Analysis Of 'The Shining' Opening Scene

The opening scene for Stanley Kubrick's classic adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Shining is extremely effective in setting the tone for the rest of the film.




Sound


The music used to accompany the establishing shot is extremely artificial and perverse, greatly contrasting the natural, serene landscape shown. The ominous tone of the music also serves to build tension and foreshadow the later events in the film. The music is unnatural to the point that it is almost impossible to distinguish what instruments are being used- and this again creates a disorientating effect on the audience. This can also hint to the audience that the films events will have some supernatural element- something 'other' that neither the characters involved nor the audience are able to understand- yet fear greatly. The initial deep, brass tone to the music creates a sense of intimidation over both the family in their seemingly miniature car below (an effect created by the bird's eyes angle) and the audience themselves. This alludes to the inescapable and horrific supernatural power that Jack Torrance will adopt later on in the film. Just prior to the reveal of the infamous Overlook Hotel- the music quietens almost to a complete stop- before suddenly swelling again as the Hotel comes into view. This effectively foreshadows the horrific events that will take place there as the film progresses. As the camera moves slowly past the Hotel, an unsettling and extremely unnatural call slowly builds in the background (2;48)- gradually overpowering the other music and effectively disturbing the audience. The sound is akin to a manipulated human cry- which foreshadows the terror and tragedy inflicted on the characters by supernatural forces. The way in which this sound slowly fades out his highly symbolic of the rapidly fading hope the audience feels for the main characters' survival.



Lighting

The sequence uses natural light throughout- all of the footage is taken outside. This use of naturalism throughout the sequence in terms of lighting adds to the realism an audience of a Psychological Horror should feel- adding to the idea that they themselves could experience what the characters in the film do. The opening sequence seemingly takes place at morning, so is dominated by high-key lighting, contrasting the expectations an audience has of a Horror. However, shadow is used throughout to represent the on coming doom that the Torrance family are slowly moving closer to. For the duration of the sequence- the lighting is soft, meaning that the audience can see no clear focus or sharp outline on any object. This serves to further disorientate them- as the blurry lack of clarity distresses the audience who- by a majority- would be used to expecting clear, perfect vision. this lack of control over what they can see is distressing and helps to build the tension.


Camera movement

Camera movement is extremely effective in this sequence. The way in which the camera initially swerves across the scene is extremely disorientating for the audience- as it becomes hard to focus on any one aspect of the landscape shown. The unnatural way in which the camera moves is similar to how P.O.V shots are used in film- giving the audience the impression that they are flying over the landscape. This is again, very unnatural and disturbing to the audience, hinting to the later supernatural influence in the film. Throughout this sequence- the camera generally passes quite quickly over each scene- getting a sweeping overview of the landscape. However, as the Overlook Hotel first comes into shot (2:43) - the camera movement slows, giving the audience a long and lasting look at the Hotel. This shows to the audience that the Overlook will be crucial in the events of the film- and gives ample time for the audience to be unsettled by the Hotel itself (see Imagery).


Camera angles


The initial high angle serves to place the audience above the events of the films- hinting at the way in which the characters and their actions are below us as an audience. It also introduces the audience as an observer- helpless to prevent the events of the film, atrocious as they are. This idea fits with the next shot- a bird's eye view which again, places the audience in a higher position. For a short time- the camera slowly lowers to come eye-level with the family's car (1:23). The audience are unsettled by this- as their previous feeling of security by being placed as an observer above the action below is taken away- and they are made to feel in equal position and therefore danger as the family in their car. The camera slowly returns to the bird's eye view placing the audience comfortably back into a false sense of security once more. However, as the Hotel Overlook comes into view, the camera gradually falls back into the eye level angle. By the end of the sequence, the audience is level with the Hotel- signifying that any sense of security they may have had previously is false- they cannot overcome the supernatural power that the Hotel holds. The audience are suddenly made to feel much smaller- the initial 'God-like' feeling they were given when looking over the scenery is taken away and they are left to feel in the same position as the characters. As it has already been established that the characters will face tragedy and suffering in this Hotel, by placing the audience in the same positioning as them- they are installed with the fear the characters should feel when entering the Hotel.

Framing


The initial extreme long-shot is used to establish the setting - the Rocky Mountains in North America (see Imagery). Up until (1:11) the sequence is entirely composed of Extreme long shots- until slowly transitioning into a Long shot at this point. The slow shift between this shots serves to create a gradual terror in the audience as they are removed from their original position of security above the action below. By (1:26), the camera frame is not at a Medium shot, and the family's car is the main subject focus of the scene. The audience is brought so close to the family, before quickly moving away again until the car is, once again, out of shot. This is symbolic for the way in which the audience will interact with the family throughout the film- able to understand and grow attached to them for only a short while before they are ripped apart by the horrific events later in the film. The framing slowly returns to the original Extreme Long shot, luring the audience back into their false sense of security- whilst also reminding them that they are only observers and can do nothing to help the family as they drive steadily on towards their doom. The use of a Medium shot when the Hotel Overlook is first shown is chilling- throwing the audience back into their previous fears that neither they nor the Torrance family will survive the duration of the film without suffering some kind of horror at the Hotel.




Mise en scene


The sequence follows a single vehicle- alone on a long, winding road and surrounded by woods. This is a very powerful representation of the family (Jack, Wendy and Danny Torrance) inside this vehicle. Arguably, this imagery is used to convey how the family are isolated throughout the film- where the family stay in an abandoned hotel far from civilisation. This is mirrored by how the car drives alone on the road- surrounded by woods and seemingly, very isolated. The road is also powerfully symbolic. The road is winding, hard to follow, and crucially- has no other roads or paths connecting to it. This is representative of how the family are heading towards a great tragedy- and that it is now too late to turn away from it. The few cars that they do pass could be representative of the other minor characters the family interact with throughout the film. The setting itself is extremely symbolic also. The Rocky Mountains: isolated, intimidating and void of civilisation. These connotations all help to add to the building suspense and also to the audience's growing fear and loss of hope for the family below. Interestingly, we see the Overlook Hotel before we ever see any of the family members- perhaps suggesting that the grand Hotel is more significant and important to the film's plot than any one of the other characters. Pathetic fallacy also plays a significant part in the opening sequence. The use of fog serves to represent the hidden horrors at the Hotel- the metaphorical concealment of fate from the Torrance family. The sudden change of terrain (2:33) from grassy forests to deep snow is striking. It serves to show the audience that the Overlook Hotel is alien and other to the Torrance's- that it is significantly different and set apart from the rest of the normal human world. Finally- the fact that the Torrance's drive a yellow car- generally a colour used to represent happiness and hope- is tragically ironic, heavily contrasting the dull grey hopelessness of the road and the Overlook Hotel.



Editing

As far as an audience can tell, little to no editing has been done to these shots other than perhaps cropping them to allow a further focus on a subject rather than using a zoom on a camera- therefore allowing the opening to keep it's blurry distorted image (see Lighting). This further adds to the idea that the producer is trying to keep the footage as natural as possible- contributing to the audience's fear that the events of this film could happen to them too.

Psychological Horror Conventions


It is typical for Psychological Horrors to take place in seemingly normal settings, (typically big houses/hospitals/ warehouses etc.) surrounded by large woodland areas, so that the horror comes from the characters and their mental manipulation rather than a unnatural place past an audience's imagination. Therefore, the horror is something an audience is feels could happen to them, as it happened to the originally normal characters within the film. By opening the film on a generic road, and using a Hotel surrounded by indistinguishable woods as a main setting, The Shining follows this convention of the Psychological Horror. Another convention of the Psychological Horror is that the horror shown stems from real, unexplored fears humans may have in real life. The film serves to expose and entertain these fears. The Shining plays on many of these human fears, and in the opening sequence the main fear they tackle would be the natural human fear of isolation- shown in the lack of other cars, lack of connecting roads and the wide homogeneous forest.


Conventions of a film opening

The Shining's opening scene following the conventions of a film opening in terms of credits- the director, actors, main producers, author of the film's inspiration and screenplay writer are all named in quick succession of each other, which is expected- but the colour and font style are extremely odd choices. It is expected that opening credits match the themes/genre of the film they belong to- so for a horror, dark red or black font in an unusual or striking style. for example- the unique credit font style used in the TV show: American Horror Story. Instead, the producer chose a simple font style- in an almost fluorescent shade of blue. This choice confuses the audience- as it challenges the expectations the audience has for this genre. This in fact works to serve the conventions of a Psychological Horror- as the audience's disorientation and confusion adds to the tension the film is beginning to gradually build. The credits end just before the Overlook Hotel is shown. The confusion caused by the credits flows seamlessly into this scene- contributing to the awe and fear the audience experience when they first see it. More generally, the opening sequence does follow a few, though not all of the conventions of a film opening. Typically, the opening sequence is designed to set the scene, give exposition to the audience and ease them into the plot. The Shining does few of these things- showing no characters, giving no exposition or plot detail, only the establishing shot of the Rocky Mountains giving any insight- showing setting. However- it does follow the popular trope of mystery- especially popular with Horror/Thriller films. Openings will begin by introducing a subject which generates questions for the audience which are resolved at the end of the opening sequence. In The Shining, the audience wonders who is in the car- and where they are going. With the reveal of the Overlook Hotel- the audience then knows that this is where the car was headed and so therefore it is safe to assume that they are a family, staying at the Hotel together.

What we'll take from it

At this very early stage in our production- it is difficult to say exactly what details of this sequence we might take on with our own film opening, but I think the clever uses of pathetic fallacy, themes of isolation and other aspects of the Psychological Horror will most definitely feature in our coursework.