Analysis of Resident Evil, 2002

Analysis of Resident Evil, 2002.    

After the names of the institutions that are involved have been shown, the beginning of the credits appear and there is a slow, low, whining, non diegetic music, adding to the tension of the atmosphere amongst the audience and it shows the horror genre of the film. This music is only played for a short amount of time as there isn't many credits being shown in the opening. The music adds to the atmosphere because it is very spooky and hasn't got a very fast tempo. The credits are shown in white and the background is black, enhancing the writing, making it easier for the audience to read. The dark background adds the effect of a gloomy, dark plot that could occur during the film.

The music then stops and a red octagon, split into eight sections, comes up with a black background behind. The black background makes the octagon stand out more and makes the audience focus on what the octagon is going to do. The octagon makes the audience feel as if they are in a military operation because it is very structured and has a formal layout to it. Then a confidential report comes up and it makes the audience feel more involved with the film because they get to see the confidential report that nobody is supposed to hear or see. There is no music playing, but there is a sound effect that sounds like the sound effect the audience would hear when a spy mission or when a location comes up in a film at the bottom of the screen, increasing the feeling of being part of a military or spy mission.

Then a monotone, male voice starts to read some information about the events that might be background information or information that the audience might need for later on in the film. The information about the events that are being mentioned would make the audience feel more involved in the film because they are finding out more information which might come in hand throughout the rest of the movie. There are objects floating around in the background and every so often there is a slightly high pitched noise that sounds like a computerised noise. This all adds to the effect that the audience could be involved in a operation and it would make them feel even more involved then they previously did. The red colour scheme has a blood representation, making the audience feel a little uneasy of what they were going to see during the film.

After the short information on the events that have been happening, the title of the film appears and moves from one side of the screen to the other, making a statement that it is an important title for the audience to read. The font of the title is very straight and has several pointed ends to the letters, making it look more authoritative and powerful, which works well with the genre of this film. The title of the film is in a white colour, which is on a red and black background that stands out more to the audience. There are still objects floating around in the background, but none of the objects are very relevant at the moment to what is going on in the film, but they might have some relevance later on in the film. The title of the film then starts to fade away into the red background and then the title turns to black and disappears completely. This adds an effect for the audience and makes it more exciting for them to watch. 

The music then starts again in a 'du dum dum du' rhythm. This rhythm makes the music sound dangerous and evil, therefore making the atmosphere within the audience build. The object in the distance would confuse the audience because they cannot see it very well at first, therefore they wouldn't know why it has any relevance to the film. The object in the distant adds suspense to the movie, as it is unclear what the object is. As the object starts to get closer, the audience starts to see some movement and it looks like a mechanic arm. This will intrigue the audience because they will want to know what the object in the distance is. As it gets closer, the audience sees what looks like an astronaut or laboratory worker controlling two mechanic arms. This will make the audience become more curious as to what they are watching is about. The black background means that the audience will concentrate more on the object that is coming towards them rather than what is going on in the background, grabbing the their attention, which is what the audience will want. 

As the image continues to zoom in, the audience see more of what the laboratory worker is doing and that adds to the intriguing atmosphere for the audience. The room the person is in is very metallic and their surroundings are also very metallic too. This could show that the opening of this movie is set in a lab.The camera then changes to a close up shot of a pincer picking up one of the tubes with something blue coloured inside. There are lots of tubes with the same substance in it surrounding the one that the pincer is picking up which could suggest to the audience that they're making or producing something that could be scientific or have something to do with new technology. This would build the suspense within the audience because as of yet they don't know if the substance is going to be used for good or bad purposes and whether it is dangerous or not. The music is building the tension within the atmosphere throughout, leaving the audience intrigued to find out more. 

 

The pincer then picks up a tube with the same looking tube but this time the substance is of the colour green instead of blue. Then, the camera swaps to a shot with a dark case with a gun like shape with a needle on the end inside. This could show the audience that some testing could be going on which could possibly go wrong for the characters, further more intriguing the audience to watch. The music has gotten more eerie then before, which would build tension for the audience. The people in the white uniforms haven't shown the audience anything to do with their identities which will create suspense within the audience because they don't know who the characters are yet, all the audience can see of them is their body language and what they are currently doing with the substances.

Then, the audience sees the big, dark case being closed and locked, showing that whoever the character is that is involved with the substances doesn't want people to get in without knowing, which could suggest that whatever is in the case could be harmful or important to the character or who they work for. The audience then sees the person, wearing a white suit, taking the case out of the protected cabinet and putting it into a black bag. The audience still does not see the identity of the person, but by their masculine body shape, the character could possibly be a man. The man then has a spare tube in his hand which he throws across the room and it smashes. The camera is following the test tube while it is flying through the air and then smashing, therefore the audience know that this is an important part of the film. While it is smashing, the man is making a quick escape and closing and locking the door behind him. This would increase the tension for the audience and will get them confused as to why he is doing all this and why he has to make a quick escape.



Then the smashed substance's steam goes into the air system and comes out in a non isolated room. This would build a lot of tension because the steam that has come out of the tube could have been dangerous which is why it is in an isolated room and it has been diffused with the non isolated air. Then the audience finally sees some identities and there is an overhead speaker that says that they have to wear their identity badges at all time, which would create a confusion to the audience because they might think, why do they need to wear identity badges? A simpleminded looking man then walks under the air system, which the steam has just come out of and yet we do not see the mysterious man with the black bag again in the opening scene.