Analysing the opening scene of 'Spider Man 2'

Analysing the opening scene of Spider Man 2:

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In the opening scene, the start is a blank, black screen, with non-diegetic music over the top. The Spiderman logo then appears. The screen suddenly changes to a close-up shot of the hero’s back as he is falling from the sky, the close-up shows the hero’s suit and the iconic colours which are related to spider man himself. The shot tracks Spider Man as he plunges down from the sky, the tracking shot is from a high angle and it becomes a long shot as he is falling.

The tracking shot then changes to show the audience him speeding past, swinging on his web. This is a fast paced edited scene, which to the audience, creates tension as it is fast moving. The scene is continued by a constant tracking shot as Spider man swings through the city. The setting is iconic as it is in a large city which implies that the genre is an action movie as most action movies are set in big cities with large amount of people who are in danger.

The shot then changes to a point of view shot, this puts the audience in the hero’s perspective, this makes the audience feel more involved and to feel as if they were in the movie. The colours used in the opening scene are very iconic as Spider man’s suit is blue and red and silver, which are bright colours quite typical for a hero. However, the buildings around are quite modern but very dull which makes him stand out more.

The shot of Spider man above the city being followed by a news helicopter, is a long shot. However, Spider man being above the city shows importance yet, he is a small figure above a huge city shows that even though he is small he has almighty powers. The first close up of Spider man shows him whist he is in the air, this zooms out to a long shot to view him shooting webs, he is against a blue sky background, with a diegetic sound of a news broadcast also car horns and sounds of traffic which is followed by diegetic dialogue as a small monologue from Spider man.

The shot then changes to a low angle shot, of a massive truck running over cars. The low angle shows that the cars are in danger and shows vulnerability. There is a long shot of the truck then a medium shot of the driver, which is assisted by diegetic dialogue which sirens in the background.

A tracking shot follows the, what the audience can presume, villains. They climb over the cars, as they move away from the camera it becomes a deep focus long shot. The camera then pans quickly around to show the audience police cars following. Another deep focused, long shot shows a long line of police cars with the sirens.

Throughout the scene there is non-diegetic music being played, the film score is fast paced and creates apprehension from the audience as they don’t know, what will happen. A low angle shots views a police car being trampled then another being pushed towards the camera creates a fear because the action becomes tense as it dangers others around.

The shot then reverts back to tracking Spider man and slows down as he is in the air then speeds up, tracking him as he swings through the city. A long angle shot views the mad man driving the massive truck. Because the truck is so big it creates a sense of superiority for the man as he has the power to destroy anything in his path.

A shot viewing the ‘villains’ and their plan creates suspense in the audience as they do not know if Spider man will ‘save the day’. An establishing shot of dangerous chemicals reveals why the plan was taking place. This reveals an enigma code to the audience. During this clip, the music increases its tempo.

The shot moves to a medium shot of the mad man driving the truck and Spider man at his window. The shot is at the point of view as in you were in the truck too. There is diegetic dialogue between the two but also the sound of the truck driving and other background noise.

The shot then views a medium shot of a man which the audience can presume is a main character but is a civilian who is possibly in danger. He is carrying blueprints and is struggling to carry them all. This shot creates enigma as the audience don’t know who he is or why he is significant. During this shot there is diegetic sound of him talking to himself. A low angle shot tracks the blue prints as they fall out of his hands. The shot pauses on them and tracks then as they blow away into the middle of the road creating another enigma as it shows the audience that they could be significant too. As they blow into the middle of the road, the audience could start to suspect that he is in more danger as he could be in the pathway of the truck.

The lighting of the scene is natural however there is some low key lighting such as the villains entering the truck and during the conversation between the mad man driving the truck and Spider man.