In this essay I will be analyzing the opening sequence of Zack Snyder’s box office hit and
Feature film recreation of the highly successful Graphic novel ‘The Watchmen’.
The sequence begins with a non-diegtic song playing over the top of the shot that’s slowly being revealed. The song ‘The times they are a changin’ By Bob Dylan is this particular track that we can hear.
The slow fade in reveals a mid shot of a masked vigilante punching an armed crook in the face, the setting is a 1950’s esque setting with bystanders in suites and glamorous dresses stand watching as the paparazzi snaps the shot as the brawl ensues. The shot is shot in extremely high slow motion as the characters on screen’s action eventually become visible as the camera continues to track backwards. This use of camera work and editing style flow perfectly together as it enables the audience to capture every last detail of what is going on in the shot, completely immersing them in the action and setting in which this particular event is happening. In the background of the set you can see very early posters of the Batman comics, this being an intended reference or tribute as it were, to another great graphic novel turned movie, additionally in this shot the films title and main colour ‘theme’ is yellow, which is apparent throughout the opening sequence as the credits appearing are displayed in a classic comic book style and in bright yellow, creating a continuous theme for the movie and making it essentially the dominant colour.
The next 2 shots follow similar traits with paparazzi being on scene with the extremely smooth flow of mid-shots and slow motion revealing the full troop of vigilantes from the that era, these vigilantes being known as ‘The minutemen’.
As the opening sequence progresses, the timeline moves forwards through the ages until present day, showing key events in world history, such as the Kennedy assassination and the Hiroshima bombing, although a slight twist being put on these events as 2 different members of the ‘Minutemen’ are shown to be the people responsible.
Bob Dylan’s track continues to play over the shots as they change through the times, creating an atmosphere of a ironic peace and tranquility as the shots displayed mainly show the dramatic fall of the minute men and then re-creating the iconic shot of the old vigilante cast the new team, ‘The watchmen’, pose for their group photo but without paparazzi attention and the glamour of being a crime fighting hero lost to the ages.
The editing style that is used is an editorial trait used by Director Zack Snyder in which he uses extremely high definition super-slow motion shots to build a bridge between a still photo and a moving image, a photo can be analyzed forever, but a moving image only lasts for that brief moment in time and when it goes faster it becomes less immersive, if it is played so slowly then it can be fully admired for the masterpiece it is, whether that being the detail and authenticity of the set or the moment the camera is capturing.
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Tuesday 11 May 2010
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