Analysis of Opening Sequence - Twilight

Scene summaries – Twilight

The film Twilight starts with an establishing shot of a woods/ forest. As well as it starting off as an establishing shot, it is also a POV type shot because it is through the point of view of someone that is running and the audience feels that. The POV shot starts off by looking at a deer minding its own business and it is also through a shallow focus because the background is slightly blurred. As the seconds pass, the deer spots the person and bolts. The audience feels that the person through the POV shot is following the deer is chasing it for a specific reason. Mise-en-scene is used effectively here because the woods are very green and therefore the lighting could have been changed to add effect for the audience and make the forest more intense. The more the deer is being followed by the person, the more stressed it appears to get. This is quite tense and adds suspense to the film. It also comes across that something is going to happen very soon. The POV shot is then changed to a POV shot from the deer’s point of view which is important because it allows the audience to empathise with the unfortunate deer. The audience can see a figure in the background gaining on the deer and then there is a close up two shot of the deer and the figure clashing in a fight. There is then a fade to black and the scene it cut.

We are then cut to a completely different setting which uses mise-en-scene of lighting and setting. It goes from a dark, green woods to a bright yellow desert. This is a good use of juxtaposition. There is close up mid shots of her face to show her facial expressions and to show the background of where she is. The scene is then cut to a two shot of her and her mother hugging and an establishing shot of the settings that she is about to be leaving. There is then an aerial shot of an airplane taking off from the place that she is at and she is presumably on it.

There is then a high angle aerial shot of the Grand Canyon to show that she is leaving somewhere magnificent to go to somewhere a lot smaller. It is also juxtaposition because the Grand Canyon is very bright, sunny and warm looking and then the scene is cut to dark, snowy and cold looking mountains. This emphasises that she is going to completely different places and adds suspense to the audience. It is mise-en-scene because it is different settings and completely different lighting and introduces the film.

It then cuts to a two shot scene of Bella and her father in a car. The audience sense an awkwardness between the two characters by the way they are sitting. They are sitting at the edge of the frame which suggests awkwardness and there is then a close of shot of a sign saying that they are entering ‘Forks’.

Screen shots – Twilight

POV shot of the deer in the woods.

Another POV shot of the deer but it is blurry so the audience know that it is being chased

Two shot of the deer and the figure colliding together. Adds suspense to the film

 

Close up  of Bella’s face. The audience can empathise with her.

Close up two shot of Bella and her mother.

Establishing shot of Grand Canyon

Opening and establishing high angle shot of Forks.

Title and credits – Twilight

 

 There are only two slides where the production company is shown and this is at the very start of the film and then after the prologue. They don’t affect the film at all or the atmosphere because they are only credits introducing who produced the film.

Use of sound – Twilight

There are quite a lot of different sounds in the start of Twilight and the majority of them are non-diegetic sounds. The first slides that show the production company is in silence. As it starts to fade, we are brought to the woods and there is a voiceover of Bella talking in a calm and casual type way. She is reciting the prologue that comes in the book which gives the audience an insight as to what might be happen in the film. It doesn’t establish a clear genre for the film at this point but suggests that there will be some clear emotions at some point. It also makes us identify with Bella as the main character.

The voiceover stops and the only noise is the diegetic sound of running. The character chasing the deer can hear rustling because they are running through leaves and dirt that might be in the way of their path. As the collision part takes place the scene is cut to Bella in Phoenix and it goes back to her non- diegetically talking about what is going on. It is non- diegetic because only the audience can hear it. There is then a bit of diegetic talking that goes on between Bella and her mother which isn’t really relevant.  After Bella boards the plane, there is some background music playing which is non-diegetic because only the audience can hear it and it sets the scene for the rest of the film.

Value of Research

- voiceover links us with the main character
- use of POV shots to create tension
- audiences will accept things not being perfectly clear in the opening