Identity- Opening sequence analysis

Identity is a thriller/mystery production about a group of ten strangers who become stranded in a desolate motel when a severe rain storm hits. They soon realise that they are getting killed off one by one and that the murderer is amongst them, but not everything is how it appears when its revealed that the story was all in the mind of a criminally insane man. Released in 2003 and directed by James Mangold the film stars John Cusack and Ray Liotta.

Mise-en-scene
From the beginning there are many aspects in the scene which suggest that the film is a thriller and foreshadows the events which occur throughout. One of which is the use of props where the camera pans across child-like drawings showing stick men with blood coming off them. As the blood is bright red next to the dark sketchy drawings it contrasts emphasising the colour, it also connotes violence and danger. The violence in the image juxtaposes the innocence of the child-like drawing.

Other props include the use of a tape recorder which are typical convention of the genre and suggests that the film is not set in present day.
The location in this sequence is very simplistic and does not add much context to the scene however being a office suggests that this male character maybe an authority figure, being a detective or lawyer. Furthermore, the clothing which this character is wearing, being a suit and glasses, give him a official and professional  temperament.
The lighting is primarily low key with the exception of the flashes of lightening which highlights the face of the character, displaying the serious emotions. It also casts shadows across the room and character, contrasting the colours black and white and exploring the idea of good and evil due to the connotations of these colours.

The storm creates both a dark lighting and atmosphere as it is deemed to be threatening ans is therefore used to intimidate the audience. Pathetic fallacy is seen through the weather, foreshadowing the possible violence and underlying sadness of the characters and the murder cases he is looking through.

Sound
To begin there is no backing track only the ambient sounds of the thunder heard over the company idents which puts the audience in the scene before they can visually see it, making the viewers feel isolated and intimidated as only a dark screen accompanies the sound. When the non-diegetic music is  introduced it begins with on simple high pitched note throughout, being this simplistic does not detract any attention from the image on screen, indicating that it is the main focus of the scene. However having one note increases the eeriness of the scene and makes it an uncomfortable watch for the viewers.
The dialogue is coming from a tape recorder and is of a police interview with a murdered who is becoming increasingly angrier, suggested through the repetition and tone in the characters voice. This is reflected in the music to increase tension in the atmosphere by becoming louder and having a quicker tempo.
The non-diegetic sound of the tape recorder rewinding interrupts the otherwise quiet scene as it is very loud and abrupt, this changes the flow of the sequence and intends to confuse or make the audience jump.

Camerawork
Most of the camerawork during this production includes extreme close ups and pans. The close ups are used for example on the tape recorder and documents to reveal information about the character being investigated and being close to the recorder makes the audience feel closer to the audio coming from it. The close ups are used to make the audience feel uncomfortable, particularly in the close ups on the eyes of other convicts, this makes the scene more personal yet sinister as they lack any colour.

The camera movement used most commonly is a pan which crosses over all the paper work so that the audience only gets a limited time to view the image and decipher what the story is behind them, getting the audience actively involved and immersed in solving the crime. The pan also allows things to be revealed slowly, for example through a pan we are introduced to the character, first by his hands which creates mystery as he is given no identity, meaning the audience is restrained from making any immediate judgements of his character. This lack of identity also stems many questions of who his character is or if he is of much importance to the story.

Finally, at the end of the opening sequence an over the shoulder shot is used to take the audience out of the scene and assess both the evidence and the character seen in frame.

Editing

The editing throughout the sequence is continuous with the shots becoming increasingly quicker when the tape recorder is rewinded this makes the audio and visual match up and keeps up the audiences interest as many images are shown simultaneously. Like the images the transitions are very quick and abrupt flashing between images to reflect the storm the transition between the shots is also demonstrated through the flicking of images past the camera.
An eyeline match is used in the scene to show the audience what evidence the character is looking at to ensure the audience is aware of everything in the scene and to not cause confusion.

Genre conventions
 The conventions of the thriller/mystery genre have been successfully used throughout this sequence with the dark colours used in both location and costume and the only apparent and noticeable colour being the red seen in the child-like drawings. This colour connoting violence which is a common occurrence in a thriller film.