The shining opening sequence
- 1. THE SHINING:
- 2. CHARACTERS: In the opening scene of ‘The Shining’, no faces of characters are shown. The only sign of any potential characters are in this yellow car that the camera follows along a long, winding road. This scene is very effective and holds the audiences attention because as you see the car driving along and realise that we are following it, you ask questions such as who is in the car? And where are they going? These are especially important questions that we wish to know the answer to because of the genre of the film. The film is a horror therefore the question where are they going is particularly intriguing and who they are is important in terms of the role they will play in the horror film. The shot to the right is the only shot of the car that is that close. As this shot of the car occurs, the words Jack Nicholson rise up from the bottom of the screen. This could suggest that he is in fact a character in the car.
- 3. SETTING: The setting of the opening scene is very effective. It is effective in terms of the fact that ‘The Shining’ is a horror movie, so right at the beginning when you see this idyllic landscape we don’t think of a horror movie. This scene is also effective because, as mentioned in character, it takes us on a journey and makes us wonder where it leads to, and could foreshadow later events. It is set along the western shore of Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana. The area is very natural and remote with no houses and not many people around. This helps to put the main focus on the car driving through it because if it was a busy town with many cars about, it would be harder to put emphasis on one particular car without being distracted. The fact that the area is very remote and isolated could effect events later on as it creates a sense of no going back or being a long way from any help.
- 4. MISE-EN- SCENE: The only prop in this scene really is the car. As we don’t see the driver of the car or any characters yet, there isn’t a large sense of mise-en-scene. The car All we can really tell about the car is that it is yellow and the make is a VW Beetle. It is possible that the colour of the car was made yellow for a particular reason. The reason could be so that it stands out so our attention is drawn to it. Another reason could be that yellow isn’t a very common colour for a car therefore it could reflect the character driving the cars’ personality. The lighting in the scene is very natural which means it is relatively bright. This is generally uncommon for a horror film as tones such as deep blues and reds are used to make lighting darker at certain times. The lighting here could therefore show that nothing bad has happened yet, the scene is just being set at the moment.
- 5. CAMERA SHOTS: The main type of shot in the opening scene is a birds eye view. The helicopter that is filming the landscape follows the car around every twist and turn which creates the sense of a journey, like we are following the car rather than if it was just a still shot where the car drives past. The cameras change angle while still above the car, so, sometimes the shot its more from the left side of the road and sometimes its from higher above then closer behind the car. Overall, the shots make the landscape look idyllic and unlike a horror movie to begin with.
- 6. SOUND AND MUSIC: The music is very important in the opening sequence as it completely changes the tone, compared to if there was not any music. Without the music, if somebody watched the scene and had to guess the genre, it is probable that they wouldn’t guess horror. Therefore, the music is so powerful in this way because it adds to the genre largely, creating a very eerie setting which would otherwise be normal. The music includes instruments that sound deep, not light and happy and you wouldn’t expect that in this scene. The music was based on “Dies Irae” which is described as ‘a medieval piece depicting Judgement Day’. “Dies Irae” reminds the audience that the film is horror based because it provides a large ghostly sense of mystery and eeriness. Overall, the peaceful, idyllic landscape contrasts hugely with the sinister music we hear while we follow the car around winding roads. In terms of the sound in this scene, we don’t hear anything like the car driving or wind blowing in the trees. The only main thing we hear is the music which overpowers any natural sounds.