The document provides an analysis of the opening scene of the film "Cape Fear". It discusses various cinematography and editing techniques used to set an ominous and unsettling tone. Specifically, it notes the use of dark colors and rippling water to create unease, close ups of a character's face and hands to represent violence or aggression, and a red filter on a young girl to imply danger or death while her white dress contrasts with innocence. It also analyzes shots of a prison that suggest looking down on the imprisoned man and the release of evil when the gate opens during a brewing storm.

1. Cape fear analysis
by Ben Bill Chris Ryan

2. • At the beginning of the scene the characters names show up on the
water. The water and the colour represent the codes and
conventions of the thriller as a genre. The colours at the start of this
thriller are dark, the colours that are used are mainly black and blue
and these both represent death, anger and also could represent a
depressing atmosphere. The use of the water can be interpreted as
an unknown area which would create an uneasy atmosphere for the
viewer

3. • Another thing we noticed as a group was the rippling of the water.
Rippling water can be associated with a calm atmosphere which
obviously is not the mood the audience are expecting to see which
can be seen as manipulation as the audience would feel uneasy as
they do not what's going on. In this quick snippet we also saw the
bald eagle. The bald eagle has been seen as a sign of power for
thousands of years. This is also emphasised by the fact that it is shot
at a low key angle which makes the viewer feel inferior as the bald
eagle is a predator therefore the viewer feels like it is in the threat
of a notorious killer.

4. • Scorsese heavily bombards the audience with editing and
cinematography in order to show the feel of this thriller. This is seen
when a two shot happens. The water has not been removed from the
shot however it is coupled with only what we can believe to be a
characters face, this is followed by an extreme close up of the characters
nose. This is not the only use of cinematography used as a shot reverse
shot occurs as it goes from the water back to the face shot and then
obviously back to the water. There is also a shot of a hand in this scene.
This hand is important as it can be represented as a use of aggression as
guns, knifes and many other violent methods are used by the hands
therefore showing violence is a key theme of the thriller. The water takes
prevalence in this opening which once again shows an unknown theme

5. • The director plays on the fact that the audience is not aware of anything
therefore uses mystery as a key feature. This is shown by the use of a picture in
picture and the fact that it appears from water emphasises the feeling of the
unknown. The use of the girl creates a disturbing atmosphere as she is the first
character we meet and the use of the uneasy diegetic dialogue once again runs
alongside the theme of the opening so far.
• The girl once again is used to create emotion from the audience. This time she
has been filtered with a red. Red has connotations with death and blood which
suggests that this girl has some type of trouble behind her. However the attire
of this girl juxtaposes the red filter. The girl is wearing a white dress. White
represents purity and innocence which clearly is n ot the theme of this movie
however little girls have been known as the easiest to possess which creates
the thought that he girl could be dark and the white could represent demons or
a ghost. The low key lighting also adds an sinister affect to the girl in this scene.

6. • The scene changes to a very different situation. The scene is now a man
in a prison cell. This is shown when the fade and black out cut occurs.
This now shows an establishing shot of the prison, there are many shots
that show this and they are; the zoom out of the bars, the closed frame
shot and finally the point of view. The point of view shot is used
effectively as it leads to a tilt which allows us to see the reality of
someone actually staring at the wall. The man in this scene takes
prevalence and this is shown by the fact that he is the main role in the
tracking shot. This shot is also coupled by an high angle shot, this shot
could suggest that the fact he is in prison means that we as an audience
should look down on them and not accept him back into society. This
swiftly changes and a focus pull zoom is the next editing to take place this
use of editing shows the door handle which then motivates the change of
direction. This use of editing allows us to see the next steps for the
character. These shots have also allowed us to see the location

7. • There is also a closed frame shot. This is shown o the other side of the
chain gate which shows a prison. This symbolises captivity and a
sense of imprisonment. The use of the opening of the gate may seem
small however we thought that there may be a deeper meaning as
there was such an emphasis on the door and we finally understood
that is could represent the release of evil. Evil is also represented with
the weather. Pathetic fallacy takes place in this scene as the weather
clearly shows a storm is brewing which could show he is the storm
which is about to rain upon society.

8. • The title sequence opens with a rain storm brewing which would not
surprise the average viewer as a storm is a common convention in thrillers.
The dark skies of the scene represents an unsure atmosphere and will drive
fear into the viewer, this coupled with the diegetic soundtrack of the
thunder allows a sinister feel. The use of a sudden diegetic soundtrack
would startle the viewer and leave the viewer on ease as they would be on
edge of the seat as they may feel like it could happen again at any time.
The use of the quick paced string music suddenly being cut off once again
would create unease as that usually signifies something is going to happen
but it does not.
• The girl plays a huge part in setting the tone for the movie as she says that
the lake is mystifying which now shows that the tone of the movie is going
to be sinister.