Research - Inception opening sequence analysis - Task B

In the very opening scene of Inception (2010) Christopher Nolan we see huge waves crashing against a rock, whilst dramatic music is playing in the background. This is used to create tension, almost all thriller begin like this to get the viewer hooked and on the edge of their seats. You can also hear the crashing of the waves in the background, this is also to create tension.

We then get a close up of Cobb ( Leanardo Di Caprio), this is an initial introduction of the main character and you can get a good look at his face and the emotions on his face. After this it goes from his face to two children playing on the beach. Which leaves the audience thinking who is this character and they may become intrigued. At this point the music changes to something more soft and less dramatic a kind of calming effect and the waves aren't crashing as much and are more like calm natural waves.

After the initial scene, we are then introduced a new character who pokes him with a gun who is clearly a part of an organisation. You can tell this by the all black uniform he is wearing and their is a small symbol in the middle of his cap. This makes the audience even more fascinated and he then shouts to someone dressed in a similar uniform in Chinese. This reinforces the idea that he is a part of an organisation and then the use the gun as a prop makes you believe that they are serious criminal organisation.

The next scene is inside a room, there looks very ancient and authentic Chinese with a lot of ancient artefacts and the ceiling is covered in Chinese lanterns. We then go from this scene to a new scene in the same room just at a different time with the same people. 

 At the start of the scene there is an establishing shot to show everyone involved in the scene, setting the scene. Throughout the scene they do not break the 180 degree rule, they do this to try and avoid confusion. In this clip they use a lot of shot reverse shots to show who is talking at a certain point and then it moves on to a different person when they reply. The close ups in the clip show the emotions clearly of the characters in the clip. They do this to show the three important characters in the clip. Whilst doing this it constantly keeps the tension rising within the scene, because they are trying to sell him the idea of Inception.   

The shots are very slow pace as the majority of the scene as the characters are  having a conversation. Switching from one character to the other, this effect doesn't build up much tension at all. The editing in the first scene is very basic and slow, not building up much pace. 

Ideas to take from this opening scene

The very first scene is a great tension builder with the crashing waves and dramatic movie which work very well with the thriller genre and is very important in setting the scene ready for the rest of the film. 

The shot reverse shot in the long conversation is a great addition along side the close ups of who is speaking makes it very clear who is speaking when and who is involved in thew conversation. 

It also uses a lot of close ups to really show the emotion of each character, which is essential in a thriller so it is easy to tell what each character is thinking/feeling.