Analysis of the opening title sequence from this 2010 thriller

All Good Things

Typography-A sans serif font is used to create an old fashioned atmosphere, also against the dark wet pavement the writing is made to look bolder and more prominent.-This text then fades out of the shot slowly and subtly, allowing suspense to build as the eery pavement engulfs the whole shot.-This lack of text on screen allows the audience to focus on the detailed non diegetic sound which plays during the shot.

Sound-Non diegetic music is heard in the background of this shot, the solo string music is played one note at a time to create an eery atmosphere due to the prolonged amount of time-The dynamics of the non diegetic sound build up as the text fade, suggesting to the audience that the music is about to crescendo, building more tension as the audience wait in anticipation.

Mise-en-scene-This shot is quite busy in comparison to the previous pavement, with broken windows suggesting it is an unsafe area, creating a worrying atmosphere-The light shines directly on the shop sign saying ‘Galeveston’ which subtly draws the audiences attention to the word, possibly foreshadowing the rest of the film.

Camera/Framework-The wide establishing shot of the unsafe setting introduces a car, as the car drives into the shot. -This being the first sign of action and life in this isolated setting creates an ambiguous relationship between the car and setting, also making the audience wonder who is driving the car.

Sound-The non diegetic music then starts to decrease in this shot, slowly and subtly-This heightens the isolation of the location and how the people/person in the car may be in danger here.

Mise-en-scene-Above we see this mysterious car driving towards a bridge which then leads to out of the shot, creating more mystery of where the bridge leads-The bridge is also lit up in comparison to the rest of the shadowy scene, showing the car driving from darkness into light-With light often being symbolic of knowledge this suggests the audience and drivers may gain some more knowledge about the rest of the film from here on

Editing-The pace of editing is slow and steady creating a calm atmosphere, this is then continued when the car stops slowly showing the driver is in control and may have authority

Sound-The first bit of diegetic sound heard is of birds, which often connotes with the theme of love, however the bird noise serves to make the drivers seem more isolated as the surrounding are so desolate and quiet the birds can be heard-A deep southern texas accent asks “is your mother still alive?” the lack of inquisitive tome is his voice suggests the man asking already knows the answer, giving him the upper-hand-The another man replies in a raspy and confused tone showing he is inferior to the other man

Camera/Framework-These two shots highlight the transition between the depth the field shot, from the persons hair being the focal point to their shanking hands gripping onto the wheel, suggesting even though they may be in control they may not feel comfortable-The hands are exaggerated by the shift of focus from a shallow to deep shot, highlighting the hands possible significance.

Editing-The jump cut into the car goes to an over the shoulder shot of the driver.-The previously spoke about inferior man is now understood to be the one driving and in control, resulting in the character becoming very ambiguous for the audience.

Editing-This previous action is contrasted through a jump cut back to the same wet pavement, suggesting a full circle has taken place-The typography shown in this shot tells the audience this film is a true story meaning the audience will pay more attention to the narrative.