Angel Bird

Analysis of an Opening Sequence Stalker

The scene starts off with a mid shot of a woman in what appears to be a secluded street.
The director uses a mid shot to clearly show the womans surroundings and the low key
lighting from the street lamps. This suggests that the scene is taking place late in the
evening or during the night. This creates tension as the audience can see that the woman is
vulnerable and alone late at night. The fact that the main character the audience sees is a
woman is stereotypical as she is likely to find herself in danger and be unable to defend
herself. The street lamps create an eerie feel for the audience as they seem to be the only
lighting visible in the street. The woman is wearing a casual red top which connotates the
upcoming danger that she may find herself in and contrasts with the darkness of her
surroundings which further highlights to the audience how dark it is. The first thing the
audience hear is a diegetic phone ringing and the woman answering, hello? This creates a
false sense of security for the audience as she answers with a casual tone, suggesting that
the call isnt out of the ordinary. However, very quickly this changes as the male voice
replies I see you made it home, Kate. Straight away this suggests that he may be the
villain as stereotypically in the horror/thriller genre the villain is a male who has more power
than the female character. The phrase made it home has a threatening nature to it, which
means the audience can infer that the woman is clearly in danger.
Whilst this dialogue is taking place, the shot switches from a mid shot of the woman who
stops walking to what could be a point of view shot from inside a nearby car. The fact that
the audience see her stop walking helps them to sympathise with her as clearly she is
scared and unaware of what is happening. The point of view shot from inside the car builds
suspense as the audience begin to wonder if the man on the phone is sitting inside the car,
ready to attack the woman. This keeps the audience interested in the story as they now
appear to have more information about the situation than the woman does. This means that
they are able to come up with theories as to what is about to happen. As the woman replies
to the voice on the phone, a close up of her face is shown which shows her facial
expression. This shows her to be afraid and confused, which helps the audience to connect
to her character. She then hangs up the phone and the audience hear the diegetic rattling
of her keys as she is about to get into her car. This helps to emphasis where she is and the
fact that she is totally alone with nobody around to help her if there is any impending attack.

Angel Bird
As the woman starts to walk quickly to her car, there is another point of view shot from
inside the other car which pans as she is walking. This reminds the audience of the threat
that may be close by, which builds suspense. The camera then cuts back to a mid shot of
the woman walking. While this scene is progressing, the background music is building,
which the audience can infer means the scene is going to reach its climax. There is very
short shot of the view in front of the woman before the dark figure appears. The figures face
is concealed, which plays on the audiences fear of the unknown and is dressed in a black
hoodie. The colour black signals to the audience that the character is most likely going to
be evil, and pose a threat to the woman. There is a shot, reverse shot when the figure
begins to walk towards the woman. There is a close up which shows her shocked facial
expression and then a shot of the figure who then starts running towards her. There is a
close up as he picks a red can off of the ground which connotates impending danger and
possibly death for the woman.
The camera cuts to a mid shot as the woman starts to run away from the figure who is now
chasing her. The audience hear a diegetic scream from the woman which helps them to
sympathise with her character. Unsteadily, the camera follows the action in the scene as
the figure chases the woman, until he begins to spray her with what was in the red can. The
next scene in which she pushes him away and climbs into her car is very fast faced which
keeps the audience in suspense. During this scene, there is subtle, yet quite fast score
music which also helps to build the scene. When the woman is in her car a diegetic heavy
breathing sound is heard which tells the audience how terrified she is and helps them to
empathise with the character. As the woman is in her car putting on her seat belt, the
figures arm appears from the side of the shot holding her keys. This shot lingers as the
figure deliberately taunts the woman which highlights how dangerous the character is and
keeps the tension for the audience. A close up is shown of the womans terrified facial
expression before the figure sprays the car with liquid from the can. The audience can then
infer from the close up shot of a match being lit that the liquid was petrol. This shot
highlights the danger that the woman is in. The woman pleads with the figure not to throw
the match which makes the audience more aware of what will happen to her if the match is
thrown.
A mid shot of the car is shown when it is engulfed with flames which highlights the
seriousness of the situation as the audience can see it burning. The score music builds
whilst the audience see the car being reversed into a pole. The music then sounds
staggered as there is are multiple flashes of long shots of the figure, watching the car. This
finally reveals his face to the audience after the whole sequence, however it isnt clear
whether what they are seeing is a mask or not. This keeps them interested in the story as
they are unsure of what they have just seen. When the non-diegetic background music
reaches its climax, a long shot of the car is seen blowing up, and then for effect a close up
aerial shot. This emphasises the size of the flames and the painful nature of the death of
the woman inside the car. The scene then cuts to black.
The fast paced nature of this clip, paired with the variety of shots and building score music
keeps the audience in suspense and builds tension. Whereas the mise-en-scene highlights
the genre and foreshadows the themes of the TV show.