Title & Opening Sequence Textual Analysis

Before I Go to Sleep.

Before I Go to Sleep

The film that I am going to be analysing is ‘before I Go to Sleep’ (Joffe 2014). I have chosen this film as the genre of the film is a psychological thriller that uses characters to create a sense of confusion and mystery from the very beginning.The idea of trust between characters is played with a lot, our group also want to play with this idea. This is good as this is similar to the storey and effect our group wants to achieve during our opening sequence.

Title sequence.

The title sequence begins with shaky video of objects with low key lighting. An old film effect is also present while the credits titles are showing. The text show is very small, minimalistic, creating atmosphere. There is no sound at the moment creating suspense and atmosphere. A low hum begins complimented by other audio aspects such as breathing and a ringing sound. The audience do not know what is going on at this point, this introduces the psychological aspects of the film to the audience.

In contrast to this, the opening sequence stops and it cuts to a character staring down the lens of the camera at the audience. Diegetic sounds are introduced with her breathing and a clock ticking. The camera then pulls out and reveals all the characters face and more of the room. It is clear to the audience that she is confused, while still not revealing a lot of information. This will add to the built up tension, creating excitement and engaging the audience.

Next a point of view shot is shown, of a hand suggesting that she is not alone in the bed. The pov shot also gives a easy way of showing her feelings and taking in her surroundings. The fact that it is a close up shot still provides very little information to the audience while allowing the audience to see and feel how she is, This will add to the atmosphere and mood created. The non diegetic music builds up as she comes to terms with her surroundings. She begins to gain knowledge of her surroundings as she finds infomation around her.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the opening is very successful at presenting key themes and ideas through mise en scene and the character. It is successful in creating the buildup of tension and suspense, playing with the theme of psychological through close ups and the lack of information given.