2. To Kill A Mockingbird is a crime/drama/mystery film
released in 1962. The director of To Kill A Mockingbird is
Robert Mulligan.
The opening sequence of To Kill A Mockingbird shows the
picture of a little girl opening up a cigar box with all these
different object inside. We never see the child‟s face but we
hear her humming and saying “boo” repeatedly. We watch
as the child draws and colours and then when the two
marbles collide we pan over the different objects found in
the cigar box.
3. All the camera angles are close ups in the opening
sequence of To Kill A Mockingbird. When each shot is
finished and we move onto the next one, both shots are
combined together and as the second shot is fading in, the
first shot is fading out. The credits also fade in and fade out
of the screen. The camera also zooms in onto the cigar box
and also the crayon and the pocket watch and the child‟s
drawing of a bird which is then ripped. The camera mainly
pans and tracks as it shows the objects which are in the
cigar box. The camera sometimes changes focus to allow
us to see the next object more clearly and focus on that
object. For example, the focus changes from a marble to a
whistle which draws the audience‟s attention to the whistle
and away from the marble.
4.
5. To Kill A Mockingbird was released in 1962. During this
time films were only available in black and white. The
opening sequence is shot in black and white like the entire
film because the technology wasn‟t advanced enough to
provide colour.
6. Before we see the first shot of the cigar box, we hear some
music. This music sounds like a young child is playing on a
piano and playing random notes. This suggests that the
opening stars a child and as the music disappears, we can
hear the little girl humming and saying “boo”. The child
humming suggests to the audience that one of the main
characters is a child and it makes everything appear so
innocent to the audience, because a child has not been
exposed to some of the horrors which can be found in the
world.
When the two marbles come together the child says “ding”
and suddenly the main music begins. The main music
sounds magical much like a child‟s imagination because
anything is possible.
7. The main editing techniques used in the opening sequence
is the combination of two scenes. When the next scene first
appears it fades in and merges with the previous scene
which eventually fades out. This technique is simple yet
very effective. It allows all the different shots to flow.
8. There are no character‟s faces shown in the opening
sequence, so the opening sequence is reliant on the props
to tell the story instead of the character‟s expressions and
actions.
9. In the cigar box there are many crayons which are then
used during the opening sequence. Crayons are used by
young children to colour in pictures. The crayons suggest
to the audience that the character in the opening sequence
is a young child and that the film is going to be shown from
the point of view from a young child.
10. The pocket watch is an important prop in the opening
sequence because it has its own sound effect. Twice when
we see the pocket watch up close, we can hear the sound
of it ticking. It makes the pocket watch stand out in the
audience‟s mind that this object is important to the narrative
of the film.
11. We see the title of the film as a drawing done by the child.
They go over the paper with a crayon and the title is
revealed. This links to the genres crime and mystery
because the police used to shade in a piece of paper to
see what message has been imprinted on it.
The child also draws a picture of a bird. The audience know
that the character is a child because it is a typical picture
which would be drawn by a young child. The drawing
relates to the title of the film, To Kill A Mockingbird which
the audience notice and know that the film has something
to do with an actual Mockingbird.
12.
13. We do not get to see the face of the child in the opening
sequence but we can tell from the sound of the voice and
the props such as crayons and the drawings, that the
character we are hearing and seeing the hands of, is a little
girl.
14. We do not get to see much of the setting in the opening
sequence because all of the shots are close ups of objects.
However from the props and what the character is doing,
we can only guess that the little girl is sitting at a table at
home with all these objects while she is drawing a picture
of a bird.
15. From the opening sequence, we do not get to know much
about the genre of the film. This makes the film mysterious
because it is unknown what we are going to view in the
film.
16. The opening sequence starts out with a cigar box. We then
see some small hands opening the box and we hear a little
girl‟s voice. Inside the box there are many different objects
such as coins, crayons, marbles, safety pins and many
more. We then see the child pick up a crayon and begin to
draw a picture. The shots change from the child colouring a
picture to a close up pan of the different objects inside of
the box. At the end of the sequence we see the final
drawing which is a bird. The child then rips the drawing and
the sequence ends. The opening sequence appears to
have its own storyline.
17. At the end of the opening sequence we see the child has
drawn a picture of a bird. To me a bird represents freedom
because a bird is free to fly where ever they wish to go.
However the child then rips the drawing. This could
represent someone in the film has had their right to
freedom „ripped‟ away from them.
Also we see and hear a pocket watch multiple times
throughout the opening sequence. This could represent
that time is running out and the character needs to do
something before it is too late.
