Opening Sequence Analysis Insidious and Shutter Island

By Jacob Hughes

Insidious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1e1feo4DUk

 Genre Conventions- 0 The Red Typography connotes blood, violence, gore and death 0 There is very low key lighting, - black is prominent throughout 0 Slow, ambient music which is typical in any horror film0 It is set at night time0 Set in a middle class suburban household 0 Slow pace editing0 Hand held camera0 Red, black and white are the only colours featured

Narrative ideas- 0 The opening credits takes place at night time in a typical suburban house -hold

in America. The camera introduces the audience to a young boy sleeping. This connotes innocence because of his current weak, helpless state. The boy being introduced early on in the film represents significance for later on in the story. There are grotesque monsters in the form of silhouettes lurking in the dark. This signifies that this housed is haunted

0 There is an establishing shot of the big house. This represents that the main narrative will evolve around the house. The significance of the house to the plot is reinforced by the hand held camera walking into most rooms. There are moving boxes left scattered across the house. This represents how this family have just recently moved into ‘their dream house’. But… perhaps the house is not all it’s cracked up to be.

0 The red typography dissolves during the opening sequence. This signifies death and disappearance of the characters.

0 Mise-en-scene0 Setting and Props- set inside and outside of a big house. Props include the every

day household items. There is a large clock which is featured heavily. The vintage type clock represents how there is a haunted history to the house.

0 Costume, hair and make up- The boy is wearing Pyjamas. 0 Facial expressions and body language- All the ghosts in the house are wearing

black. The ghosts have very white make and there faces are tattered. 0 Composition- Big clock and moving lamps are made a focal point. Contrastingly,

in the dining room the chair just suddenly moves. This creates a ‘blink and you’ll miss it” vibe.

0 Lighting and colour – Low key lighting. Only colours used are white, black and red.

0 Soundtrack-0 The music is all non- diegetic. 0 The non diegetic music is eary and fuzzy. This creates an uncomfortable

experience for the viewer. 0 The non diegetic music starts of very slow and ambient. Then, the tempo and

volume starts to increase to build up tension. 0 There is a violin playing extremely high notes which create the idea of

‘screeching’. This seems like psychological torcher because the violin is very hard to listen to.

0 The dynamics and tempo increases suddenly when the title ‘Insidious’ is introduced. The music becomes very frantic.

0 Editing- 0 The editing is generally slow. 0 The hand held camera moves around the house very slowly to create

the idea of ‘tension’.0 Then suddenly, the editing becomes much faster to create chaos. 0 There are a lot of dissolves. This connotes disappearance.

0 Camera Work- 0 There is an establishing shot of the house. This establishes the scene

for the audience; they are introduced to the main location in the film. This big suburban, middle class house represents the innocence of these normal people.

0 Lot’s of Zooms (in and out)0 Close ups of objects foreshadows the object’s later significance in the

storyline of the film.

Shutter Island

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZjOOwaiTGQ

Genre Conventions

0 The use of red typography 0 First shot is in some kind of prison cell0 Establishing shots0 Chains, connotes torcher0 Mixed pace editing. Slow editing with sudden glimpses of fast pace

editing0 Orchestral music

Narrative Ideas0 The first shot is a prison cell. As a viewer I wonder if in fact if it is

mental institute. This connotes possible mentally ill behaviour e.g. schizophrenia

0 The gun connotes that one of the characters has a violent streak0 The chain connotes violence and torture0 The establishing shot of the river and the background might be

where this prison/mental institute is situated. If so, this is very far away from any life or urban civilisation. It is therefore assumable that a lot of suspicious activity takes place on the island

0 The empty prisons create enigma’s

0 Mise-en-scene0 Setting and Props- Prison and gun. Both go hand in hand to connote danger0 Costume, hair and make up- No characters0 Composition- Establishing shots of the mental institute and the island show the

sheer size and scale of the places0 Lighting and colour- High and low key. The High key lighting is supposed to be

bright and hard to look at for the audience. The low key lighting is a typical genre of a Psychological Horror film. It connotes disappearance and dark themes

0 Facial expressions and body language- No characters

Soundtrack- All the music in the soundtrack is non-diegetic

0 Orchestral music- Trumpet is playing long sustained notes. 0 Xylophone plays at regular intervals0 Crashes of cymbals create an aggressive- brutality feel0 Varying tempo and dynamics doesn’t allow the music to become

familiar. It is designed to keep the viewers on their toes.

0 Editing0 Mix of slow and fast paced editing. This keeps the audience fully

engaged because the pace is always changing. 0 We see the film at the camera’s point of view. This appeals to the

audience because we as the viewer as if we are on a journey

0 Camerawork0 Establishing shot of the possible mental institute. This sets the scene for

the audience. It introduces the big infrastructure the patients are kept in.

0 Close up at someone's hands where we can see someone shaking.0 Close up of the gun, brings our attention to the violence in the film.0 The Hand held camera gives the viewer a chance to go on a journey

with these characters