Analysis Of Arlington Road

In class we watched various thriller sequences of films which included Arlington Road, Dead Calm, Marathon Road, Seven and The Shining. I have chosen to talk about Arlington Road where I would be discussing what happens in the clip, camera, sound, editing, mise en scene and the titles of the clip.

In the opening sequence of Arlington Road starts with a picture of a fence, set of buildings and the name of the production company ‘Polygram Filmed Entertainment’. It runs on screen in the middle of the screen. Production companies and associated companies follow on after the name of the production company. The writing on the screen moves from the centre to the left and then shows the main actors’ names. A low toned darken shot of a sunset and a house is shown as the background. Fences are then shown more followed by the title shown on a road board. The title of the film is then shown on the right of the screen. This is then followed by more names of the cast. Various things such as trees, flags and a dog are shown .The back of people is shown many times of different people walking down the road and also the sky. Little girls are shown running in a park with swings, flowers and birds in a little bird nest. It shows the casting is made by, co-producers, who the music is made by, costume designer, production designer, the editor and the range of producers. It ends with the director’s name all throughout them images.

There are various type of shots used in the opening title sequence. It starts with a close-up shot of a fence which it then starts to shake to give an effect of being a handheld camera. It then cuts to a far establishing shot of a set of buildings with a lamppost. A close-up of a fence is shown again and a tracking shot is used to which is fades into a image of the top of a house showing the sky and chimney. It switches back to fences and slowly fades into a low toned picture of the sunset and a house. A medium shot is then used to subject the title of the film which has been shown through a road sign and it zooms into a close-up shot. The title also runs through fading in and out blacking out various times from left to right. Fences are then shown again and a low angle shot is used to show the fence and a house with the sky. A dog is shown eating with a medium shot and zooms in to its mouth but then cuts back to fences and tracks along to a medium shot showing the back of people. The sky is shown in a low angle establishing shot and fades into showing an establishing shot of a house with children riding pass on their bicycles. It blackens and reappears to show girls running in the park which tracks along with their movements using a medium shot. It then tracks through a pile of flowers and zooms into show an image of a fence with a bush behind it. A medium shot of a room is shown with an item dangling down using a low angle shot. Windows are shown using the handheld camera effect which contains shaking. A close-up of a windmill is shown which jumps to a shot of a bird nest. A dog jumps in front of the screen with other fast various images shown including a baby. It then ends with the camera shaking and blackens out. The title of the film runs throughout the title in a fats motion going from left to right at various scenes and is sometimes used as a transition from one image to another.

The music played in the title sequence is quite gothic. It sounds threatening and suspenseful and it stays at the same volume all throughout the sequence. Various noises are made at times and a screeching effect is put on by a voices. They make the sequence more haunting and terrifying. The scene which has a shot of the dog eating has a great effect with the music to create the suspense and tension towards the audience. Various voices can be heard in a muttering effect to act as if something can’t be said properly or is similar to being subliminal messaging.

The title sequence has been set in many different locations including a field with set of houses, fences, roads and a garden. The lighting of the title sequence is very dark and gives the effect of a dramatic suspenseful atmosphere. It changes colour many times throughout the sequence from red to grey and to black and white. There are various people, items and props shown such as children, a dog, lamppost, flowers and fields. The location of the sequence suggests it is in an abandoned place which seems to empty but has a few number of people.

The editing of the title sequence has been done moderately fast. It is negatively filmed to add to the creation of the dark atmosphere. The sequence runs with many zooming and shaking and has many jump cuts to create tension. It has a lot of fades of shots of which they are mostly repeated but in different angles.

The titles on the title sequence start with the distribution Company in the middle of the screen. It also shows after the association distribution company. It shows the production company and then shows two of the actors’ names, one on the left and one on the right. It then shows the title of the movie on the right followed by a list of actor names. Halfway through the sequence you are shown who the casting is by, the co-producers, music, costume designer, production designer, editor, the director of photography, co-executive producers, executive producers, the producers and writer and lastly the director. The titles are shaky and move into the screen and stay still for a moment before moving and fading away.