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The Opening Sequence of the Opening Film

Retief Williams

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Contents Setting ............................................................ 4

Costume .......................................................... 6

Sound............................................................. 7

Movement ....................................................... 7

Music ............................................................. 8

Conclusion ....................................................... 9

Bibliography .................................................... 10

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Introduction Possibly one of the most famous opening scenes in movie history, the first 7 minutes of George Lucas’

space epic is all about creating and introducing the audience to a new world…and to awaken in them

a new hope of things to come. The opening scene of A New Hope manages to create something that,

for its time, was quite unprecedented to its audience…to be transported to a whole other universe.

Mise-en-scene

Setting Right from the beginning of Star Wars, one realizes that Setting is very, very important. Those iconic

words at the beginning of every film, “A long time ago in a galaxy far away….” creates an expectation

of wonder.

Although the open scroll and lines tells the audience of the setting, it’s the next scene, the one that

shows, that does the magic. This visual is an extreme (very extreme) long shot of space, placing the

audience in this large fantastical environment or universe where the whole saga takes place. This shot

is very important visually because in the 1970’s these effects shots were difficult to produce and

extremely rare. This one probably blew audiences away.

Notice the how the composition creates scale with the three planets’ various sizes (distances).

Later When the droids escape we get another

beautiful shot of Tatooine. The audience can see

already that it is (a) a desert planet and (b) not

earth, but an alien planet. The painstaking detail

put into creating the mattes for such a shot is

rewarded by the audience being suspended in

disbelief.

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The next setting we get is the clinically

white corridors of a spaceship. The

audience have to know that it is a space

ship, and this is accomplished by the shapes

and color. Star Wars is full of decals,

buttons, and mechanically intriguing objects

that have no purpose in the story but look

like they have a purpose the Star Wars

universe, and this stirs the viewers interest

and imagination. It puts the “science” in Science fiction.

Notice how the white corridors fit the armor of the Storm-troopers, whereas 3CPO is strangely out of

place in the bright yellow gold. Just think how bleak the shot would look if C3PO was also silver.

Gold and Blue. Orange and

Teal…get it? Look at how nice

it looks in the bleak milieu.

Notice the Contrast in black and white both in the Stormtrooper

armour and in the setting. This also balances the shot composition

wise.

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Notice how this shot is dark, misty and eerily lit in red as to provoke a sense of mystery. What is the

message she gives the droid? Who is this princess? Why is she in trouble? All these unknowns are

amplified by the lighting.

The stark, cold white light illuminating the hallways are used to strengthen the idea of artificiality.

Since everything is in a spacecraft there is very little natural light. It creates a futuristic effect. It also

hints at the lifelessness of space. (White light is used in clinically sterile environments.)

Costume The audience learns a lot about the characters in a very short time. And this has a lot to do with

costume.

The Rebel Troopers have their faces exposed. Thus

they become human in a sense that we feel for them

when they die. The Storm-troopers are just

enemies…they get killed but there are many more

just like them. They look exactly the same.

Darth Vader’s costume is made to stand out

instantly. Although his face is also covered, we know

he is important because of the opposite color

scheme. His mask, a combination of Nazi and

Samurai elements, is also more menacing.

Leia is royalty. And the simple but elegant dress she

wears hearkens back to antiquity. Her hair and dress

remind one of something from ancient Greece or Rome. Again, this provokes a sense of place, time

and mystery. We want to know more about her and her story, in a part, because she looks strangely

out of place in the cold metallic environment of armor and (wink) plastic.

The Rebel Troopers wear a strangely ordinary

type of clothes with very little armor. Maybe it’s

to make the audience sympathize with them, or

maybe Lucas didn’t have the budget to fit them

with strange gear. Whatever the case, there is a

clear, well defined difference between the

costumes of the two sides. And that, for one

thing, is done for a reason.

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Sound One thing that stands out from the opening sequence, especially in a theater, is the otherworldly

sounds of the Star Wars universe. The blasters, the ship’s weapons firing, and Leia’s ship being

captured all add to the immersion, and more importantly, the creation of a unique and wonderful

world. The sound team on Star Wars wen to great heights to mix sounds that sounded strange and

new to the audience.

Another important aspect of sound design in Star Wars is character. Darth Vader’s famously hard

breathing makes him seem more intimidating. R2D2’s beeps make him more cute and fascinating. The

Storm-troopers’ mechanical voices make them less personal, since everyone sounds the same.

Subconsciously the audience gets to infer all that by just listening closely during the 7-minute

opening.

Movement Although there are very little camera movement in Star Wars, there are a lot of character movement

in the opening sequence of this one. A lot of the movement is characters coming towards the camera.

This creates a sense of menace, in cases with Storm-troopers and Vader, but is also used to highlight

the space and depth of the corridor…The real reason is likely because the camera wouldn't fit very

nicely alongside the actors in such a small space.

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Then there is individual character movement style. Storm-troopers are clumsy and

fearless…disposable. Vader moves with gravity and authority, Leia with confidence and care. C3PO

does the stereotypical robot walk to comic effect. When the Rebels run away we know they are

running way not just by direction but by the style of their movement.

Right at the beginning we also see the movement of the ships (again something that required a fair

amount of genius to achieve those days) as the Destroyer targets the rebel ship. It is quite clear in the

direction of the movement that the bigger ship is targeting the small one. The big ship (destroyer)

then captures (or docks with) the rebel ship in action resembling a monster eating its prey. This helps

us identify with princess Leia and her crew, since we know they are quite helpless.

The blaster sequence in the beginning also creates a sense of movement, with lots of flash effects

illuminating the screen. This is done to heighten the sense of pace and action.

Music John Williams is probably the most famous film composer (Hans Zimmer in contest), and Star Wars is

his most famous soundtrack.

The rousing opening score is very epic in tone. This sets the character for the whole film. Then there is

the music used for the attack, chaotic action music designed to make the audience breathless.

Although Vader’s theme is not yet played when he enters, the music changes in tone to signify his

entrance as something of importance.

Leia’s theme is played when we meet her. This is the first time you hear her theme, and it is played

throughout the film when a scene involves her character. This type of theme-based-composing (also

used extensively by Howard Shore on Lord of the Rings) is very important in creating an emotional

connection between character (ideas) and the audience. This is especially noticeable when

re-watching the film. Music works well in this scene to create excitement and establish characters.

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Conclusion Stars Wars started off with a brilliant film that many consider the best of the series. The reason for

this could be that it has an opening sequence to beat. The sequence gives the audience a wealth of

information in an intuitive and entertaining way. It introduces four very important characters and sets

up the plot, all well under 10 minutes. This is why Star Wars is a classic.

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”

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Bibliography Star Wars: A New Hope. 1977. [Film] Directed by George Lucas. USA: Lucas Films.