Analysing Film Openings - Van Helsing

Van Helsing

In the two minutes that I watched this film it was all in black and white, however the rest of the film is not. Tthis then signifies that the opening part of the film is supposedly meant to be in the past . It also gives it the feel of a sinister mood and thus making it clear this film will be quite scary and mainly based on a thriller. The opening sound is non-diegetic eerie music, giving the vibe that something bad is going to happen, but it is also a firm and strong sound which represents the anger of the crowd.

The first shot is a continued shot from the universal title, this is an inventive new way of starting a film that does not happen often. Soon afterward it turns into an establishing shot of some woods with an angery crowd storming though, this shows that the place they are heading to is pretty secluded away form the town. It is then as if we follow them to where ever they are going, this gives us the feeling that we are part of the crowd, instead of being onlookers from a distance.

There is a lot of use of lighting in this film, there are the torches, the electric sparks in the lab and these all contribute to the atmosphere. At one point in the scene there is a sound of pounding, this part is unclear as to if it is diegetic or not as it could possibly be the breaking in of the castle, or it could represent the puonding of the scientist’s (Victor’s) heart. But whenever the sound is heard a light flashes , adding to the effect making it even more tense.

The clothing helps us to define the character. The villagers were wearing old ragged items of clothing and the props they have consist of torches and pitchforks, this makes us believe that the majority of them are farmers and not very rich. Victor wears a lab coat, which instanly make us think of a scientist. Also the count is compleatly covered in black clothing and we link that to him being evil and dark, also his long black hair makes him seem even more out of the ordinary and a character that stands out.

One part of the scene that is particulary important is the awakening of the monster, we know it’s important because when he does awake there are three extreme close ups on him; the eyes, hand and mouth. Another reason we know it is significant is because Victor shouts out “it’s alive” and shouting shows his enhightening of his emotions, telling us that he is thrilled when his creation has come to life.

The Universal title has been altered to suit the stile of the film. It has been changed  to black and white and made is so that it sets on fire so that is can have a smooth change over with the torch in the first scene. This is quite unusual to see in films as the opening credits are always the same, but having these added effect makes the veiwers more intrigued about this original title sequence.
 

At this point this is like a POV shot of someone in the crowd as it follows the people through the gates as we are one of them. This makes us feel more involved in the film. It also has added information about the destination and date, this is useful as it is providing extra infomation without having to have someone say it.

It then changes to an establishing shot of the castle it is unclear whether we are in the POV shot still or not. The establishing shot works well because it is taken from a low angle, making it seem that that the castle is a very intimidating place.

There are a lot of extreme close ups in this part of the film as it is telling us that this is a significant moment in the film.

It is then a POV shot of the the crowd breaking in this is so we can see what the scientist is seeing out the window.

There is then a two shot of the count and the scientist. This is to show their relationship, it seems as if they do not have an equal relationship though as the count is in the foreground where as Victor is at the back, this makes him seem smaller and in a lower status to the count.

In this shot the light only hits half of the count’s face. This gives the impression of him having an evil side or a secret hidden away. The close up tells us he is significant.

We are not doing horror, but this is a good way of creating an opening that really grabs you.

Bits we can use include using music to establish atmosphere,  close ups on significant characters and establishing shots to set the scene.