Three film openings (research/analyze/discuss)

 A Quiet Place (2018)

Link to the video I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6MwssY8_oE 

Overall Overview

• The family is introduced in a deserted town, which is quiet and just extremely dirty, and feels not maintained. As they are establishing their setting, they also establish the audio, and we see that as they are scavenging, they are very quiet. Especially after the young boy was killed, the worlds “rules” are 100% establsihed

Analysis:

• The film starts with a beautiful establishing shot that not only shows us a chaotic world (the stoplight is on the ground) but also shows the passing of time (through the overgrown weeds) and establishes that they are alone (through the use of diegetic wind).

• With all the different establishing shots, the audience can get a better sense of the uncanniness of the setting, which shows it is abandoned, creepy, and kind of isolated.

• The audio is very taught out, and there is absolutely nothing that is not there for a reason. It is because the audio seems limited that the audience can get a general sense of sound being a threat. 

• The gorgeous pan is used to show us not only the different aisles that are broken down in the store, but also the different members of the family. Through this, they establish major personality traits, like one of the girls has a hearing aid, a little boy is running around and being more careless, while another one is super bored and uncomfortable.  Through the use of movement, the director can make use of the setting. We finally meet someone who seems older, and the focus shifts from the pills to the woman. Hinting\ that the reason they made this whole trip was to get medicine. This gives us a more vulnerable look at the family. Instead of taking a solo trip and leaving their kids at home, the parents decided to take everyone, hinting that the family's true goal in the movie is to stay together.

• Beyond 3:26, the movie establishes the little kids' ulterior motive. He wants a spaceship, which we can see when it is drawn on the bottom of the store, and when he tries to reach for it on the top shelf, regardless of his tiny height and limited reach. This also shows us that the character is willing to do almost anything in order to play and get his new toy. The dad saw that it could be a potential problem, so he took it away. The sister waits before leaving the abandoned supermarket and gives the boy the toy. And because he is young and innocent, he grabs the batteries.