Analysis Of An Opening Sequence: The Secret Window

The opening sequence of the secret window beings with the Columbia logo and whilst the logo is on screen you can hear the non-diegetic sound of windscreen wipers on a car. At this time the viewer doesn’t actually know what they are hearing as they haven’t seen what’s making the noise (windscreen wipers). This makes the viewer anxious and they want to know what is making the distinct sound.

The Columbia logo then fades into a close up shot of Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) face. It’s clear at this point in the sequence that the non-diegetic sound was in fact windscreen wipers on his car. The characters face has a blank expression and shows almost no emotion except maybe a sense of anger or distress. Whilst the camera is focused on his face you hear the words “Turn around, turn around, turn the car around”.  The character is not speaking these words so the viewer is left wondering who’s saying these words and why, although the assumption is that they are his thoughts and what he is thinking at this point in time in the film. He then suddenly gives into his “thoughts” and turns the car around in a violent manner as if to signify his anger and his facial expression shows this. This creates a false sense of security as the character goes through different emotions and expressions very quickly and you have no idea what is going on which then creates suspense and catches the viewer’s attention to draws them into the story.

The close up shot of Mort Rainey then quickly transitions into a wide angled shot where you can see a car that the character is driving and a motel in the background. The motel sign is a blood red colour and the colour red is emphasised throughout which goes well with the monochrome contrast. The colour red is often signified with blood and can indicate that something bad is happening or about to happen. When the character walks up to the red door your left wondering what’s lying behind it which creates suspense yet again. As he walks in the door you see that his wife Amy is in bed with another man and Mort screams loudly and you see them shouting at one another but all you can hear is the whistle of the wind from the snow storm. This shot slowly fades into a tracking shot of a lake and the shot used to film resembles a bird flying over the lake that then focuses upon this log cabin type house which appears to be in the middle of nowhere and very secluded at which time music starts playing which sounds like the typical creepy thriller soundtrack. As the house come into view titles appear on the screen stating the production company (Pariah Productions) and the main actor Johnny Depp but the main focus is when the title of the film “The Secret Window” appears on screen in a white text format then transitions into the blood red colour and is the only title to do this; the colour red is emphasised a lot in the opening sequence to keep the audience guessing what the film is going to entail.

As the camera gets closer to the house it starts to pan around giving the viewer a better image of the scene and surroundings. The camera seems to fly through an open window (referring to the title of the film) and you see a desk with a computer sat on it with lots of papers surrounding it. The character seems like unorganized and untidy person by the way his house is kept and also by the way he dresses.