My nine frame analysis of my opening sequence

1. Sinners Never Sleep 9
frame Analysis
What our opening establishes
about our movie.

2. The first Frame: The
establishing shot
The establishing shot was specifically done to
indicate to the audience where our opening is
taking place in and it is supposed to foreshadow
that our movie is based around the school
environment. Not only does the first frame
establish the setting, but it also indicates to the
audience of the time of day that the opening was
set in too.

3. The second, third And fourth
frames: corridor longshots
The second and third frames were mostly intended to
identify to the audience the genre of our movie. Unlike
the other horror sub-genres, we found it very difficult to
find a way of demonstrating our idea of what
psychological horror was in such a short time. Then we
decided that using very low key lighting and flickering
lights in a school corridor were a good idea of trying to
connote the psychological horror effects within the first
nine frames as it also helps to illustrate to the audience
our setting interior, identify our movie sub-genre and
the atmosphere which invites the audience to feel the
strange eerie and mysterious atmosphere.

4. The fifth, sixth and seventh
frames: mid-shots
These are the very first shots that our protagonists,
Rachel appears in, so we thought that it would be an
amazing idea that we try to establish as much information
about her without giving away to much, that’s why the
camera was placed at angles where the audience can
familiarise themselves with her. Her Abaya and hijab were
obvious give away the imply that she is a religious woman.
The white board was part of the frames where the
audience is capable of seeing it, and the camera also
focuses on her marking some work which further allows
them the connote the fact that she happens to be a
teacher too.

5. The eighth frame: Over the
shoulder shot
This shot had only one purpose which was to ascertain to the audience the time of
day it was (I.E. 8:53). This suggests to the audience that Rachel is a hardworking
woman who is devoted to her teaching career which explains why she was still doing
work in school instead of being at home. This simple bit of detail invites the audience
to sympathise with her. It was also there to create the expectation the audience to
believe that our audience is a complete saint, when as a matter of fact, she isn’t
considering the fact that she was involved in Lola’s death. This establishes to the
audience about the theme and narrative of our movie, because it emphasises that
usually the bad things we do are left between us and our conscience. (In this case,
nobody knows the wrong she has done at this point in the movie and so her ‘evil
doings’ are left alone with her.

6. The ninth frame: door long shot
We tried to make this shot a little bit ambiguous where Lola goes past the
door and says “follow me”. This heightens the sensation of fear and dread to
the audience, because considering that it was almost 9 p.m., pupils weren’t
expected to be at home, not in school. This signifies that something is not
right, and this little girl may be the cause of a disequilibrium to Rachel’s life
thus encouraging the audience to want to know more about her.

7. The MUSIC
The music we chose was initially the opening music for the movie ‘The
Exorcist’. We chose it for its fast tempo and playful tune. The fast tempo
makes the audience feel edgy and anxious to know more. while the playful
aspects of it (I.e. the xylophone) reflects that of a child’s playful personality,
or in other words, what Lola was like before she died.