1. Analysis of opening sequence to Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a film noir which was released in the 1950’s and is filmed in
black and white. At the very start of the opening sequence of Sunset Boulevard
the audience is first shown a logo of Paramount Pictures which is a post
production element, it then fades away as the camera slowly tilts down to reveal
the sidewalk. On the curb of the sidewalk the audience is shown the title of the
movie, the title is diejesus not post production. The sequence is filmed in black
and white and shadows and dark colours are accented, this is a typical
convention of the Film Noir genre. The sound the audience hear when the
sequence begins is asynchronous, non-diegetic sound the sound is upbeat and
full of brass instruments, which prepares the audience for the action to come.
The sharp bursts of trumpets and drums followed by slow gaining pace stringed
instruments suggest suspicion and mystery. The camera then dolly’s round
(keeping to the road) and starts a tracking shot down the long dark tarmac road.
The postproduction sequence includes a title sequence with all of the film
directors, producers, film crew ect.
After 1 minute of the title credits the camera stops and tilts up to show a long
road and cars speeding towards the camera. Sound, which accompanies the tilt
up, is a sharp blast of some trumpets and drums with some police sirens to signal
that the upcoming cars are police cars to show it’s the end of the postproduction
title sequence. The sound next heard by the audience is the voice over which
starts to give context to the sequence. The voice over explains that the police cars
are the homicide squad. The voice over sounds sophisticated and talks like a
reporter for example ‘ before those Hollywood columnists get their hands on it
maybe you’d like to hear the facts—the whole truth’. The cars are typical of the
time in which the movie was filmed (1950’s) and also the police uniforms are
also classic to the profession. The audience is then shown a long shot which
shows the pool, in this frame we can see that there is a body floating in the pool,
the audience can also see that the pool shows how large the house is to have its
own pool and yard. The audience can see the swarm of police and journalists
(which are also dressed stereotypically to fit in with the time in which the movie
was set) making their way over to the body.
The camera angle next shown is one which is set bellow the water facing
upwards so we can see the victims face and journalists and police above the
water looking down on the body. The sun beams into the pool and then
consumes the screen which leads into a transition to the next scene. This is a
flashback and the audience now sees the narrator is the protagonist character,
the narrator is a writer and is stereotypically typing on a typewriter in a dressing
gown hard at work.