Analysis of the opening of thriller 'Premonition'

'Premonition'-

 

Premonition is a 2007 American drama film/ physchological thriller directed by Mennan Yapo and starring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon, in which Linda Hanson (Sandra) lives the days of a very event full week in non chronological order. on Wednesday she discovers her husband has been killed in a traffic accident, but when she wakes up the next morning he is still alive.

Analysis-

In the opening sequence of this film, the micro elements, sound, camera work, editing and mise en scene, are used to relate the film to its 'thriller' genre.

Firstly in the editing of the film black screens with white text on top was used, with eerie and mournful music in the background, the white text stands out on the dark screen, it is also in a fairly simple font which makes it easy to read, the text fades in and out, the final two credits are the starring actress' name and lastly the name of the film 'Premonition' so it sticks in the audiences mind, these credits appear to flash before fading to black. then the diejetic sound starts whilst the black screen is still visable so the audience can hear clicking and banging sounds, this effect has the audience guessing as to what the noises are, the black screen then fades to the clip, which is a high angle shot of a woman with her hands over her face sitting in the front passenger seat of a car, at first it seems that she has been kidnapped, we soon learn that the sounds were simply the clicking of seat belts and the bang of car doors, the woman is then guided out of the car by her husband, this is where we discover that she has her face covered as she is being led to a surprise.

there is a sepia effect over the prologue of the film, this helps to show that it is a scene from the past. the music behind this scene is very happy, in contrast to the eerie music with the black screens, because the couple is portrayed to be very happy and in love. many of the shots of the couple are from a distance giving the impression of voyeurism, this is also shown through the use of hand held camerawork. when the scene changes from the past to present day the transition is a fade to white screen which resembles a bright white light, which is often associated with death. during the transition we hear church bells chiming in the background, we later relate this to the bells that chime during Jim's funeral later in the film.

the next scene is of the mother driving her children to school, there is no music however we hear children laughing and playing in the playground, these sounds represent innocence and youth. the setting, narrative and costume in the opening sequence are very everyday and ralateable, the routine the mother goes through in the morning is conventional of a housewife, the costumes of a suit for the working father, a conventional sheriffs uniform for the sheriff, school uniform for the two daughters and the dressed down clothes for the stay at home mum. we are shown the housewife working in the home with the use of tracking shots to replicate us following her.

the editing of the film on the whole is continuity editing however there is the use of montages later in the film, and in the opening sequence, whilst Linda is on the phone, parallel editing is used to show each of the womens' reactions. there are more credits over the top of the clip, they are in the same font, colour and size as the first credits at the beginning so the the 'house theme' is continuous.

there are reaction shots in both the scene on the phone, the scene with the sheriff and the scene with the answering machine, the camera is aimed at Linda and we hear the answer phone in the background, so we can see her reaction to what is being said. A sense of voyeurism is again created with the high angle tracking shot of the car, as if we were watching her from a distance, like spying o her. there are many conventions in the opening scene which relate to the films thriller genre and death theme, for instance the use of orchestral music, bright white light and the point of view shot of crows flying an the crow sound effect are elements associated with death and funerals. there is a tracking shot as Linda is running down the road, however the first thing we see is her shadow which is fairly eerie, we also hear footsteps and panting/ heavy breathing, these effects are associated with thrillers and at first the audience may assume that she is being chased, however the camera pans upwards to show her jogging and we learn she is simply exercising.

there are alternating over the shoulder shots paired with reaction shots during the conversation between Linda and the sheriff, at the end of the conversation when Linda is informed that her husband has died her eyes glaze over and she zones out, this is supported with the use of indistinguishable background noises, and an echoing effect on the sheriffs voice suggests distance in her thoughts. no artificial lighting is used in the sequence, it s all natural, to try and in keep with the everyday and real life narrative.