The Director of Borgman uses a variety of techniques to make the opening scene effective and intriguing so that it draws in the viewer and gives the audience a glimpse into how the rest of the movie will be. The opening scene in any Thriller is key as it sets up the foundation for the rest of the movie and lets the audience decide if the movie they're watching is going to be good or not. The thriller, Borgman centers around the deeply disturbing dark side of suburbia that makes the audience question there own sanity.
In the beginning of the scene the director uses sound the draw in the audience and create an affect. The Diegetic sound of the dog barking startles the audience from the sudden loud noise. Next we see a low camera angle shot of someone getting dressed but the audience cannot see their face, this builds tension especially as the clothing and lighting is quite dark, suggesting that this person may be a bad character. As the face is finally revealed there is a tracking shot to follow the character around, symbolizing importance of this person. Tension and anticipation is built even more as we hear the dog continue to bark outside as if something is wrong. No music has accompanied this so far. After this the audience see's the characters home which looks to be secluded. A wide shot is used for this to show the isolation of the character, this implies that the character could be dangerous or hiding away from something or someone.
A juxtaposing character and scenery is represented next by the display of religion and the use of lighter colours and brighter lighting. This takes the audience away from the previous cautious, eerie feeling they had moments before. There is still no non-diegetic sounds like music but the scenery of a place of worship makes the audience relax anyway.
However, the sudden loud noise of the electronic tool refocuses the audience and reminds them of the unsettling feeling they had before that brief feeling of relaxation. No dialogue is used by the two men we see next but the non-verbal communication creates a tense atmosphere as they believe that the two characters could be planning something. It is almost like they are keeping a secret from the viewer.
When we see another man dressing the priest we can assume that the character being dressed has some sort of dominant role. There is a contrast to the a religious men and two dangerous looking ones until we see them all meet. The man at the front is portrayed to be a leader due to being focused on throughout the opening scene so far and the other men follow him certify his power and importance.
Next we see a man surrounded by darkness. He looks scruffy and untidy. The setting of his home makes him look nomadic. The three characters we have previous seen enter the setting above ground and the low camera angle makes them look powerful and authoritative as well as the weapons they're holding. This represents that they have more power than the man underground who appears weaker. The jump shots between the nomadic looking man scrambling around underground and the three characters above create tension and suspense for the audience. The original man with the dog does not take part in hacking away at the ground which shows his importance. This scene is an example of the Hermenuatic code as it creates questions in the audience's mind. The lack of dialogue in this scene is an example of something that raises questions.
Mise en scene is used is this clip as we see the use of different lighting and colours. For example, the dark surroundings of the man underground and the light, uplifting brightness of the place of worship.
To conclude, the director of Borgman uses a range of techniques to build tension and suspense, therefore making the opening scene interesting for the audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment