Dawn of the Dead Sound Analysis

The first use of sound is a piece of non-diegetic sound. It is a high-pitched screeching sound, and is used as the protagonist walks out to the ambulance. This creates a red herring because the audience expects something to happen when really it's just a paramedic doing his job. Then once the protagonist leaves her work place and is on the way home, there is a diegetic sound of a song called 'have a nice day' by the Stereophonics, which is ironic because the opposite is about to happen, yet the audience don’t know it. When she gets into her house, there is a television in the background, with an ordinary show on which tells the audience that her and her partner have got an ordinary lifestyle. While they are in the shower the television turns to a news bulletin, which makes the audience feel anxious as of what's happened or what is about to happen because the main characters do not realise what's going on around them. This makes the audience think that the characters might be in danger. When the alarm clock is shown it is all silent, and then suddenly the time flicks which could mean that the time is of some importance. Once again there is a non-diegetic sound that is tense and slow which makes the audience drawn in and creates anticipation and when the camera changes it's angle it creates a loud bang, which makes the audience jump a little. This continues as the camera tracks into their bedroom. There is then a diegetic sound of a door opening, which tells the audience that they are not alone and that they are in danger. The music then changes to a fast up beat soundtrack, which creates tension for the audience. When the little girl appears and starts attacking the man, there is a piece of diegetic sound of his neck ripping when they pull the little girl off him. It shows the horror genre within the film as it is gory and there is a lot of blood, both of which are key conventions in this genre. There's then a ticking noise in the background, which shows that the protagonist is running out of time and fighting against the clock to try and save her partner. It makes the audience feel nervous for the protagonist, as they want her to save him and empathies with her. The soundtrack then stops when she realises that her partner is dead and then the soundtrack starts again when she realises her partner comes alive again, which begins the race to survive again, yet this time she needs to escape from both the girl and her partner as they are both zombies. Once she runs into the bathroom it then goes quiet which shows she's a little bit safer there however it then creates tension because the audience are anxious about what is about to happen. When the protagonist gets out of the house there is a sting when the ambulance hits the man over, which makes the audience jump. There is police and ambulance sirens in the background, which signifies danger. There is then the same soundtrack playing throughout the scene until the opening titles appear.

By writing a short analysis of this opening I learnt about the aspect of sound and how in a horror film it is used to create tension. This gave me more knowledge of sound on its own and how it is most effective, especially in a horror film.

The Silence of the Lambs Opening Sequence Analysis

Enigma Codes: Questions that are posed by a film, intended to capture the audience’s interest and attention.
Action Codes: Often answers to the questions posed by the enigma codes. The audience learn something new.
Character: What somebody is like.
Characterisation: How the audience know about the character.

In this opening sequence we are introduced to the protagonist Clarice Starling. The film begins with Clarice running in a forest, and the audience begin feeling as if she is running away from something. This creates an enigma code as the audience want to know who she is running from.
There is then a tracking shot that looks like the point of view of someone who may be chasing her, which creates tension as the audience may think she is in danger. We then find out that she is not running from anyone but in fact training for something, and this is shown by the use of a visual action code of the rope apparatus.
Another enigma code is then created because we want to know what this character is like. The audience can tell that her character is hard-working, because she is shown with a sweat collar which means that she obviously has been training hard. We also know that she is doing extra training because no-one else is around her.
A man then calls ‘Starling! Starling!’ so the audience know that her surname is Starling, by the use of dialogue. He then turns around and he is wearing an FBI hat, and this answers the enigma code of what she is training for. This shows that her character is strong as she is working for the FBI.
We then find out that her name is Clarice as people say her name as they say hello and one person gives her a high-five and says her name, which tells the audience her full name so we get to know her character a little better.
Then we get a shot of her standing in a lift surrounded by men in red. The men are dressed in red to make Clarice stand out from them all, showing that she has been training by making her sweat collar more noticeable and because she is the only women shown out of them all, it shows that she is at the same league as them and is a counter typical.
A distinct but small enigma code is then used as she is seen looking at something on the wall. The audience want to know what she is looking at and an eye-line match is then used and shows what she is looking at, which is lots of newspaper cuttings of somebody called ‘Buffalo Bill’ and showing that he is a serial killer. This then creates another enigma code as we want to know who this character is. Her reaction to these images shows that she is smart and curious, and her body language shows that she is cautious.
We are then introduced to Crawford, who says “Starling, Clarice…I heard you’re the top quarter of your class.” This shows that she is good at her job, as she is the ‘top 5%’ chosen to be selected for the mission she about to be set on. This dialogue was only used to tell the audience more about her character because she knows herself that she is this good, so Crawford only says this for the audience. As Crawford speaks to Clarice we learn her ambitions, as he says she wants to work for him in behavioural science. This means we know more about her character and what she aims to be. He asks “you spook easily Starling?” and she replies with “Not yet, sir”. This shows that she is brave as she does not get scared easily.
The name ‘Hannibal’ comes up in the conversation, which will be the subject for her mission, therefore because we haven’t seen him it creates an enigma code as we want to know who is is and what he looks like.  

From writing this analysis of the opening sequence, I learnt more about character and characterisation and how enigma codes work and the action codes that follow. In this opening I found out that visual codes can give more information about a character or situation than any dialogue that was used, which can help me when it comes to making my own opening and how this can make it more effective.

Layer Cake Opening Sequence Analysis

The film begins with an establishing shot of the back of a car. A voice-over is used which shows that whoever is speaking is the protagonist of the film, already putting the audience on his side. There is a reverse zoom from the back of the car which creates tension as the audience might expect something to happen and then there is a sudden explosion and the camera moves quicker as it shows an armed robbery taking place. This introduces the genre of this film as it is establishing the violence.

A graphic match is then used from one of the robber’s hair to someone else’s hair in a different scene. This scene now is a group of hippies, so this has established the theme of drugs in this film, showing the genre is a crime and thriller, and that somehow drugs are involved with the narrative.
Another graphic match is used from a hippie’s legs walking to a police officer’s legs walking down the corridor of a prison. A tracking shot is used across the prison and the inmates, also showing the characters from the previous scenes now in prison. This links drugs and criminals coming together, again showing the narrative of this film.
The scene then changes to a chemist/shop and as the voice-over says “me”, a character then walks into the shot. This shows that this character is the person who has been talking throughout this opening. He then says, “I’m not a gangster, I’m a business man.” This puts the audience on his side because the impression of a drug dealer is usually a bad representation, and is stereotypically a criminal and evil, someone you wouldn’t want to be associated with, therefore because he says he’s a business man it makes him sound more professional and smart. The audience know he is a drug dealer as he has been narrating through the film so far, telling the audience that it is his occupation, as well as working in a letting agency. He seems like a ‘nice’ drug dealer, as he presents himself smart by wearing a suit. He also says he’s “clean”, which shows he doesn’t take the drug himself, which shows he is respectable and professional. He is also well spoken and honest, putting the audience even more on his side because he doesn’t come off as a threat.
A crane/tracking shot is then used across a building, then tracking inside the window showing the protagonist with another character, sitting on a table. They are both wearing clinical masks over their mouths while sorting the drugs out. This shows that they are both professional in this job as they are safe. In the background of this scene, jazz music is used. This music is relaxing, which shows that the people in this scene are nothing to be afraid of and again puts the audience on this character’s side.
The music then stops and sirens start. This makes the audience have something to be worried about, as these alarming sounds connate as dangerous. As these sounds go on, another graphic match is used on an American police car to a police car in Amsterdam. This changes the scene and location effectively, showing that there is possibly a similarity between these locations. As the scene changes the music becomes more sinister, and the audience are introduced to some new characters at the same time. This shows that these characters are perhaps not to be trusted and are not on the same side of the protagonist the audience met earlier in this opening sequence. As the protagonist carries on in the voice-over, he says “stupid” and the camera then shows the group of people, which shows that these characters are stupid, because he said this as the audience are introduced to them.
The shot then crosscuts back to the protagonist and his companion in the building, and they are seen using scales to measure out the drugs. This shows that they are professionals in their job, making it seem like it’s not a crime.
It crosscuts back to Amsterdam, where a crane shot is used showing the group of people in a car trying to find greenhouses, and the crane shot shows lots of huge greenhouses right next to them. This shows that they are even more stupid which makes the audience not like them as much as the protagonist, who is represented as very smart.
There is another cross cut back to the protagonist in an office with several others. A tracking shot is used as he takes equal amounts of money out of a bag and gives them to the others. This shows the amount of money in their business and also shows that he is a good boss, as he gives everybody an equal amount of money, therefore he is represented as trustworthy and honest.
All the way through this opening sequence, the protagonist’s name is never given to the audience. This means that he is outsmarting the audience throughout the whole clip, making him superior over everybody.  

By completing this analysis I continued my learning further of the four technical codes and how they create understanding. Layer Cake is the first clip we looked at to analyse genres and this film is a thriller, so by analysing this opening made me understand what visual codes are needed to get across that the film is a thriller.