Analysis of the opening sequence for

‘The Lion King’

This is a long shot of the opening scene. This sets the scene and we know that the film is going to be animated.

The next scene is a close up of some meerkats, they are in the wild and are all looking at something in the distance, this scene not only shows these two animals but also others

all looking up in the same direction at something. There is some background music.

The next shot is a long shot of birds flying over a waterfall. The same music is in the background that continues through the beginning of the scene. Again they are heading in

the same direction as all the other animals. This tells us that something is going to happen.

This next shot is again of more animals walking in the same direction, there are birds in the top left hand corner also following the same way. This is a long shot of the animals

and it shows that they must be going somewhere important.

This shot shows that all the previous shots where a montage of short shots building up to the main one of all the animals walking to a specific place. We can see in this long shot

that there is a figure on the end of the rock.

This is a medium shot of the what we assume to be the most important character. The shot is taken from a slight angle showing that the lion is of a high level of importance. As

we see in the previous shot all the other animals are below the lion, so he is the most important charcter.

SummaryOverall in the opening of the film there is a variety of close-up, medium and long shots used. The use of montage, as the short shots of all of the animals finally leads up to the main character who has a higher level of importance. The editing draws our attention to the fact that the film is going to be animation and also the fact that it is set in the wild. The quick pace of the shots allows us to see different animals and places where they are, but we also can see where the animals are going and it isn’t too long. There is a non-diagetic song in the background.