Camera Shots and Angles
A lot of close up shots are used to allow the audience to pay attention to detail in the scene, such as the examining of a lightbulb turning on, or a woman's feet moving up a staircase. This suggests that detail will be especially important in the rest of the film. During the rest of the opening, medium shots are used quite commonly to allow the audience to see the facial reactions of the characters along with their costume, so that they can learn some more about them. However a long shot is also used to allow the audience to see the whole body of one of the characters when the director wants them to pay attention to the surroundings of the character, ie the basement and the tone that it creates on the scene. Panning is used around both settings to allow the audience to have a proper impression of each room to help create the contrast.
Light
Light is used to contrast the two settings in the opening minutes of the film, the film begins with a light being turned on which represents the innocence of the character turning it on in such a dark room. Later in the same room, the camera pays attention to the shadow of the woman and the contrasting light around her to the rest of the room, this symbolises her being singled out as the only good thing around the room. The light is very different in the next setting, which the camera paying a lot of attention to candles, which are literally brightening up the room, again helping to create the contrast.
Characters
In the opening of the film there are two main characters introduced, a man and a woman who are suggested to be together due to them getting things for eachother such as glasses of wine and jumpers, and their proximity to eachother which is extremely close. They are respresented as the rich, white, upper middle class, due to the fine furnishing of the house, their well spoken voices and their very formal and expensive looking outfits. They also have a wine cellar which is something represented as only being possessed by the rich. We are told that the man is a doctor and has just recieved an award for his work, this adds to the higher status of the characters.
Film Credits
The film credits are played for the opening two minutes of the film before the actual movie even starts. The font is blue and thin creating an eerie and ghostly feel. They fade in and fade out of the centre screen placement casually, and at a slow yet steady pace, this helps to donate to the ghostly feel they create, suggesting the subject of the plot to the audience. Priority is given to the Director and main actors whose names appear in a larger size font than the others, suggesting the importance of their role in the film.
Sound
Whilst the credits play there is an eerie, high pitched track being played in the background which works in addition to the font of the film credits in creating an eerie and ghostly mood. There is no sound used in the scene in the basement which adds to the feeling of loneliness for the woman character and increases the tension, in the second part of the scene there is some trendy yet relaxing and ambiant music being played which makes them seem like a young and fashionable couple.
Setting
The setting opens on a dusty room with a woman searching for a bottle of wine, the room is dusty and cold, the audience know this due to the woman shivering and running upstairs to fetch a jumper. She is in the basement, which traditionally has negative connotations of being secretive and hiding something. The dustiness of the setting suggests that something old is hiding with specific references to the past, this suggests the subject of the film plot to the audience. There is then a contrast when the woman goes up the stairs and leaves the basement, she is in a living room of a wealthy looking house, it is well furnished and decorative with a warm feeling to suggest that the characters have money and are good people, but also to contrast with the cold tone created by the basement.
