The opening sequence of Sweeney Todd establishes the dark, gloomy setting through its use of color, lighting, and props. Dark colors like black and red are prominently featured. The old, run-down building shown appears dark and ominous. Unsettling images like blood and implied violence further a sense of danger and mystery. The tense, ominous music builds a feeling of impending threat. All of these elements combine to strongly suggest to the audience that this will be a horror film.

1. Sweeny Todd

2.  The opening sequence of Sweeny Todd starts off with an establish shot so the audience
know that the film is starting. The movement of the camera is going downwards with the
movement of the rain and continues to go along a row of houses, however we can only see
the stop of the houses which makes the scene seem mysterious which creates enigma.
 The shot continues to move onto an extreme close up of the window, which allows you
too see through the window. This aims to make the audience feel uncomfortable and
claustrophobic.
 After it carries onto a close up of the blood falling down the arm of a chair which creates
enigma, as it makes the audience wonder where the blood is coming from and why it is
there.
 The camera shot then carries onto to a mid shot of the blood going through the cogs, it
then zooms into a close up of the blood and guts. The blood and guts signify that this
film is going to involve gore.
 The camera then goes into a close up of the fire which we then discover is a oven, with a
number of pies in it, with blood surrounding them. The movement of the camera zooms
out so we get a clear view of the scene.
 After this, the camera zooms out into a long shot of the sewer. with blood and water
running through it.
 Through out all of the opening sequence there is a constant tracking shot which follows
the blood.

3.  When the opening sequence starts, there is rain with red splats coming down with it. The red
splats represent blood, which signifies that the film may involve gore.
 It is dark and gloomy at night which creates enigma.
 Around the window it is all frosty, which sets the scene and the mood of the audience as it
signifies that it is cold and horrible outside. There is also blood splattered on the window
which signifies that there could have recently been a death within the building.
 The wood on the floor which we see though the window, is old and rusty which connotes that
the building is old.
 There are stains on the walls of the building (could this be dried up blood?.) There is rust
running off the photo frames which suggests that the building has been around for a long
time. The rust coming off the photo frames could also signify that the building is damp.
 The blood is extremely red which makes it look bold and stand out more from the
background scene.
 In the opening sequence there is a blazing fire. This connotes that there is danger and death
involved in the film. There is also a rat in the sewer, rats are associated with dirty places. These
effects create enigma such as ‘why is there blood in the water? Is it to get rid of evidence?’
 The title ‘SWEENY TODD’ is in red font, unlike the other credits to make it stand out as it is
the main title of the film.
 The credits of this opening sequence are in white. The fonts are quite basic. We that the
writing targets more of an older audience.

4.  At the beginning of the opening sequence it is very dark, which signifies that it is night
time. There is also black coming out of the houses chimneys, this signifies that the area
is dirty.
 There is a red and white sign outside the building which signifies that is a barbers.
 The dark colour continues in the building which connotes that there is no lights on or
that work. This creates enigma towards the audience.
 There is a chair which is silver, with a lion on it. This could signify power as lions are a
very dominant animal.
 There are red, pink and brown mashed what we think are body parts coming through a
piece of unknown equipment. This creates enigma again as the audience will want to
find out what is coming through the equipment and what the piece of equipment is.
 The fire in the oven is red and orange and yellow. This connotes that the fire is hot and
dangerous. The pies that are in the oven are brown which signifies that they are cooked.
This yet again creates enigma as it makes the audience wonder what is in the pie.
 The red blood continues to run into the sewer. Sewers represent dirty places which
signifies that the building is dirty.
 The rats shown in the scene are black, this signifies that they are mysterious and foul
creatures.

5.  The opening music is a deep note of the piano, this represents older music.
 Within the first 5 seconds the audience already have an idea as to what the genre of the film could be. This is
because it is a deep note rather than a high note, because if it was a high note the music would be more of a
happy song.
 We then hear the gust of wind and thunder, this signifies that it is cold, wet, dark, gloomy and miserable.
 The music starts off quiet and gets louder as the sequence moves on, The music becomes more of a higher pitch.
This creates tension.
 We then continue to hear the blood drip and splat on the floor, which could signify that the blood has dripped
off a human body.
 We then hear the cogs turning, this makes the audience feel uncomfortable as it makes them feel that
something bad has happened or about to happen.
 We then hear a gate or door slam which signifies something might have walked through it or slammed it out of
anger.
 The music gets more tense when the title of the film comes up on screen. It is a faster pace which creates
tension, but could also represent the pace of the film. By being a quicker beat, the audience may feel as if
something is about to happen.
 We then hear the blazing fire, which means that it is on. This makes the audience feel a little bit anxious as fires
are dangerous.
 We the recognise that the pies are boiling along with the blood. This creates enigma as to why there is blood in
the oven.
 We then hear the water flowing in the sewer at a fast pace, along with the music which is also a fast pace. This
signifies that the film could also be fast moving.
 Towards the end of the opening sequence, the music starts to slow down and fade out.

6.  At the beginning of this sequence, the audience might not feel scared, as
nothing has really happened yet. But then it starts to rain which could tests the
audiences feeling as rain often associates with being miserable and dull.
 When the audience hear thunder, they might begin to feel scared and
conscious as this may signify something bad happening.
 The blood on the window will engage the audience, as it will create enigma, as
they will wonder why there is blood there.
 Because the film is set in an older looking building with no lighting, This may
make the audience feel like the film is going to be a horror film as it sets the
scene as being scary.
 Because the setting is black and gloomy. Black signifies death, this means that
the audience may suspect a death within the film.

7.  We believe that the genre of the film is horror, because the props, colours, title and
location used all signify that the film is a horror.
 The genre of the film is signifies by the colours used in the opening sequence of the film.
The colours are dark and dull. The colours that are mostly used in the opening sequence
are black and red. We think that these colours represent murder as we associate black
with death and red with murder.
 The props that are used also represent the genre of the film because of the way that they
look, They all seem to have rust on them and they are all a dark colour. This signifies that
they have been there for a long time. This means that the building is old and scary. One of
the chairs used in the sequence we think looks like a torture chair, this makes you feel on
edge and anxious which signifies that it is a horror film.
 The title in the sequence is the colour red, this represents a horror film as red is associated
with blood.
 The music used in the sequence builds up tension. This makes you feel like something
bad is going to happen which connotes it is a horror film.
 The music is a low pitched which makes the audience feel unconfutable. It also begins to
have a faster pace which makes you feel like it is a build up to something bad happening.