Analysis of Inception - Opening 2 minutes

Inception 

I have chosen to analysis the opening two minutes of Inception ,this film is a science fiction thriller about two thief's who steals corporate secrets from sleeping minds.

The film starts with a close up camera angle this creates a very vivid image due to the bad lighting which causes his face to be shaded with shadow. From this frame we can also see that Leonard DiCaprio is focusing very intensity on something ,this automatically creates a sense of mystery because we haven't yet established what he is gassing at. The emotion displayed on his face implies he is extremely worried and maybe shocked about what he's just uncounted. By having this shadow covering the left side of his face it creates a sense of the unknown and black usually symbolises death or darkness, furthermore the directors use of  this type of lighting could be there ways of portray him to have a split personality, which would therefore link to the idea of a thriller being a mystery. The minim audio lighting which is used to light up a small section of his left ear ,implies he's maybe not meant to be snooping inside the room  maybe because he's stealing something which would portray his current facial expressions.the light exposing his cheek may be from an office room creating a mystery of someone noticing him , which could emphasise that someone is about catch him in there apartment or home.By the use of the close up as the first establishing shot, it creates a good opening because it keeps the audience intrigued into watching the rest of the clip, this is important to have a strong camera angle at the beginning of the film because it creates a strong opening.

Throughout the scene the director has used a variety of camera angles to emphasis the thriller aspects, the eye contact between Leonard DiCaprio and his companion creates a very intense atmosphere, the shot revers shot of constant eye stares,  twitches and movement is used to imply that they are almost using smart signals to emphasis what they tend to do next. Also when he has a conversation with the villain he begins to talk in riddles, this creates the idea of mystery within the thriller genre of the film.

The clothing that the characters are all wearing make them come across smartly dress, the men are seen in suits and the women is wearing a very elegant dress which therefore automatically implies they aren't poor people instead it  signifies the wealth of the characters.another thing that is important in this scene is the location, a very dark dim lighting place, among the walls are Japanese patterns  which emphasises Leonardo DiCaprio has just entered a Japanese family or business. However because its implying he's in a Japanese place this would mean that its in an exotic / well known city due to Japanese tempules or restaurants arn't very commonly found on everyday streets.  

this opening thriller scene to inception portrays a lot of questions that remain unanswered in the first 2 minutes to the film. However this makes the audience engaged and intrigued into what is  wing said.

Something that doesn't usually take place in the first few opening minutes to a thriller is a fighting scene however 15 seconds in and Leonardo has already drawn a gun, this symbolises that some kind of action is going to take place , therefore it keeps the views intrigued into finding out whats about to happen, draws them in and makes them continue to watch the film. This is a clever tick that the director has done as 1 minute 26 into the film and already guns have been fired and the chasing music starts. The director has used tracking shots and mid shots to show the characters running to safety. Also close ups were used to represent the anger in some of the characters facial expression where others trying to concentrate at they took a gun shot, making sure they hit there e target. However this is something that I won't be abel todo to this extent when I come to filming a thriller opening, although I could use the idea of having a fighting scene I wouldn't be capable of explosions ,gun firing or building chasing. But on the other hand I would be able to adapt and through the editing stage computer generated effects could be added to give the illusion a fighting scene was taking palace. 

Thi is an interesting cut from the man overning his eyes to a flash cut of him laying on the floor dead , with a built through his head. The extreme close up of the mans eyes signifies he's just awoke from a dream , he looks dashed as you would if you've just woken up from a very deep sleep. Therefore because it cuts back into a different setting it emphasises that he died in a dream and it would explain his sudden shock on walking up. make up and cosmetics have been used to show where the built has hit his head and pirsed his skin.