Mise en scene + Camera + Editing
After the last titling at the beginning of the opening, all writing is wiped, leaving a blank black screen. The screen fades to reveal a cloudy sky. As the camera pans down to ground level, the brightness slightly increases. When the camera reaches ground level, a white mansion, a tree and a young girl is facing and knocking on the tree trunk singing something in Spanish and then turning around to look the opposite way, can be seen.The idea that young girl is the first person seen in the movie makes her important to narrative. The camera is placed under the shadow of the tree, making everything that is placed under it darker than the rest of the shot, meaning the girls face, features or the colour of her clothes can hardly be seen. However, in the background of the same shot, the white mansion is clear and exposed using high key lighting; natural lighting coming from the sun, also making it an important part to the narrative.
After a few lines of the girl singing, other young children start to enter the shot, walking towards the girl. The girl by the tree continues singing and knocking on the tree which makes it clear to the audience that the children are playing a game. As the other children get closer, the camera cuts to a medium close up of the girl and an arm of another child reaching out for her. This could be foreshadowing an event that may happen later on in the film. When they reach the tree, the girl who was originally standing by the tree starts to run after then.The camera follows them running round and making faces at the girl cutting between long shots, medium long shots and medium close ups and tracking from behind various other trees, creating a sense of being followed. Before cutting to what seems to be inside of the mansion, the camera tracks from behind the trees to show a medium close up of a scare crow with an enigmatic facial expression.
Sound
While panning from the sky downwards, the young girls voice is heard saying "Un, dos, Tres, Toca la pared" which translates to "One, Two, Three, Knock on the wall!" As the genre is Horror, the audience can associate this with physical conventions of a scary scene. For example, random knocking on doors/walls, smashing together of objects or glass breaking.
As the scene is set outside chirping and singing of birds can also be heard creating a naturalistic setting.
The faded footsteps of the other children are heard as soon as the enter the shot.
When the camera cuts to a medium close up of the girl, her voice becomes slightly louder. This makes the audience feel as though they are the camera. After the girl starts to run after them, the children start to laugh and squeal, indicating that they are happy and having fun.
The sound of the telephone ringing from the next scene is overlapped into the previous which is the shot of the scare crow.
28 Days Later
Mise en scene + Editing + Camera
The opening of 28 days later shows different clips which are associated with the theme; zombies and narrative of the film. It starts of with titling saying 'Fox searchlight pictures presents' then cuts the back of the head of a monkey with wires attached to its head surrounded by TV boxes each showing different CCTV footage of areas around London. The camera then pans from the side of the tied down monkey to a TV showing footage of several man with blacks masks covering the security cameras at "Cam 3 - - - Cambridge Primate Research Centre" when the screen goes blank. This was to give the audience an insight of the causation to the zombie apocalypse narrative. The movie title '28 days later' appears in the middle of the black background in white and within it red fluid is released. This connotes the theme of evil, murder and blood that appear in the movie. The title than fades with a burning effect expressing the idea of destruction and massacre. From the black screen it cuts to fast cuts of several scene of riots and anarchy and the police who are wearing British police uniforms to add to the fact that the film is set in England. The camera then cuts to and stops on a long shot of a man wearing a blue cliche hospital patient uniform, holding a white plastic bag, walking over a bridge towards the camera. It is obvious to the audience that the scene is part of the film as the background and the actions of the man are different to the scenes of riot. This scene and the next are separated by a black screen and titling saying 'Produced by Andrew MacDonald'. This is meaningful as the producer is important to the creation there put in between scenes that need to be most payed attention to.
The opening continues to show scenes where the man, who now clearly is the main character, walking passed the empty streets and areas in central London.
Sound
All though out the opening title sequence the song 'East Hastings' by GYBE is played.
However, during the scenes shown on TV, the sounds of screams, crashing, radio and distortions play over the music and when the montage ends, the music becomes even louder.
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