Vertigo opening titles analysis

1. OPENING TITLES ANALYSIS:
VERTIGO (1958)
Henry Buxton

2. SHOT 1
The first shot opens on an extreme close up of a female’s face. This introduces a
character and makes us question her relevance in the film.

3. SHOT 2
The shot as been panned over to the female’s mouth which shows no
emotion. Lips could suggest a sexual or romantic theme.

4. SHOT 3
The camera then pans up to an extreme close up of the woman’s eyes. They
are dark and the pupil seems to be full. This could suggest fear in the
woman.

5. SHOT 4
The woman’s eyes begin to dart around from side to side. This can
again show fear within her, she is unknown as to what may happen
next.

6. SHOT 5
We then get a close up of the woman’s right eye with pupil still
dilated.

7. SHOT 6
The screen then becomes a
transparent red in front of the eye then
the movie title, ‘Vertigo’ zooming out
towards the screen. Vertigo means the
fear of heights so we question she may
be currently scared of high altitudes.

8. SHOT 7
A spiral illusion appears from the eye creating a sense of
hallucination.

9. REMAINING SHOTS
The remaining shots
consist of illusions
created by digital
media. These seem to
take shapes of spirals
and may represent
eyes.

10. ENDING SHOT
The final shot returns back to the eye with a spiral illusion once more,
This could show that this woman had been seeing this illusions all
along.