DICE: A Shot-By-Shot breakdown of the opening scene

The establishing shot of this film is a tilt down from the sky. This shot was thought of immediately after writing the plot, to pay tribute to the Indian epic Mahabharata

which was the inspiration to this film. In the Mahabharata, all battles started at sunrise and ended at sunset, hence a shot involving the morning sun was used as the first shot in the film. The color grading was done to enhance the warm colors in the frame, to resemble an early spring morning golden tint. This shot reflects more of the dramatic side of the film, than the thrilling side of the film.

The second shot is a conversational two-shot in the same location. This shot is used to establish these

characters further, by giving them more frame space and duration.

The above shots are used to establish the rest of the protagonists: The first one being a tilt up from the guitar to the guitarist to establish the musical element of this film; the second one being a mid range side angle shot of the pianist to establish her; the third being a mid range side angle shot of the vocalist to establish her; and the fourth one being a mid range shot of the guitarist for further emphasis. This portion of the film is the first time these characters are seen, and it would only make sense to establish first hand that they are musicians since the musical element plays a vital role in the plot of this film.

The colour grading was done in such a way that the morning glow is enhanced, and it relates to the plot in a way: the background is dull to represent the characters’ past (which is rather dull); and the rays of light from the windows are enhanced to represent their optimism towards their cause (the windows were even present in most frames for that reason).

Then there is an over-the shoulder wide shot, when the musicians are interrupted by a door knock in the sequence. Another conversational medium two-shot. The thought process behind the framing of this shot was that the amount of sunlight coming in from the

windows beside/near each character represents the amount of optimism/involvement in/of their characters, so more sunlight was used for the character Radha and (relatively) less for the character Siddharth.

To the left are screenshots from the next shot, which is a movement shot following the character Priya, as she walks to the door and opens it. As the door opens, the antagonist is abruptly established, to relate to the scenario in the plot (the protagonists only realise who he truly is a little while later, hence the unclear establishment). The next shot is a side angle shot of the antagonist Trilok walking in as Priya reacts. This shot

metaphorically signifies the entrance of a bad omen in the plotline, the entrance of a dark presence in the course of events. But Trilok walks somewhat quickly, so that he isn’t established in the film yet, and the focus of the shot becomes Priya’s reaction.

Next is a close up of Radha, as she speaks out of confusion, while maintaining her calm composure. This shot is to emphasise on that particular character and her calm nature. After that is a still frame medium shot of Siddharth, as Trilok enters the frame as he is sitting down (hence becoming a two-shot). This shot is used to emphasise on the

confused yet lethargic nature of Siddharth (he is eating chips as the scenario plays out), and this is the shot where

Trilok begins to be established in the film, especially as the background music rises from this shot.

Another close up of Radha, to establish her inquisitive and deductive nature. This is the most pivotal shot in the opening sequence, as this is where things start to get serious. This is a still frame wide shot, and no mobility is used, to induce the

“sudden” feeling of the scenario.

The left depicts two reaction shots of Priya and Radha respectively, for further emphasis on their reactions (naturally, anybody would react seriously to a stranger with a gun in their house).

The next shot is a medium still frame shot of the door (and Priya), as the characters Anjana and Shantanu are entering the room (these are the

characters from the earlier beach sequence). They walk in, oblivious to what is going on, and when they see the gun and the stranger (Trilok), they are forced to react. This

shot further emphasises the situation, and establishes that these characters and the other three musicians are the central characters.

The next shot is the second most pivotal shot to the opening sequence, as this is where Trilok reveals his identity to the rest of the characters (not

the audience, just yet). This is a wide shot, to show the characters’ reactions collectively.

To the left are screenshots of the next two shots in the sequence: one of Radha realising that they all need to get out of the situation immediately, and one of Priya and Shantanu

reacting in terror. The second shot establishes the protective and timid natures of Priya and Shantanu respectively (Priya puts her hand over Shantanu’s shoulder while being terrified).

The final shot in the opening sequence before the title sequence rolls, is a wide shot of all the characters, as Siddharth is seen to be taking a closer look

at the identity card. This shot was used to create a cliffhanger effect, to make the audience want closure of the scenario as they are left in suspense, only to be told that what they saw was only the beginning of the actual scenario.