The opening sequence of Sunset Boulevard begins with the Paramount logo fading into a shot of the street name. The music then becomes more dramatic as the titles play. The black and white film, old cars, clothes, and cameras shown in the first scenes immediately set the period and theme. The narrator explains in the first scene that the homicide squad has arrived about a committed crime, shown through a whip pan camera shot and police sirens. The introduction is a flashback to a murder at a mansion. Subsequent scenes show police and news cars arriving at the house to continue the investigation.

1. Short Analysis of Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The sequence has quite a boring beginning; it starts with the
paramount picture logo, which then fades to a shot of a street
path with the name „SUNSET BLVD‟. Then when the titles
sequence comes on, the music then begins to get faster and
seems more mysterious and dramatic. When watching this
opening sequence, you can immediately tell when it was set
because of the old fashioned cars and clothes. Also the fact
that it is in black and white sets the theme of the movie. The
props used in some of the scenes, for example the cameras are
very old which shows how old the movie is.
To start the first scene there‟s dialogue from the narrator. In
this scene the narrator explains what‟s going on in the scene…
“That‟s the homicide squad, complete with detectives and
newspaper men.” This shows us that a crime has been
committed, the camera shot used here is a whip pan,and this
suggests the speed and urgency of the police cars. The
introduction is actually told in a flashback about a murder that
took place in a mansion. The sound of police sirens shows the
determination of the police and the importance of the crime.
The next scene shows the police and newspapermen turning up
at the house, we see a shot of all the old-fashioned police cars
and motorbikes (mise en scene)this portrays the year in which
this was made.