Spiderwick chronicles analysis
- 2. The sound at the start of the sequence is very mystical and the notes seem to introduce the titles, this sets the tone for the scene telling us that the things we are seeing are out of the ordinary. The undertones sound almost sinister but the violins and higher tones make it seem very magical evoking that we could be about to experience these two qualities in the film. There is a rhythm to the non digetic music which sounds like a heartbeat so this makes us more involved in the scene because we feel more connected to it.
- 3. As the character enters, the music becomes more chaotic to match what we are seeing. This tells the audience that the character has to move quickly because he could be under pressure to complete his task.
- 4. We then hear a digetic sound of a creature roaring in the distance and a low rumble as if an earthquake is immanent; this alarms the audience and we feel on edge as we worry about what will happen to the character as the source of the noise gets closer. The sound then dissolves into the theme music and everything becomes calm, suggesting time has passed.
- 5. The first shots in the scenes are extreme close ups and close ups of mystical creatures. The low key lighting here makes the creatures look spooky and this suggests that the creatures are going to be used for a sinister experiment. The colours here are also cold tones which foreshadow that the person who uses these creatures might be the ‘bad’ character in the film because it all comes across as very unfriendly.
- 6. Here the low key lighting is effective because it highlights parts of the room that are most important to give us the most important messages. The window shape tells us that this could be an old fashioned house, possibly a mansion which is often seen as a mysterious setting in action adventure films where something unexpected happens. The bottles tell us that this is an old fashioned room for experiments, this adds to the eerie atmosphere of the room.
- 7. The use of low angle shots when the character enters the room gives us a sense of mystery and it makes us want to see the characters identity so it adds to the excitement of the sequence. The close ups of the equipment around the room also adds mystery because you cannot see the whole picture and not enough time is given to fully process what we are seeing on screen so we wonder what we are seeing. The shots don’t become fully clear until nearer the end of the opening sequence and this is done specifically to keep us guessing.
- 8. The editing is very fast during the points that the subject works in his office because it is supposed to tell us the sort of work he does and about all the research he is collecting. The quick cuts between the shots help to shift our attention to the separate things he is doing and telling us the important pieces of information about him. The editing starts to build up nearer the end of the scene and it climaxes when we hear the roar, the slower cuts show us that he is in a bad situation because it’s like he has given up with finishing his research.