Analysis of the Opening Seqeunce of 'The Village'

The film ‘The Village’ released in 2004, and directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan is a thriller- horror as it has some horror elements to it. The opening sequence of this film is of a high quality and is quite conventional of a thriller. The sound, editing, camerawork and mise-en-scene represent this.

When analysing the sound, the first piece of music heard is a composition of long, relatively high pitched, single notes which sound like they are played by a panpipe or woodwind instrument. As these notes are high pitched and long in duration they create an eerie and creepy effect, especially with the motion picture they are played with. Since the instrument playing these notes creates quite a soft sound, when the title of the film flashes into the frame and a loud drum beat is played it makes the viewer jump which can create tension within the audience and this will help to build up suspense for the rest of the sequence. Building up this suspense is a typical convention of a thriller. A fainter more continuous drum beta is played alongside the panpipes and then later violins. As these layers of instruments and sounds are built up and the volume of the music increases, the suspense builds up rapidly and dramatically creating even more tension for the viewer. This may make them feel very on edge yet wanting to see the result of this build up. Once the crescendo has been reached the drum beat and panpipes disappear leaving the violins which are played at a slow tempo which creates a sad melody for the beginning of the film itself where a funeral is taking place.

All of the sound within the opening sequence up until the first character speaks is non-diegetic.

The credits within the opening sequence fade in from the background of the frame and though the trees in the shot, this may give the audience clues to the narrative as the credits could resemble something, maybe a supernatural creature, that is hidden in a forest or wooded area but is striving to get out. As mentioned when analysing sound, the title of the film is edited well so that it flashes into the frame as the first drum beat is heard. At the very beginning a fade in, is used with the shot of the trees. This fade is very slow, gradually revealing the outlines of the trees to the viewer, this can be slightly disorientating for the audience as you cannot quite make out what the outlines are to start with. Low key lighting is also used making them frightening and very dark in both instances. When the viewer works out what they are, it is then a mystery what the significance of them is, again creating an unnerving atmosphere. Throughout the opening sequence the editing cuts from a slow pace to a much faster one, which may confuses the viewer slightly and could give clues to the narrative that the storyline is not straightforward but has twists and turns in it. This is another convention of a typical thriller film.

The continuity of the editing is very good however is non-linear throughout the credits but then changes to linear when the actual film begins.

The camerawork in the opening credits for ‘The village’ is quite simplistic but very effective at disorientating the viewer as it is one continuous, low angle, tracking side wards shot. By showing the trees from a low angle makes the viewer feel intimidated especially because they are tall and spindly without leaves. This feeling on intimidation, again, could give clues to the narrative that the forest itself is alive and scares the people living in the village or that something living within the forest is very scary and intimidating. This shot also makes the forest seem extremely daunting and creepy.

When the opening credits fade into the actual film and the narrative begins, a track forwards is used from behind a crowd of people and over their shoulders to focus on a man lying of a coffin, crying. This shot seems to represent the point of view from the crowd as it slowly edges forward, like the crowd may if they want to give the man support but still give him space as they care about him. This shot is soon contrasted by the next, which is an over the shoulder shot of the crying man at a canted angle in a handheld camera style. This shot looks as if it is from the point of view of someone who is not part of the crowd and does not have much respect for the man or the funeral, someone who is peering in but is not welcome. The shaky cam and the canted angle could show that this person is the protagonist with a flaw because these camera angles and styles are not conventional and quite right. However is could show the antagonistic character, as being the evil one and trying to peer in on a situation where they are not welcome.

The mise-en-scene can be studied most easily at the end of the credits where the narrative begins; all of the characters in the shot are wearing old fashion, dull coloured clothing and look a bit like an Amish sort of community. This seems a bit strange as the film is set in the modern day. The fact that they are all standing a significant distance away from the man with the coffin also comes across to be strange and not the stereotypical funeral set up. The grave near the coffin seems to be the only one present and there is a statue of the Virgin Mary near the coffin and the grave. All of these aspects appear to be out of the ordinary and quite surreal but could also give clues to the narrative. In the shot after the funeral scene all of the people are sitting at long wooden tables, the adults are separate from the children. All the facial expressions are very solemn. This makes the viewer think the death of the young boy was a very morbid one and one not to be spoken about.

Overall I think that this sequence is a very successful one in terms of meeting thriller conventions. However the horror elements within it do challenge some conventions but because it is not very morbid or gory, which it sways it more toward a thriller film.