Comparing 2 Past Coursework Openings

I compared 'The Second Personality' and 'The Cellar'.

The Cellar:

The Second Personality:



In The Cellar's opening shot there is non-diegitic music playing in the background, but the main audio focus of this shot is the heavy footsteps which are gradually getting louder. The shot is a low dutch angle with the camera being in a dark room which instantly signifies something is not right. The low angle makes the audience feel threatened by the sound of the footsteps and the darkness. The shot is of a door, with light coming through, which creates a sense of narrative enigma, as we have not been given any information about what is happening and why we are being shown this shot. The door then opens and somebody walks down the stairs but we still do not fully know what is going on. The shot is still the same at this point.
In The Second Personality's opening shot there is non-diegitic music playing, however it appears to be diegitic. This is because of the way to opening sequence has been shot. There is a shot of a radio as the music begins to play, however the music does not fade throughout the entire sequence.  The first shot we see is of somebody in bed, and the camera then switches to the radio as the music starts. We then go back to the bed and someone begins to get up. There is use of narrative engima here as the room is dark, and the shot is a low angle, signifying this person is dangerous and that we should perhaps feel vulnerable.

Strongest features:
The Cellar;

• There is a lot of shot variety in this opening. An example would be at 0:48, when there is a close up of a girl with her mouth taped up. The camera then zooms out to show her postion and we see she is being held captive.
• The editing for meaning to viewer is also well thought of. We firstly see what the current situation is, but then camera then switches to how the girl got to be in this positon then ge go back to her. The past event is in black and white, to signify this is a separate event. The camera then does a montage of the house, in which we presume it is all taking place, and the girl in the cellar.

The Second personality;

• There are also a lot of shot varities in this opening.

Weakest features:
The Cellar;

• For lighting, candles were used which did give a 'spooky' effect however at times, it was too dark to see what was happening.

The Second Personality;

• The editing for meaning to viewer is poor in this opening. The black and white effect is the same as The Cellar,  switching from past to present shots, however it is not clear as to why we are sent back to the past. There is a girl in the past shot, but she only appears briefly so we cannot tell if she is a major part of the film or not.