Inception Opening Sequence Analysis (up until 1:12)

I wanted to analyse the opening sequence of Inception because, like our project, it is a thriller, and by analysing the opening scene I can pick up on conventions specific to the thriller genre to use or mimic in our work.

Narrative Function: this opening sequence does not do much for narrative function, other than make the audience question what's going on. The scene opens with a man on a beach, who has obviously just been washed up on shore. This starts the audience question what's happening straight away, but does not give away any answers, therefore hooking their attention. To follow this, there is also a shot of two small children playing, but we do not see their faces and at this point we are not aware of their significance.

Conventions Displayed: yet again in this sequence a montage is used, which seems to be a popular trend across opening sequences as it does not give too much information away, which is vital to grabbing the audience's attention.

Characters Introduced: in the first minute of this movie, we are again introduced to the main character, who is quite obviously made the main character. We know this as he takes up the majority of airtime during this minute, and the other characters are not developed in the way that he is: we do not see the children's faces, and the guards do not speak English and are dressed in uniforms, which does not make them stand out.

Cinematography: the lighting in this scene is natural, which is unsurprising as it is set outdoors, on location.  The colours are what you would expect in this scene, being light and airy, which contrasts directly with the black titles at the very beginning and the non-diegetic music that hints at impending doom. This contrast is designed to confuse the audience even further, as they were led to believe something awful was about to happen and it doesn't. This is a very clever technique used to attract their attention. Similarly, the same idea is reflected in the mise-en-scene. The innocence of the children making sandcastles is in direct contrast with the gun carrying guards and the passed out man on the beach. This suggests that later on in the film, violence and innocence may mix.