THE SHINING

By Noshin Anjum

Sound techniques

The use of non-diegetic music is key to the success of the opening title sequence. The very deep toned instrumental creates an eerie atmosphere and is one of the aspects of the sequence that tells the audience about the genre of this film. The music seems to be used to counteract the strong sense of normality and realism in the shots used to build this title sequence, thus implying that danger is around the corner.

Camera movement

The camera is tracking at a birds-eye view position so it can follow the car during the opening scene. This suggests that the car may be symbolic or the person in the car plays an integral role in what is to happen as the film unravels. Throughout the sequences, the main shots used are extreme long shots which pan across the location following a green car.

Establishing shots

Extreme long shots are used to establish the location, in this case the location is pivotal to the success of the title sequence as it shows a very rough, and more importantly, a very remote location. This is stereotypically used by psychological thrillers and horrors to convey a sense of helplessness. This is one aspect of the title sequence that hints the genre to the audience.

Editing

There are no reverse cuts during the opening sequences of the film as there are no characters involved at this period in time. However, match cuts are included which signals the continuity of the film as we are tracking a car. At first, the audience may assume that the persons in the car are on the run from the police and the bird’s eye view shot we get is from the police force in a helicopter.

The director

The first title to be shown is the director, Stanley Kubrick. He is noted for his "dazzling" and unique cinematography, attention to details to achieve realism and an inspired use of music scores. It takes one minute for the first titles to roll on to screen, this may have been done because the director wants the audience to engross themselves into the movement of the car and camera.

Credits

The credits are shown in light blue which are non-threatening and occupy the scene at the same time. The titles stay on screen for a maximum of five seconds. The titles seem to go with the hierarchy of power; starting with the director then the main two actors followed by the film title.

Setting

The Rocky Mountains are nearly always in the framing of the shots. This tells the audience that at some point in the film, the Rocky Mountains will be of great significance as to where some of the violence is going to occur. The opening scene is set in broad daylight which is not usually associated with horror. With the opening scene set in daylight, this allows the audience to relieve tension and expect the unexpected.