INSIDIOUS OPENING SEQUENCE ANALYSIS By Charlotte Dyer

From the opening sequence of Insidious the genre is made clear by the music and the slow edits in the film opening. The music used has this eerie effect which helps to emphasise the genre. The location of the film is an abandoned house which is a stereotypical convention of the genre of Horror.

TYPOGRAPHYThe Opening Begins by showing the audience the titles of the production, distribution companies as well as who the film is in association with. From looking just at these titles it is clear to see that the genre of the film is Horror. This is shown as the titles on the screen are red which is a connotation of blood, danger and death. The blood red colour chosen for the titles is stereotypical of a horror. Blood is nearly always included in this genre, so to see it used for the titles is to be expected and sets the theme for the movie. . The titles smudge off of the screen which causes a sense of discomfort for the audience watching the film.

CAMERA At the beginning of the opening sequence there is an establishing shot at the location of the new house. This is used to help show the audience exactly where the film will be set but also what the setting looks like outside which can give the audience an idea of what it may look like on the inside.

Once inside the house, there is an bird’s eyes shot looking down the staircase, in the middle of the stairs there is a silhouettes at the bottom, suggesting that something is watching them and allows the audience to become interested for as to who the person is and what they may do as well as create a feeling of unease for the audience as they know that the family is being watched. The bird’s eye camera angle is effective as the slow, shot makes the audience wonder what is lurking within the house.

The camera also pans from scene to scene so that it is smooth. Each room transitions smoothly from one to another so that it goes along with the slow, eerie music that is being played as well as keeping the audience interested for as to what they are going to be shown next.

ACTORSThe first time the audience meet the main characters is during the brief shot were the audience see the family photo. The camera zooms in on the family photo and they appear to be happy, as they are all together and smiling for the photo. They are all dressed in pale, light clothing which suggests their innocence and purity. However ,in the photo the adult male, who could be suggested to be the father, in the photo isn’t smiling like the rest of his family which creates a twist for the audience as they could wonder if he is as innocent as the rest of the family or if he plays a role which could affect and endanger the rest of the family. Having children in the image again shows innocence and provides a contrast against the music and blood red text. Furthermore, children are seen as more vulnerable, so using them as victims in horrors only serves to make the horror more menacing.

SETTING

The location of the opening scene is in the home of the main characters that the audience see in the family photo. It is also evident for the audience to see that the family are new to the house as their are brown cardboard boxes lying around waiting to be unpacked in the opening .

THE GRANDFATHER CLOCKThe most iconic prop in the opening scene is the grandfather clock featured repeatedly in the opening scene which fits into the conventions of a stereotypical horror film as a lot of horror films take place in old houses, so grandfather clocks represents genre as they are shown a lot in horror films based in old/ abandoned Later on in the film, the clock becomes of relevance, which is why it is shown repeatedly in the opening scene. The chiming of the clocks also creates a tension for the audience in the atmosphere during the opening.

The use of a canted angle on the first shot of the grandfather clock gives a sense of confusion and disorientation for the audience. The clock is unrecognizable at first because of the distance, then there is a jump cut closer to the clock with light around it to highlight its features. Suggesting the clocks significance.

LIGHTING

During the entire opening scene, the lightning is dull and low key aside from a few angles where certain areas are highlighted. This is done to suggest that the house is mysterious because if it was in clear, artificial lightning, it would not look any where near as interesting. The rest of the rooms are black which ties into the conventions of the genre.

EDITING

All of the editing that is used is all slow, there are no fast transitions, this is to give the audience a chance to take in all that is going on within each shot. After each shot, there is a fade after from one shot to another to give it more of a mysterious effect. Each new shot is slightly unfocused, encouraging confusion within the audience as to what is going to happen in the house and to the people moving in.

The film opening is in black and white. The most typical convention of 'black and white' is that black is evil and white is purity and innocence. This suggests that throughout the film there will be a clash of good and evil, which helps to excite the audience for the twist which are to happen.

SOUND

Throughout the opening there is non-diegetic sound being played. At the start of the opening there is a ringing sound played to echo in the audiences ear, this makes the audience feel at unease. When we are first shown a ghostly shadow, there is a high pitch sound of a violin being played to emphasise the fear of seeing something in the house. The music dims down when the audience are shown the woman’s face but speed up with the high pitch music again when the titles appear, this is done to make the audience become on edge and jumpy which is a key factor for horror films. Most of the music in the opening scene has a eerie, creepy feel to give a sense of unease for the audience.