Latymer Opening Scene Analysis

I am going to analyze this film opening by students from Latymer, their film is called The Safehouse.



From the main mise en scene, we can see a young girl recollecting memories from a certain night. She is talking to the camera as if it is some kind of therapy session. There is nothing in the background and she is in the center of the shot, denoting that the story revolves around her and is centered on what happens to her. It can also show how she feels confined to stay within those four walls, in fear of being attacked again. To echo this, her costume is a hooded jumper, commonly worn inside the home, for comfort, showing how she is in a time of need and wants sympathy from the viewer. The lighting is rather dim reflecting the mood of the narrative, also the events in her flashback take place at night, which is a dark and dangerous time to be out for a young girl, this foreshadows the events which eventually takes place.

The music is very gentle which is complimentary to the scene as what she is discussing is a very sensitive subject. However as the sequence progresses, during the flashbacks, the music does get more louder and takes on a more serious tone. Even though it does get louder, it is still at a suitable volume, whereby the diagetic sound is still clear and coherent. With the use of the typewriter noises whilst the credits appear, it is unclear whether this is diagetic or non-digetic sound, however it still fits well with the narrative as it sounds like someone is transcribing what the character is saying. It also matches the font used for the credit, which come in the correct standard order.

There is a good example of match-on-match action in this trailer, it occurs when the main character is opening the door and walking into her house. They seamlessly edited these two shots for great continuity. The effects used when the character trips over are a positive as it helps the audience engage with what she is experiencing (dizziness).