The opening scene of The Devil Wears Prada establishes the main character as she gets ready for her day. Shots of her small, dull wardrobe are juxtaposed with shots of other glamorous women's large, walk-in closets to show the character is less wealthy and fashionable. The cheerful music establishes the film's genre as comedy or romance. The character is then shown feeling out of place as she walks uncomfortably through the large building where she works, Elias-Clarke publications.

1. The Devil Wears Prada. My Shot-By-Shot analysis of the opening scene.

2. Credits appear on what appears to be a steamy mirror. The Character, who we immediately assume is the main protagonist, wipes the mirror in order to get a better view of herself as she brushes her teeth. Special effects are added to make the credits disappear with the steam as she wipes it away. The cheerful non-digetic sound of music immediately suggests that the genre of this film will be a Romance/comedy etc. Rather than horror or thriller.

3. Credits continue, but the location changes. The shooting cuts to an establishing shot which allows the audience to see the location. The location could make suggestions on the character we have just met, e.g. Wealth, job etc. The cheerful music continues.

4. We witness a variety of women also getting ready, the camera angles include close ups focusing on which item of clothing they are putting on. The focus of these items makes the audience notice how expensive they seem to be.We might also ask ourselves if there is more than one main character? We are then taken back to the first character who pulls some large ordinary underwear out of her draw, this makes us wonder whether the other women were shown to make a comparison of their lifestyles. Perhaps this character isn't as glamorous and wealthy? The cheerful non-digetic music continues.

5. Comparisons continue to be made as watch the glamorous women look through their large walk-in wardrobes, whilst the main character looks through her small, dull wardrobe. The long shot in the second still image emphasises the size/length of the wardrobe. The next shot shows the character looking vulnerable as she appears to be looking up in fear. We are then shown another establishing shot of a tall building, which explains the previous high angle shot. – The non-digetic music continues.

6. The non-digetic music continues as a tracking shot shows the character walking uncomfortably through a large building. The way she is being knocked by passing people shows she is out of place. The non-digetic music starts to slow down therefore we know that the opening scene is coming to an end, a high angle shot shows the character looking very small and vulnerable again in the large building. This could also be considered an establishing shot as the audience starts to realise where the character is (Elias-Clarke publications).