – varied to create a sense of worry.
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