2. The film opens with a worms eye view of a cloudy
sky, with the moon shining through the clouds. This
shot kind of establishes at what time this scene is
set, and gives an idea of the tone of the film.
The next shot shows the audience an establishing shot
of the city where this is set. This is used to give the
audience an idea at what type of place this is going to
be set, and what they can expect from the film in terms
of its setting.
3. The scene opens with a medium close-up of the woman’s
face whilst she is in bed, there is a light which highlights
her face, with the shadow of the blinds moving over her
face. This may give the idea that something is going
on, and something that will disrupt her sleep.
The woman then wakes up and goes on to get out of her
bed, the camera tracks her as she walks towards the open
window. A medium shot is used to show her shut her
window. This is a set up for the next sequence, as the
open window is obviously an opportunity for the
character to witness something, or something dramatic to
happen.
4. As the woman goes to close the window, the camera
changes to an over-shoulder shot, showing the house
opposite. The window is open and the lighting inside is
high-key. This is to show that this is a key part of the
sequence, as it highlights the two characters living across
her. This shot shows the woman witnessing a man
abusing his wife/partner.
The camera angle then changes to a long shot, which is
from outside the window of the opposite house. This
gives the audience a closer look at what is
happening, abuse towards someone’s partner can be quite
a common film noir convention, and is shown a lot in
this genre.
5. The next shot shows a medium shot of the woman
who has rushed to the phone next to her bed. She
shows quite a worried expression This has now set
the scene for the film, as the violent case she has
witnessed has been addressed and she is calling for
help from the police – and will give the audience
their expectations for the rest of the film.
After the woman calls for the police, the camera then
goes back to the long shot from outside of the
window, the curtains are closed, then the lights go
out. The opening credits then start, this opening is
used to draw the audience in, and get them interested
in what will happen in this movie – to keep their
attention.
6. A fade transition is then used to change
to the next scene, this scene opens with
a long shot of a dark street. A police car
then drives past, this gives the audience
an idea that the police are on their way
to the abuse scene, and action is being
taken. This makes the audience
interested in what is going to happen
next, and will draw them in. High key
lighting is used at the location where the
police car parks, telling the audience
that this is where the murder scene will
be.
