Opening sequence analysis
- 1. Opening Sequence Analysis --- The House That Never Dies (0:00-5:20) The House That Never Dies starts with tow fireworks and the name of the company which made the film, and another name of company follows it. Then, a golden bird flies in the Milky Way, after seconds, it changes to another company. They also joined in this film. And the camera likes through many dark clouds, name of the main company is showed again, and other 4 names of companies follow it. And produced/co-produced by someone. Then the camera likes a bird, fly though some buildings in Beijing in the evening, they use the aerial shot. Then slow down in a forest, but the trees which in that forest are all without leaves and with thick fog. The other side of the forest is a big door, it open by itself with the sound of open the door. When the open, there is much fog in the house without light, then the name of this film come out ,and a face of a female behind it, long hair cover the left half of face, blood flow down from the right eye. The scary music is played at that time, it makes people creepy, then names of other stuffs are showed, and the back ground is in the big old house, it still with fog, thunders, and lightning, there are some lights coruscating. Then the camera descend slowly from outside into a old building looks like a prison, a female is lying on the ground, she is in a red dress, at the same time, the voiceover is played, it’s a poem, and the female who is lying a the ground becomes many pink butterflies fly away. One of those butterfly fly to a cemetery, first character appear, she is the leading woman, and she is standing in front of his father’s tomb with her mother. Before they talk, they give the tomb a close up, then a normal shot for them. When they begin to talk, become to over the shoulder shot. Turn to next shot; it’s a close up for a whole wall of photos, leading woman talk to her daughter as background. Then turn to another room, the girl goes to find her grandmother, after seconds leading woman come to this room, then the photographer pull focus. Then become over the shoulder shot again, after seconds, photographer give their hands a close up, because leading woman holds her mother’s hand. People can found that the leading woman is grudge to leave her mother and worry about her at the same time, then turn back to over the shoulder shot. Then her mother opens a wooden box, and takes out a bunch of key, turn to a close up for keys. After she gave the keys to her, an extreme close up for keys for seconds. It does obviously tell people that bunch of key are vital. When her mother gives her keys, she said:” These are the keys of our old house, it’s NO.81 (The
- 2. House That Never Dies)”. At the beginning of this film, when the situation gets dark and terrible, people will hear some horrible sounds and they are usually non-diegetic-sound, people can’t see them, they can only hear them, this is a very terrible situation. Sometimes the sounds like a people who is going upstairs with leather shoes, and sometimes are drip of the water. There is a kind of voice is also very significant, that’s voiceover. When the character feel so sad or at the end of the film, the voiceover will tell audience some truths of life or states the real thought of that character. The whole movie is about this old house, and most of shots are in this old house, so this title is crucial.