In this clip the hyperbolic sound is used. The use of this technique emphasises the force at which the characters are hitting one another and makes the audience feel sorry the man being beaten up in the extract as it makes it sound extremely painful. The violence in the opening sequence of the film prepares the audience for what will come up next int he film and allows them to see that it will be filled with a lot of violent scenes and death. The soft, asynchronous music also heard in the background juxtaposes the sound of the fighting. This may represent the contrasting themes in the film and also help to confuse the audience. The calm music helps to calm down the audience and reassure them that the character is going to be fine at the end of this, but dies which would shock the audience. This allows them to prepare as not everything in this film is as they would expect.
Another effective use of the micro-element of sound in the opening sequence is the diegetic sound of the TV playing at the very beginning. This creates a sense of normality for the audience as he is relaxing at home just watching television like most people would, and suddenly a man bursts through the door. The door suddenly being smashed down would shock the audience as before that moment everything had been very quiet and "normal", and the the appearance of the antagonist is surprising for the man as he is just going about his life as normal. The loud bang would make the audience jump as it comes out of nowhere and they would no be expecting it.
Cinematography
In the opening sequence of Watchmen cinematography is used to great effect to show the genre. For example, a lot of close ups and extreme close ups are used at points of action to help emphasise the impact of the action, for example when the gun is shot, the cup is thrown at the wall and he is punched in the face. This allows the audience to truly see how powerful the punch and the throw was, and would make the audience understand the strength of these characters and how much danger they are in.
The eye line match when the protagonist looks at his gun on the table, and then it cuts to a shot of his gun lying on top of a magazine is very effective as it shows the audience that he is in some form of danger. It allows the audience to see that he is preparing to fight and is looking for his gun so he can use it on the man who is standing outside of the door. This would make the audience think that the man is in a lot of trouble as he is having to reach for a gun to defend himself, but it also may make him come across as paranoid and bad as he has a gun so ready on display in his house.
Editing
The pace of the editing in the clip changes over time. In the beginning of the opening sequence it is very slow, such as when he sitting down in his chair watching television, as the character is very relaxed and is not expecting for anything to happen. This makes the audience feel that everything is fine and that nothing bad will happen, however as time goes on in the clip the pace of the editing speeds up as the two characters are fighting and the fast pace of the shots helps to increase the pace of the action. The increase in pace of shots as time goes on may represent how the characters life changed from relatively normal and calm to hectic and crazy up towards his death.
Another effective use of editing in the opening sequence is the use of slow motion at certain moments, which then speeds up shortly afterwards to carry on the flow of the action. The slow motion may have been used help emphasise the pain that the character is going through as it primarily slows down at points where he is getting hit hardest, such as when he is thrown out of the window and punched in the face. By extending the shots it allows the audience to get a true look at the pain in the characters face and see what he is going through even longer making the audience empaphise for him.
Mise en Scene
Throughout the opening sequence low-key lighting is used. A prime example of this is when the antagonist walks through the door and almost all of his body is blacked out in shadows. The use of low-key lighting to this extreme obscures a lot of information as his body and face is covered in shadows meaning that the audience is unable to get a look at him and tell who he is. This creates a sense of mystery for the audience as they do not know who he is and why he is beating this elderly man up for no apparent reason. This would make the audience want to watch on as a large amount of mystery and questions are brought up. This is a very common convention of this genre of film.
Another use of mise en scene in the opening sequence is the use of costumes and props. The antagonist is seen wearing black throughout and the elderly man has a dressing gown, and props of a cigar and a gun. The black clothing worn by the antagonist is very conventional of "evil" characters in films as it holds lots of negative connotations of death and horror. This allows the audience to instantly recognise him as being in the wrong in the situation. The elderly man's costume is a dressing gown which shows that he was unprepared for the encounter and had no intention to fight him. It creates a sense of weakness for the character as he wasn't ready to fight and isn't prepared. The props he uses show a lot about his character. He has a cigar which is bad for your health and a gun which is a deadly weapon. This shows the audience that something isn't quite right about this man and that he isn't exactly a hero himself.
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| He is holding a cigar to his mouth. |
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