The opening titles of the film Silent Hill uses a series of fast-paced shots with black and white cinematography, flickering lights, and zooming cameras to set an eerie and unsettling tone. Typography introducing the directors, producers and characters appears on screen in a gothic font style. Through a series of quick shots, the camera pans across a dirty and broken location, showing disturbing images on polaroids and newspapers of characters and stopping briefly on abnormal people and a trapped body. This establishes the horror genre and hints that the characters may be trapped in the mysterious and dangerous town of Silent Hill.

1. Step outline for film opening of: Silent Hill (2006)
Genre: Horror
Description of action Timings Mise-en-scene Sound Camerawork Editing Typography
Fades to black as the
typography of directors
name appears. Also setting
the scene of the concrete
floor
00:00:00 -
00:00:14
White comic sans
gothic font
positioning from
left to right.
Country music Continuous
panning shot
Transition from
black to black as
new font appears
Gothic style
writing to create a
horror genre
effect
The shot then changes and
begins to go up the
concrete fast then begins
to slow down.
00:00:14 –
00:00:17
Rusty type
concrete, quite
dirty as the
producers names
appear on the
left. White font
Country music N/A Fast transition and
cut from the grey
concrete to black to
help build up
tension as to what
the film is about
Same gothic style
to highlight the
executive
producer’s names,
creates an eerie
effect.
The shot then zooms out
from the wall enabling us
to see a TV not tuned in
connoting that there is
something not right which
is a horror convention
00:00:17 –
00:00:21
Black and white
creating a gothic
atmosphere. Use
of jail bars
signifying one of
the characters
may be trapped
Country music Backwards
panning,
maybe be an
auteur style of
the director to
include a lot of
panning
Zooms out enabling
the audience to see
the setting
N/A
The shot moves from the
right to left in a fast pace
to show the setting they
are in is also showing the
flooring
00:00:21 –
00:00:24
Black and white
colours used
Country music N/A Fast pace transition N/A
The camera is moving in a
bird’s eye view shot in
order to allow the
audience to see the cracks
in the floor, close up of a
woman’s photographed
face
00:00:24-
00:00:31
Black and White
effect used in
order to give a
haunting effect,
shadow effect to
create weary
atmosphere
Country music Fast panning
as it travels
along the floor
from a high
angle
Goes into a fast
zoom at the end into
the woman’s face
Typography of the
name of maybe
the woman in the
photograph in a
italic/ gothic
effect
Camera shows a zombie
like antagonist, showing
him crawling on the floor
00:00:31-
00:00:33
Black and white
effect with cracks
in it
Country music The camera is
positioned on
the floor to
Transition begins to
flicker with black
shadows
N/A

2. connoting the horror
genre.
make it look
the same level
as the zombie
Camera zooms into a
Polaroid picture of a male
looks very old connoting it
has been there a long time.
00:00:33-
00:00:38
Black and white,
with use of
crackling effect
to make the
picture look
more olden
Country music The camera
quickly pans
over to the
Polaroid and
looks down on
the picture
from a high
angle shot
The sudden
transformation from
a slow panning to a
fast one
N/A
It quickly zooms out of the
picture and begins to
quickly look all around the
room and also at one point
fades to black which
makes us unknown of
where they are. Also
sowing broken household
items on the floor.
00:00:38-
00:00:48
Black and white,
use of cracks
connote that
some sort of
danger has taken
place.
Country music The camera
moves of a fast
pace around
the room
enabling the
audience to
see the broke
items
The sudden fade
from black and
white to just black,
then quickly fades
back to black and
white
N/A
The camera then zooms
out and then zooms into
another Polaroid picture
of an actress in the film
00:00:48-
00:00:53
Black and white,
use of crackling
affect on the
picture to give it
an old effect.
Country music The camera
quickly zooms
in and out of
the picture
The use of the zoom
enabling the
audience to see her
clearly.
The typography of
a character of the
movie in an italic
comic sans font.
It then zooms out and
shows complete blackness
as it is panning along the
floor and then reveals a
scary looking child sitting
at the desk.
00:00:53-
00:00:58
Black and white,
uses of white
splices to create
a weary
atmosphere.
Country music The camera is
moving
quickly as it is
panning
across
creating an
establishing
shot.
The fast zoom out I
have gathered is
very common in this
opening titles.
N/A
We then see another
picture of a woman who
could be a lead actress in
00:00:58-
00:01:03
Black and white,
also a large splice
of whiteness and
Country music The camera
carries on
moving across
The use of the
splices to connote
the genre of horror
Comic sans
typography of the
woman’s name in

3. the film the image is
ragged up to give
it an old effect.
to the right
and focuses in
on the picture.
the picture in a
gothic style.
We are introduced to
another abnormal
character who appears to
have smashed up some
glass as it goes into
another picture on a
newspaper of a male
character.
00:01:03-
00:01:09
Black and white,
dark black
splodges across
the newspaper to
represent ink or
the era.
Country music The camera
continues to
move quickly
towards the
left and allows
the audience
to have a
quick glimpse
of the
abnormal
creature.
The use of the
panning
continuously creates
an establishing shot,
also at a very quick
pace to imply that
everything might be
happening at a fast
face.
Typography of the
characters name
as it comes up
next to the image
in a comic sans
font and very
gothic so it is the
same throughout.
We see a large use of the
location as it goes through
the majority of the room
which is quite corridor
like, also stops on a fuzzy
TV of a woman’s face.
00:01:09-
00:01:16
Black and white,
and also shows
the jail bars
similar to the
ones used at the
beginning, which
could resemble
the narrative. As
we are shown
through the
corridor I notice
that it is a old,
dirty and rustic
environment
Country music The camera
moves
extremely fast
and appears to
not know
which
direction it is
going in, it
then appears
to stop at the
TV to identify
maybe
another
character in
the film.
The extremely fast
panning and the use
of transitions as it is
flying through the
corridor.
N/A
Moves out of the jail bars
and into another section of
the room allowing the
audience to see the other
side of the room and into
another picture of a
different woman.
00:01:16-
00:01:21
Black and white,
not a lot seen in
this shot apart
from the imagery
but we see a
slight use of
broken pieces.
Country music The camera
moves out and
heads towards
the right and
looks into
another
picture.
The camera has
another use of zoom,
which is used
commonly in every
shot.
Typography of
one of the
characters name,
which is in a
comic sans font of
a gothic style.

4. Shows a person who is
trapped to inform the
audience that the film may
contain the themes of
being trapped.
00:01:21-
00:01:28
Black and white,
quite fast allows
the audience to
see more of the
antagonists. Also
shows the cracks
in a wall to
connote how
broken it is.
Country music The camera
moves fairly
fast however
stops when it
gets to the
trapped body
to let the
audience
aware of what
is happening.
A zoom is used
when it goes into
another picture to
allow the audience
to see clearly.
Typography of the
woman in the
image to show
who is present
also uses a gothic
font type.
Focuses in on the image as
it then pans through the
room showing all the bolts
and a ruined design on the
wall, allows the audience
to see the layout design.
00:01:28-
00:01:38
Black and white,
shows how the
building appears
to be falling
down apart
connoting the
horror genre.
Country music The camera
swiftly moves
across the
room allowing
the audience
to establish
the location.
Fast panning and
use of white
flickering as it lands
on the all design
N/A
At the beginning of the
shot it zooms out of a
picture and goes along the
floor and stops on a
flickering light bulbs and
as it flickers it goes into
another picture.
00:01:38-
00:01:50
Black and white,
the use of the
flickering light
bulb can be seen
as quite scary
and also
mysterious.
Country music The camera
pans along the
floor then
zooms into the
picture and
flickering light
bulb.
As the camera goes
into a bird’s eye
view it begins to
flicker and has a use
of transitions also a
zoom is included on
the light bulb.
N/A
We see the light bulb
quickly change to walking
abnormal people allowing
implying that they are
zombie like.
00:01:50-
00:01:56
Black and white,
also use of a
bright light to
replicate a man
holding a torch.
Country music The camera
moves as if it
is lost, moves
sharply
towards the
right.
Use of blurriness
allowing us to just
focus on the
antagonists in the
piece and the light
from the torch.
Typography is
used to show the
editors name of
the film in a gothic
font style.
We are looking straight
down on a stool placed
right next to the jail bars.
00:01:56-
00:02:00
Black and white,
with a distinctive
black and white
flooring to fit the
effect, also shows
the jail bars
Country music The camera is
as if it is being
lifted allowing
the audience
to look down
on the
Zooms out of the
flooring and also
blurs out the
beginning seconds.
N/A

5. again. location.