Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene included in the opening sequence has been used to supply the audience with some vague information about the story and genre of the film through use of location, lighting, costume and props . The scene includes two main locations throughout the sequence, one of these is on a ship. This is used to intrigue the audience immediately and creates questions which are to be answered throughout the duration of the film, for example where are the characters travelling to? The lighting for this location is prominently low key with a monochrome colour gradient edited to give the scene a melancholy feel. Many of the props used in the location where metal and have little colour to them, this creates a very cold and empty atmosphere, intentionally used to make the audience feel uncomfortable or alternatively, the atmosphere may have been created to reflect the protagonists personality.
Juxtaposing this is the second location in a bedroom full of common house objects which make the scene feel more familiar and therefore comforting. The lighting in this location is far brighter with many vibrant colours associated with happiness such as yellow. Contrasting to the boat, the room has a yellow and green tint to the image, as the room location is used in a flashback this suggests that the character was happier with his life in the past than the grey reality he is living now. However, the green and yellow colours may be perceived differently as they are colours often used to represent sickness which may suggest that not everything is how is appears, fitting with the mental instability of the characters in the production.
The costumes which the two male characters are wearing, being trench coats and hats, are clearly used to indicate the era in which the story is set as they're not fashion items seen in current day. The suit worn by the main character suggests to the audience that he may be of upper class or has a superior occupation, using mise-en-scene to introduce the audience to the characters and indirectly implying aspects of his background.
Sound
The sequence begins with ambient sound which can be heard of the waves, shortly disrupted by a loud ship horn, ending the tranquil atmosphere created by the waves as they are known to be calming and peaceful. This interruption symbolises the foreseeable problems which the characters are to face. In the very beginning scenes there is a distinct lack of music which further develops the emptiness of the scene as there is no audio to match the imagery, this is uncommon in a scene and makes the audience uneasy. The non-diegetic sound track only begins when we are introduced to the second character, this music is tense and builds suspension into the scene as we are unaware of whether the character is good or evil. The music only changes in tempo during the flash back where is becomes far more eerie, this kind of music is more commonly heard in the thriller genre. During the flashback there is a record which we can only see however cannot hear due to the non-diegetic sound already in the scene, creating a feel of isolation and doesn't allow the audience to be include in the intimate scene with his wife, showing that it is a personal memory which isn't to be shared with others, insinuating that the character had a lot of love and devotion for his wife.
Camera work
There are many camera angles and movements used throughout the opening sequence, to being an establishing shot is used of a boat of a misty sea, the mist concealing the main focus of the scene which may also symbolise the secrets concealed by the characters. A freeze frame is used at the end of the flashback of a close up on the female characters face. Stopping briefly on her face emphasises that the film plot is focussed around her character and so the audience are aware of her role.
We are introduced to the main character with a long shot which revealed only the bottom half of the character as he knelt over the toilet, this is contrasting against his professional representation suggested in his costume. An eyelevel shot is also used where the character is looking at the audience through the mirror this places the audience in the scene without directly addressing them. Looking at the camera movements the director has ensured that the camera tilts with the waves which allows the audience to again feel as if they're in the scene by provoking the feel of seasickness.
We can see here in this shot that looking at the rule of thirds the character is stood slightly off centre when we are first introduced to him this makes the audience question whether the character is good or bad building upon the mystery in the scene.
Editing
The editing throughout is continuous with the cuts between shots being longer during the present/reality scene demonstrating that the character believes life is more slow and dull in comparison to the quick cuts in the flashback scene. A montage of images are used in the flashback these are all very happy and with the jump cuts used making the scene feel more upbeat and also appears more like a memory as only snippets are shown. The sequence also uses a jump cut between reality and flashbacks making the editing intentionally not smooth when the freeze fame is used to emphasise her importance.
An eyeline match is also used when the protagonist walks through the door and sees the second character before the audience, laving the audience questioning who it is and what there intentions are, stimulating a sense of mystery.
Genre conventions
This film opening has many conventions of the thriller/mystery genre. For one the detective characters with the fitting costumes are common and necessary features of the genre as there are often mysteries to be solved
The lack of props, isolated location and tense music are all conventions found in both the thriller/mystery genre and this opening sequence.
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