I will be analysing the opening scene in ‘The Shining’. The scene starts out with an extreme long shot which establishes the location. It this shot, I can see a river, trees and mountains, which is reflected in the river. As you can see 2 of the mountains in the shot (in the reflection and then the real ones), this could be used to describe Jack; as there are also 2 of him as well. The good, calm writer and the man who later becomes insane and wants to kill his family. Jack has a split personality, just like the mountains have in this shot as there are 2 of them. This is also used later on in the film, when you can see 2 of Jack. The normal Jack and the mirror which also shows Jack, which again shows his split personality. The mountains reflected in the river is a metaphor for Jack’s split personality. The camera pans and quickly moves across the shot. I believe this is used to create the fast tone which the film has, this opening shot sets the quick tempo and the film sustains it. The shot also starts with non-diegetic music. This is used to cause dread and alarm to the audience, getting us ready for the future events which will scare us. It personally frightened me as I wasn’t expecting it and it alarmed me, as it tells us that something isn’t quite right. Using non-diegetic music is a genre convention for horrors. It is used a lot because it creates tension and makes the person frightened and panic. Also, this opening shot breaks one of the genre conventions in horror films- that it takes place during at night, when it is dark. However, this opening shot is bright and set in the daytime. This makes the audience think that nothing is going to happen, as they think is not a horror as it’s not at night. This makes the audience more shocked when the killings happen, as they weren’t expecting it at the start.
There is then a dissolve cut to a bird’s eye view shot which shows the road which Jack is driving on. A dissolve edit is used to show that time has passed between the last shot, but he is still in the mountains driving. This implies that the hotel is far away and in an isolated place, because he is still driving and a lot of time has passed. Once again, there are lots of green trees in this shot, which is used to show off the nature but it also shows that Jack is trapped and he can’t get out because the trees are surrounding him, which is a metaphor for The Overlook Hotel. This is because the trees are blocking his exit and he is trapped within the trees, they have him and there is no way out, just like The Overlook Hotel. The trees, and The Overlook Hotel, have him trapped, he can’t escape and there is no way out, which is foreshadowing the future events in the film. He will be trapped in The Overlook Hotel and because he has no way out, he will go crazy as he’s also in an isolated place. A bird’s eye view shot is used to show that we be judging him and we will be watching him throughout the film. However, it is also used to show how isolated and alienated the hotel is. It shows how far away the hotel is, and how isolated and alienated Jack’s family will be. This is a genre convention of horrors, the victims being in an isolated place where they can’t ask for help. An example of this genre convention used in another film is ‘When a Stranger Calls’. The victim in that film was also in an isolated place, a house in the middle of nowhere where no-one can help them, just like here in ‘The Shining’ expect here it is a hotel. Throughout this shot, the camera pans wherever the car goes, which once again implies we are following and watching him.
There is then a straight cut an extreme long shot which shows the car driving along the road with the mountains and river in the background. This shot is used once again to show isolated and remote the hotel is, as there is nothing here. The mountains have snow on them, which implies that it’s coming up to or is the winter. There is then a straight cut to another extreme long shot which shows the car driving along the road getting higher up in the mountains. Because the mountains are featured so much, it makes the audience wary of them and tells us that something is going to happen in the mountains, as they are featured so much. Therefore, it makes the audience build up suspense when to the part in the film when this occurs. As he is getting higher up into the mountains, it’s like he is getting closer to heaven, which foreshadows his death later on in the film; that he is getting closer to heaven and therefore closer to his death. As the camera gets closer to the car, the credits for the film start to play and go up the shot. The camera then goes passed the car and pans left of the shot and then tilts upwards. I think this is used to establish the location and show how high up and isolated he is. The non-diegetic music gets higher, probably because he is getting closer to the hotel and closer to the ghosts. I personally think it sounds like a high pitched human screaming, which could be referring to the deaths which have and will happen at the hotel. The non- diegetic music continues as there is a straight cut to another bird’s eye view shot showing the car driving along the road. However in this particular shot, you can see 2 cars packed up on the road as well as one car which drives past his car. This shows that the people who were in/ near the hotel are now leaving, which will make the hotel even more deserted and isolated for Jack and his family. This shows that people have been near there, but are now leaving. This could be because they didn’t like the hotel and went insane like Jack did and decided to leave quickly before anything happen, or they are just leaving the hotel after staying there. The car going past Jack could be seen as a warning that going there is bad, but Jack has chosen to ignore it and carry on.
There is a straight cut to another extreme long shot, which once again shows the car driving along the road, and no one going past. By repeating these shots and showing the car driving past mainly no one, it shows how far away the hotel is and how deserted it is, anyway from everything else. It also shows how long he has been driving for along the same round. It keeps wanting to reinforce the idea that the hotel is isolated and far away. There is a straight cut to another bird’s eye view shot which shows the mountains are covered in snow, which clearly suggests that the time of year is winter. This is much more effective than simply telling us that on a shot. There is one final straight cut to an extreme long establishing shot which shows us The Overlook Hotel. This shot is used to show us what it looks like and where Jack and his family will be staying for the next few months. The non-diegetic music at this shot gets at its loudest and highest pitched. I think this is because Jack is finally at the hotel and now they have trapped him. Because of this, he will soon go insane as they have trapped him and there is no way out for him. This is why the scream is at its loudest and highest, because he is now trapped. The loud screams are also foreshadowing the future deaths in the film as well as the pervious deaths at the hotel. The Overlook Hotel is a genre convention for horror films because it is an isolated place in the middle of nowhere. This is typically used in horrors to make it more frightening and make the audience and characters feel more isolated and trapped in the isolated place. It creates more scares as you can’t run outside and call for help, as no one is there to help you.
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