Individual Analysis of a Title Sequence - The Shining
A film that possesses numerous similarities to ours is 'The Shining' (1980), in that they are both psychological thrillers that involve a young psychic who can foresee death and danger, as well as sporting a deluded killer. Hence, I decided to analyse the title sequence of this film as a source of ideas for our own project
As is often the case with Stanley Kubrick's work, the film is full of clever yet subtle imagery. For example, the film opens with an extreme long shot of a small island situated in the middle of a lake. This immediately sets the tone for the rest of the film; the tone being isolation. I suspect that the lone island is intended not only to represent the remoteness of the area, but also to represent the not yet seen Outlook Hotel where a majority of the film takes place; in that it is almost completely isolated from anywhere else of significance. Throughout the title sequence, some eerie, ominous music can be heard in order to create and uneasy atmosphere.
Thisshot then dissolves to an aerial shot of a car as it travels alone along a winding road. The car is very framed very wide and loosely; it only appears as a small spec in this shot. Kubrick has deliberately attempted to draw attention to the vastness of the surrounding area and how insignificant and isolated the small car is. This, again, contributed to the film's key theme of isolation.
There are several of these aerial shots throughout the sequence, each one drawing little attention to the car and rather the sheer size of the surrounding area. However, it is noticeable that despite the car's lack of attention in the shot as a whole, it seems that almost every shot is a tracking shot of the car; which creates the impression of a 'bird of prey', that the car's occupants are being perused by someone or something. This works hand-in-hand with the eerie music to create a very unsettling and ominous atmosphere that very much sets the scene for much of the rest of the film.
Oddly, theappearance of the film's title is rather downplayed; it brushes vertically across the shot and immediately exits. Its font and colouring are also rather basic too. Kubrick mayhave does this intentionally so that the title does not draw attention away from the scenery. This way, the latter's vastness and remoteness are further clarified.
Strangely, the individual shots do not transition between each other with a smooth dissolve, but rather with an abrupt cut. This may have been done to create an effect similar to that of the jump cut, in that it creates a rather unsettling and panicky tone. This effect is used as a transition into another shot where it appears that snow is beginning to form on the mountains and across the road. This creates the impression that the road is not only isolated, but also treacherous, and would be easily rendered impassable in the event of a snowstorm.
The final shot of the title sequence reveals the film's main setting: The Outlook Hotel. It seems to be rather lively, judging by the high presence of cars in its car park. This acts as a direct antithesis to the feelings of isolation the viewer was presented with previously. Nonetheless, the framing of the shot remains loose and wide, revealing that there are no presence of other forms of civilisation around the hotel, showing that in fact the hotel itself is isolated from the rest of the world, which certainly comes into play later in the film. The sequence most likely attempts to establish the loneliness and remoteness of the setting which, coupled with the eerie non-diegetic music, creates a rather unsettling and ominous foreshadowing of events to come; juxtaposed with the beauty and serenity of the setting. It shows that even a setting as majestic and beautiful as this can become an isolated hell under the right circumstances.
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