What Inspired Me To Choose Mystery For My Film Opening Project?


Astrid and I were inspired to do a film opening on the mystery genre because we really enjoy plot development and emotion that the mystery genre evokes. For example, often times when I view a mystery film opening, emotions I feel include anxiety, suspicion, surprise, and excitement. I feel as though some mystery openings immerse the viewer so they feel as though they are the detective trying to figure out the clues. I really feel as though this is why the mystery genre was so enticing to us in the first place. Furthermore, the use of low lighting elements and point of view shots (from the detective, killer, or main character) gives mystery an element of erie-ness I think other genres can’t perfectly capture.
 A movie we discussed previously in our group’s “Mystery Film Genre” powerpoint was Clue. Clue is a very widely popularized mystery novel that kids and adults alike both enjoy watching. Some elements of Clue we like are the use of the use of nondiegetic sound at the beginning of the opening credits which establishes a more lighthearted type of “spooky” music, setting a weird tone about the movie and giving off the vibe that the viewer is not really sure what will happen next. Paring this music with dark scenery and the portrayal of night time adds to the spookiness of the opening scene. A low angle, short  follow shot of a car driving up a long driveway but then suddenly fades out into another scene of the front of the car driving into the camera characterizes the first scene. This makes the viewer have a sense of wonder as to where the car is going and who is inside of it. The car stops suddenly, and the low level lighting makes it difficult to see what a man in a coat is doing as his arm emerges from the car, until the viewer realizes he is opening a gate, presumably to a house. The model of the car as well as the clothes the man is wearing contributes to the mise en scene because the viewer can assume the time period of the setting was likely  early 1900s due to the clothing and technology. An establishing shot of a mansion is shown in the background as the car drives through the gate in the foreground towards the mansion. A close up shot of the man's face creates suspicion because the viewer wonders who the man is and why he is going to the mansion so late at night, and dressed so formally. The darkness of the shot adds to the scariness of the night time setting, as no light is displayed except for on the man’s face. The scene has a cut to a high angle shot of gargoyles on the top of the building as the car is seen down below pulling up in front of the mansion, which also indicates time period because gargoyles are not very modern.The movie opening stops with the man opens his car door, presumably to get out and go into the mansion. This movie opening helps create a sense of mystery because many questions are raised about the man, his actions, and his relation to the large mansion due to the types of camera angles and shots, lighting, and mise en scene shown.

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