The girl with the dragon tattoo

Directed By David Fincher

Overview• The opening sequence of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ gives the

audience an insight into the film’s darker sadistic side and links to the title through the black oozing ink that covers the screen.

• Immediately the editor Kirk Baxter and director David Fincher set the tone and atmosphere of the film as disturbing and action packed, through their choice of shots and mise en scene.

• Due to the horror/thriller genre, it is clearly based at an audience of young adults.

• The Girl With The Dragon tattoo is a well-known thriller with horror elements and after watching the opening sequence, I feel I want to direct my own similarly to this.

• It is very similar to David Fincher’s other opening sequence ‘se7en’, which also has elements which are effective at grasping the audience. I feel he is the most influential director that has inspired me to plan my own opening sequence.

Genre The introduction of the running black ink in flashing

shots immediately enforces the horror genre, due to the connotations of death. This is one of the main themes in the film and the audience is made aware of this, achieving the aims of an opening sequence.

The black ink that runs out of the eyes and mouth of the person in the opening sequence, also reinforces the horror genre because of how unusual and uncomfortable it makes the audience feel.

We also the dragon immerging from the person and the ink, again linking with the title and making the audience wonder what relevance a dragon has with the film – narrative enigma.

Because of these horror elements, it Is likely to be aimed at a target audience of young adults.

The editing uses jump cuts and sudden movement which shocks the audience, putting them on edge, and enforcing the thriller genre.

Institutions It was presented by columbia pictures and metro-

goldwyn-mayer pictures.

Produced by Scott Rudin and Yellow Bird.

Narrative Enigma• The opening sequence clearly links to the genre of the

film through the shots of sinister, oozing ink. This allows narrative enigma because the audience is aware of the title linking to ink but not who the girl is.

• This creates a more chilling atmosphere for the audience and creating the desired effect for a horror/thriller, as they are left to wonder what connection the is.

• In the beginning of the title sequence the screen is covered in black ink, which then suffocates several people, connoting death and violence.

• There are also electronic cables suggesting that the film is somehow related to technology.

• We also see creatures such as dragons and wasps emerging from the ink and at one point the eye of a girl. All of this mise en scene hints to the nature of the film but leaves the audience wondering what the connection is.

Themes and Typography

• The opening sequence explores the theme of horror through the mise en scene all being black. It is clear that there will not be very much purity in the film or happy endings.

• The credits are highlighted in white writing which does reflect the purity of characters and makes them stand out against the black background.

• The white writing has a simplistic bold style, again making it stand out but making the key focus of the audience mainly on the mise en scene.

• The colours chosen in the opening sequence are dark and dimly lit, creating the mood and atmosphere fit for a thriller/horror.

Music by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross The non-diegetic ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zepplin grabs

the audience attention straight away as soon as the sequence opens. This sound is continuous and very loud which fits with the thriller genre with a touch of rock music which helps support the image of tattoos.

The sound track is very mysterious and urges the audience to keep watching further and the music intensifies itself into a crescendo, making it very fast pace and racy, again linking with the thriller genre.

Whilst the soundtrack is playing the mise en scene move according to the pace of the song, this keeps the audience interested in the film as their mind is always wondering what is to happen next.

Editing The beginning of the title sequence opens with flash shots of running ink that

change according to the beats of the music, immediately engaging the audience.

The use of the black ink covering lots of props and iconography such as a match, a skull and a wasp all connote a violent atmosphere, warning the audience of the events in the film.

All of these elements being on screen constantly makes the audience feel on edge and in suspense as though they cannot get away from the connotations of death. This fits with the horror genre well and adds excitement for the audience.

Special effects have been used, especially on the ink covering the faces of the people, as this would be unable to happen naturally. This creates a very surreal environment, again fitting with the unusual sequence that is famously directed by David Fincher.

As the pace of the music quickens, so does the speed of the frames, and there are more jump cuts, especially as the fire is introduced. This creates suspense and tension for the reader, creating the horror/thriller genre and builds the crescendo of music, to reach the sequence climax.

Camera Work There are many extreme close-ups used

with tracking shots when shooting the ink as it covers the faces of the people. This limits what the audience is seeing, putting them on edge and intensifying the thriller genre.

There are many high angles shots to show the people submerged in blackness, making them appear helpless and insignificant.

The camera is never still, it is constantly moving in a tracking shot or a tilt/pan. This adds to the thriller as it creates the fast paced feeling which makes the audience excited.

Characters In all of the other sequences I have looked at (except the Purge), there

has been minimal coverage on characters in the opening sequence, which is effective at adding suspense.

Although we do see people in this opening sequence, there features are unrecognizable, due to them being covered in oozing black ink.

This conceals their identity from the audience and, much like the other sequences, creates suspense and tension as the audience is limited to what they are told.

• From my research I have found that most horror/thriller sequences conceal the identity of the characters from the audience, so this is something I will plan to do in my own opening sequence.

Credits The titles flash into screen in time with the beat of the music,

again intriguing the audience as the whole sequence appears to fit together.

The speed at which the titles appear on the screen increases as it progresses which makes the music crescendo appear more intense to the audience and more exciting, creating the thriller genre.

The white bold writing makes them stand out against the dark background, which is effective at getting them noticed by the audience.

I believe watching and analysing this opening sequence has helped me understand what I need to include in mine because I now have a better knowledge of what credits to include to make mine more authentic and believable.

Final Piece This title sequence is effective at using a range of camera shots

and movement similar to those I plan to use in my final piece.

The way in which the characters identities are concealed from the audience, creates tension, which is something I would like to have in my opening sequence.

The mise en scene and colours used in this opening sequence are all associated with death and destruction, creating the mood for the rest of the film. This is useful at setting the scene and this is what I will do in my own sequence.

The soundtrack used in this sequence is also effective at creating tension and adding suspense, due to the crescendo. To achieve the thriller genre in my own sequence I will build the instruments to form a crescendo similarly to this.