The opening sequence of Don't Breathe introduces 3 characters robbing a house. Their casual clothing and items stolen indicate they are not professionals. Through shots of their actions and expressions, viewers learn one is reckless, one likes clothes/jewelry, and the third is more careful. The sequence builds suspense through intense music and lighting while revealing clues about the characters and crime. It effectively sets up expectations for a crime/thriller film and draws viewers in to learn the characters' motivations and how events unfold.

1. TITLE & OPENING SEQUENCE
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
DON’T
BREATHE

2. The film I am analysing is called ‘Don’t Breathe’. This is the film we were
focusing on most of all when we were coming up with the idea of our own
film. In the beginning of the films’ opening sequence we see 3 characters
standing in a room spread out which tells us the relationship between these
characters. There is some music playing over the top of the video which is
quite fast paced and intense, meaning that this opening scene is meant to
cause suspense and quickly tell us a bit about what is going on. There is
high-key lighting throughout the sequence, so it plays on the suspense type
of feeling with the intense music meaning that although what is happening is
bad, we get that safe feeling that no one will get hurt at this moment. With the
characters, we find out a bit more about them by their facial expressions and
body movements. The camera consistently cuts from one character to another
as they are in different rooms robbing this house. Most of all we notice that
the taller guy with the facial hair is quite a punk and hasn’t got a care in the
world. We get this first impression by what he says in the beginning of the
sequence.

3. Towards the end of the opening sequence we find out more about each of the
characters and what exactly is going on. We know that they are burglars but
we also know that they are not very skilled burglars, for example, the guy with
the beard urinates over the house meaning he is leaving traces of his DNA and
could get caught. We see that the girl likes clothes and jewellery as she tries
on different articles of clothing. And lastly we know that the other guy is more
careful about it all and not leaving any trace. The scene mainly consists of
long shots, mid close ups and close ups of the characters and objects apart
from the last section which is an extreme long shot that pans out. The type of
costume and props shown in this sequence indicate that these people are
middle/low class and are not professional as they are dressed casual and the
items they steal are not like expensive diamonds or stacks of cash.

4. Overall, this opening sequence is a way of giving the audience some
background information and letting them get to know the main characters.
Straight away people will assume this is a crime or thriller film because it has
a similar style to other films like that and also we see criminal activity within
the first few seconds. Personally, I feel like this opening will draw me in more
as I would care to find out their reason behind it all and I would like to know
where they would go from this point onwards. Similarly, the opening sequence
for our own film have 3 characters breaking into a house to rob it but straight
away we will see that things go wrong. However, we will not fully reveal what
has happened as our opening scene starts off in the future and towards the
end of the 2 minutes we have, it will cut back to the 3 characters before they
break into the house. Therefore, this will draw the audience in to find out
what happens to them and what is yet to come for the rest of the film.