Resident Evil Opening Evaluation

Resident Evil – After life Opening Scene Evaluation The scene begins by setting the scene to the viewer very well. The title sequence is shown over aerial/birds eye view shots of a large city. Immediately, this gives us a good idea of the type of location that the majority of the upcoming film is likely to be set in. The shots appear to get closer and closer to ground level as time continues, until there are shots taken from the ground, showing the stereotypical Japanese urban scene, with lots of traffic congestion. Over the top of this we have an upbeat yet ambient track playing in the background adding mysteriousness and curiosity, yet excitement to the overall atmosphere. Unconventionally, before we see the first person introduced in the scene, we are shown a shot of an umbrella. The camera operator has used depth of field well in this shot, as the umbrella is in focus and the background isn’t – making it the main focal point of the frame, giving us the first suggestion that it is of importance and relevant from the start. After this we are shown street signs, with vertical Japanese text written on them, this confirms our initial speculation that the setting is in Japan. Next to the signs, there is a traffic light, moving from amber to red. Although there is no clear reason or consequence for this happening, it feels like a warning sign to the viewer, as we normally associate red or ‘stopping’ with danger and alarm. Following this are aerial shots of people walking down the street with umbrellas up, as it is raining. The way that the umbrellas are introduced before any characters gives us the impression once again that they are of some significance. We do not get even the briefest first introduction of what appears to be a main character until 1:13, where there is a close up of a pair of red shoes on a woman. Because the camera is so low down on the body of the person, we get the idea that the person is largely significant, as she appears to be above the camera. After displaying her red shoes, the camera pans uncomfortably slowly up her leg until it reaches her lower torso, making the viewer feel anxious to see her face after the big, slow and dramatic build up. Instead of following all the way up to her face, the sequence cuts to another aerial shot from above her. Here, because the duration of the clip is fairly long, we seem to focus on the fact that she is the only person on the street that appears to not have an umbrella. Not only this, but she is stood still in the rain, whereas the other people are walking with intention. This gives us the idea that she is different from the norm. Eventually, after another vertical pan of her upper torso, we feel that her face is going to be unveiled, however, once again it cuts to a scene of the already well established street, but we can finally see the front full body of the character. All of these shots are in slow motion, making them feel a whole lot more dramatic, but whilst increasing the tension and suspense felt by the viewer. When we eventually see just the face of the character, depth of field is used once again to ensure that we focus on her completely. As this happens, the music changes slightly, and all of the percussion and heavy beats that was previously backing the shots, turns into a single sustained ringing notes with strange horror-type effects, which feels very eerie. This makes us feel as if something is going to happen. After this a form of dolly is used in order to track slowly around the character, until she is looking directly at us, making us feel slightly tense and vulnerable, simulating how the people in the street with her may feel. Following this is a shot of a passer by looking directly into the camera, feeling like we are seeing through the eyes of the character. Once again this is in slow motion, and the music starts to build up and become tenser, making us feel again as if something is going to happen. After the climax in music has been reached, the character pounces onto this passer by, biting his neck and taking him to the floor. By now we hear the very first piece of sound coming from a person, which are screams from the passers by. This coupled with a quickly zoomed out aerial shot (making the subject smaller and smaller) makes us once again feel vulnerable and insignificant, as it zooms all the way out high above the city to outer space, to the level where people cannot be seen as they are so small, putting our relative size into perspective. When this shot finishes, we hear a voice over from what we assume to be the character shown to us previously. She talks over an eventually still shot of the earth from outer space, with no other backing music. Making us focus on what she has to say. Here she also confirms the significance of the umbrellas from the opening shots.