"I AM LEGEND" Thriller Opening

I Am Legend - 2007

SOUND

In the recorded news report there is no sound but the interviewee's voice. No non-diagetic soundtrack is used so that as well as the report seeming more convincing it also doesn't distract the audience from information that is important for the rest of the film.

The first non-diagetic sound effect is once the screen goes black there is a meanacing boom from an orchestra drum.This sound alone connotes that what she has just said may have gone wrong without having to narrate a length story of how it went wrong.

In the chase scene the diagetic roar of the car is emphasised and is almost like the roar of a predator who in the wild would chase the deer and this displays Will Smith, the protagonist, as a predator in his wild environment.

The shots of New York have no non-diagetic soundtrack and the natural jungle sounds seem incongruous with what we know of New York.

CAMERA WORK

The filming of the TV emphasises it was in the past. It also adds mood and the blurry TV image seems quite sinister. Also the view of the TV makes us feel we are actually watching it from our homes as if it was actually going to effect us and adds realism. The blurry recorded TV picture also seems distant and already connotes something may have gone wrong.

BELOW: The news report recorded from the TV through the camera seems sinister

The first establishing shot of extreme long shot tilt surveying the city shows the huge impact on the city and establishes what went wrong without lengthy oral narration.

The cliche images of stereotypical New York are shown to be morphed by the jungle undergrowth and morphs the audiences normal perspectives of reality.

ABOVE: A morphed picture of cliched images of New York changing the audiences perception of New York.

A birds eye view of only his car moving  through the deserted streets emphasises how alone he is.

MISE EN SCENE

Even though recorded off TV the shot is still very dark and no other props are used in shot this means the audience are not distracted from important information that they may miss if there was brighter lights in shot or distracting props.

The positioning of the cars either crashed  or under water establishes death, desertion and being alone. The mix between the dark undergrowth and the ambient sunlight seems like the jungle. Both these combined try to convince the audience New York, a once bustling city, is now deserted.

The setting is vital in this extract as well. If the piece was filmed in a country village it wouldn't have such a big impact on the audience. However the choice of New York, a urban mega city, would be the last place expected to seem deserted or consumed in jungle. Because New York is so stereotypically busy and industrialised it seems uneasy and spooky for the audience to see it deserted and overgrown.

BELOW: The deserted overgrown streets of New York seem incongruous with audiences normal perception of New York.

EDITING

Long straight cuts are used on the shots of New York buildings and the length of these cuts emphasises how deserted it is. If quick cuts were used it would seem as if there was something there or hiding that would require a faster pace however the deserted streets combined with long straight cuts connotes the emptiness of a once bustling city.

A subtitle is used in the XLS establishing shot saying "THREE YEARS LATER" to establish time instead of the audience having to guess what time period it is.

ABOVE: A subtitle is used in the first establishing shot to immediately denote the time period.

When the news report has ended a straight cut to black is used to separate it from the establishing shot. A straight cut is used apposed to a fade or wipe because a fade or wipe wouldn't emphasise the tension needed to show that the interviewees cure for cancer backfired.
 A straight cut to black for a few seconds connotes the passing of time without a fade which wouldn't have enough impact on the audience.

George