Real media artifacts

Donnie Darko opening two minutes:

The scene starts with the soft rumble of what appears to be thunder, and then morning sounds of life in the suburbs slowly fade in to replace them. The morning sounds features diegetic sounds of the birds cheeping and the roar of the traffic as it drives through the area, there is another thunder clap and it then goes on to spark the opening chords of the non diegetic music.

The music starts with a wind like instrument as the camera slowly starts to move from the scenery of the valley with mountains in the back ground at sunrise to that of the boy lying in the middle of the road. As the camera slowly gets closer to the boy the music changes as it starts to feature sharp long chords of the piano. This is typical of a thriller genre as the point of this genre is to build tension throughout the film and to create a climax. Opening the scene with this creates a fearful excitement for the audience as the mysterious nature doesn’t give away the plot, and thus because of this they don’t know what to expect from this. An example of the mysteriousness of this opening is the fact that you see a boy lying in the middle of the road. You don’t know who he is and you don’t know how he got there, and thus the film is mysterious.

As the boy starts to get up, you notice that the camera angle has changed slightly, as it does a 180 pan of the boy and then stops. During the 180 pan the camera also seems to go from a mid shot, to a medium close up and then to a further close-up of the boy as he looks out to the horizon. The editing then goes to a match on action shot of the sunrise and the camera again begins its 180 pan of the boy.

The music and the moving image then complement each other nicely as the audience feels a slight sense of relief although there are elements of sharp chords in the piece to indicate that there could be sinister events impending. As the camera pans closer to Donnie’s face, you see that he is indeed laughing and this could possibly conotates to the audience rather feeling a sense of relaxation they feel tension. This altogether builds tension and entices the audience as well as gives it a mysterious feeling as they delve further into the film

The silence of the lambs opening two minutes:

The sound as the scene opens is that of some eerie music. The instruments that would make this type of music sounds as if it is a mixture of string instruments and wind instruments to create an uneasy atmosphere that excites the audience and draws them into the scene. As you see the woman running through the woods the music then builds in volume and pace and the only other sound that you here are the woman’s footsteps. This builds tension as you expect something to happen and because of this engages the audience by making them feel uneasy and the first pangs of fear begin to set in.

The opening picture is that of a leaf stricken tree as it stands on its own with the sky behind it looking stormy. This could be to suggest solidity and isolation to the audience, and thus because of this creating a mysterious atmosphere as to how the film will progress. The camera angle then pans away from the tree and down a hill/valley. You then see a woman using a rope to climb up from the bottom of the hill/valley as fast as possible whilst looking around at her surroundings. The camera angle then changes to being that of as she reaches the top to a medium close up, and shows that whilst she is still looking around, she does not look afraid. This therefore makes the audience feel suspension and confusion as they expect something to happen. The camera angle then changes as you see the woman running. The camera angle is that of tracking and this is to give the audience the impression that this woman is being followed and therefore because of this further gives the atmosphere that of being uncomfortable and wary of the forthcoming events that may feature in the film.

The clothing that the woman wears suggests that she is used to sport, and sporty activities. This is because she is wearing a tracksuit that looks as if it has a lot of use. This therefore gives the audience the impression that this is the reason she is in the wood and so because of this eases there fear slightly despite the eerie music being in place.
The setting of the opening scene of a wood creates again the image of isolation, and this coupled with the fact that there is no one around connotates danger as well as mystery as it gives the impression there is no one around for miles and thus you are left to fend for yourself if you will.
As the music pace begins to pick up again the pitch of the instruments used increases and the woman begins to move faster towards the end of the scene. Although nothing in the way she moves has changed her expression looks to be that of more frantic as the camera angle moves from being that of her feet and the pace increasing to being that of a front on close up. Her expression shows discomfort as she distorts her mouth. This connotates to the audience that something is now wrong and thus the tension begins to create a climax of the events that further entices the audience.

The editing of these transitions goes from being that of rather slow at the start and relaxed to that of more frantic as the scene progresses indicating that something is about to happen.

Dawn of the dead first two minutes analysis:

The scene opens with a wall of fire, and as the camera pans out you can see it turns into a skull. This then fades into the image of a doctor holding up an x-ray of a damaged skull, as he talks on the phone. This could be to show to the audience that there is danger and violence that could be encountered later on in the film as often the connotations you get with fire and skulls is that of danger. The camera angles here are that of an over the shoulder shot as you see the man holding up the x-ray of the damaged skull, which then jumps to that of a mid shot of the man bringing down the x-ray in his hand. As the man puts down the phone the camera shot changes to that of a long shot, and the angle used is that of a low one. This could be used to show to the audience how important this character is as the shot they use makes the audience have to physically look up to him, which is often associated with power/importance.

This then jumps to a close up of the male doctor and the female intern as they are having a discussion. The shot then shows the young female intern as she reacts to how the male doctor talks to her. The camera then uses a tracking technique as it follows the nurse around the hospital. It then changes to a front on shot of the intern as she talks to a nurse as to why the patients have been submitted. This is to show her expression as the confusion sets in as to why the patient has been submitted. The audience then begin to realise the increasing tension as people start to take the bites seriously and this is done to draw them in.

As the intern walks out of the hospital and into the car park you can see the camera angle of a match on action shot. The framing when you see the match on action shot is that of a man lying down with his feet poking out of the ambulance. This image instantly gives the audience the impression that the man is dead or has died due to the imminent attack of the zombies, although this is later contrasted when you see him sit up and talk to the woman, indicating that he was only sleeping and winding her up. This is done to make the audience uneasy and start to feel the first elements of fear as they start to build the tension for the rest of the film.

The framing that is used as you see the blonde intern talking to the doctor is that of him standing foremost in the shot, and with his right side facing the camera, but the nurse is facing the camera slightly away from him as she turns up to look at the man. This could be to represent power as the man is physically taller than the woman, and also because of the fact that he is a doctor and she is a intern it almost suggests he outranks her in terms of profession and is therefore more powerful in that respect too. This is done to show the audience that the intern is not that powerful and thus as the film progresses may show how she then rises to power and her character develops and changes.

The music was that of percussion instruments used to try and create a rumbling/tinkling eerie sound which fades as you here the man talking over the phone. The sound effects that are used as the x-ray of the skull is moved are that of a sword or knife as it slices the air. This is used as it is a similar sound to that created by the music and helps to represent the tension as it builds up. The dialogue that then follows this takes the formation of the type of dialogue that appears in day to day life. This only then changes when the doctor questions as to why a patient who has been bitten has had to have a brain scan. This shows a mysterious element that then draws in the audience. It makes the audience question as to why the patient is suffering so seriously from a bite, and also shows a bit of dramatic irony as the audience may also see that many horror/thriller films featuring zombies start off with a bite.