Quentin Tarantino uses nonlinear storytelling techniques like flashbacks and flashforwards in the opening scenes of Kill Bill. This allows the audience to understand events that happened before to lead up to the current situation. The opening scene shows the Bride crying in black and white to set the scene in the past, before cutting to Bill's shoes approaching in color to transition to the present. Split screens are also used to establish tension, showing the Bride unaware of an impending threat as ominous music plays. Tarantino references other films through shots and styles to set tones and allude to the power dynamics between characters.

1. What are some of the ingredients of Quentin Tarantino’s style that are apparent in
the opening scenes of the film? Identify them and describe their effect.
Quentin Tarantino uses a lot of flashbacks and flash forwards. This is used so the audience can
understand what happen before which lead up to the existing event. Because Tarantino would
usually start at the end of the film then use a flashback do describe what had happened in recent
situations which lead to the present occurrence. An example of this is in Kill Bill during the
opening scene you see the bride at a low angle shot crying then it jump cut to a close up tracking
shot of bill shoes this shot implies that bill is approaching her. But in this opening scene the
camera is on the bride this is to show her vulnerability. In the next scene Quentin Tarantino flash
forward is to make the audience think on what has happened and what is doing to happen.
Because the style of quentin tarantino filming is not chronological it is very much non linear.
What I mean by this is he doesn’t tell a story from start to finish he explore different ways of
filming.

2. What is the effect of the opening shot and why is it so important for the story?
It important to the story because it show the audience the event that had occurred for it to get
to this part of the film. The way that Tarantino shot this scene was in black and white instead of
colour. This could have been used to show the past and he did this from a traditional way of
filming. The reason it so effect is from thee unexpected non diegetic sound of a gun shot. This is
to make the audience observant of their surroundings. Also it is the plot on why the bride
avenges the deaths of her future family being killed by assassins. However Taranto next scene
after the bride being shot is the scene that should come at the end if it was in chronological
order. However he changes it and Vernita Fox isn’t a character of importance so the death of her
wouldn’t have a significant shock to the audience. So this is why Tarantio play with the that it
filmed because a non linear way will have Barthes Enigma code which make the audience pay
more attention to the film because it allows the audience to question it more then if it was a
chronological film. This is due to the audience not understanding what is happening and it make
them nervous on what could happen next.

3. How does the director use editing techniques to establish the relationship
between the bride and Vernita Fox
There is a history between these two characters shown through editing because when the bride
knock at the door and Vernita answers there is a instate were there a flashback which is in the
background being faded in and it showing the bride being beaten by her. Then there a jump shot
to the bride facial expression and looking aggressive. What Tarantino has done here is show the
audience what the bride is thinking when knocking on the door of Vernita Fox’s door. This allows
the audience to understand the situation that might occur next. By doing this the audience might
understand what event will happen next in the film due to the character thinking about those
memorise and the audience seeing the actress portray her emotion through her facial expression
this is known as modular narrative- episodic which is where the audience can predict what will
happen next. This link to the bride and Vernita relationship by there being broken due to there
history.

4. Why is the split screen an effective piece of storytelling?
The split screen allow the audience to see the innocent of the bride and her being unaware that
she was going to be killed due to her being in a coma. The way the tarantino build the climax was
by having non diegetic music to make the audience aware and alert that what might happen. I t
allow the audience to see two different thing happening at the same place in time. By the
director using this style instead of jump cut could build the climax of the scene on what might
happen. Also it is different from the other types of modular narrative because their modularity is
articulated along spatial rather than chronological or time-based lines. These films divide the
screen into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field.

5. Tarantino is well known for including references to other film texts in his films. How
has he implemented this in the opening of Kill Bill? What do the references suggest
about the filmmaker and audience?
Tarantino uses some original ideas for his films. However there are some film-text’s that he uses
when making kill bill volume 1. An example is when he took citizen Kane’s black and which shot of
the dolly shot of the dead body and used it in one of the opening scenes in Kill Bill. This present
the idea that the character is dead and at piece by using the dolly shot of the body. Another
example is the good the bad the ugly. This type of shot is in the opening scene of kill bill with a
gun pointed at her head. This point of view low angle shot of the bride shows the audience her
innocent and it tell the audience the man out of shot Bill has the power in this scene. My final
example is the shot from Black Sunday with the split screen, because the shots that are used in
this sequence show the vulnerability of the main character. This is why Tarantino decided to
present this style of filming so the audience are able to see the threat to the main character and
make an assumption on what will happen.

6. By Laurence Bunney