"The Shining" Title Sequence

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-shining/ 

                                                                                      

The opening sequence of The Shining starts with an establishing shot of the landscape to show the scale and dominating element of nature of the location. We notice that the atmosphere here is so far very calm and still, and could even look peaceful. After the camera shows us the lake, we then see  a bird's eye shot of a wide road with a small car traveling along it which demonstrates the striking difference of size of the vehicle when it is compared to the huge scale of the location; it is almost insignificant amongst the towering trees and vast, dark lake we can see. The music paired with these shots is made up of a low and lingering organ sound that gives an ominous, eerie atmosphere that indicates the psychological horror genre. As the camera tracks the car, we can tell that it is of some significance but in each shot it always take up a minor fraction of the screen, portraying it as easily lost in this place.

The opening sequence consists of different angled long shots and some crane shots of the car traveling in different stages on the road that keep the genre of the film vague but we get a sense of isolation as there is currently no other human life present, just a sweeping landscape of nature. The on edge music hints that there is something not quite right with this place as the notes are low and menacing; a symbol like instrument later on resembles a hissing sound, which suggests something antagonistic and animalistic goes on here and could be foreshadowing events that occur in the film. The tracking shot of the yellow car makes the audience feel as if they are stalking whoever are inside and we notice that the car, though it is tiny in comparison to every else, has a brighter colour than any of the trees, rocks or mountains we have seen.

The typography for this opening sequence is completely out of place; it does not hint to the fact that this film is a horror film at all but this could work in favour of the genre to unnerve the audience because it is so contrapuntal. The contrast between the menacing music/ and the bright font used is immediately noticeable and suggests that something in this place is not right- there is something strange going on and this makes the audience on edge.

The colour of the font is not associated with horror films but gives cold and unnatural connotations (especially when compared to the landscape); this could be foreshadowing something to do with life here or a hinting to a character trait of somebody in the film. The opening credits are presented in a rolling motion and go down to up which, as the camera pans we have seen go left to right, disorients the audience and fits in with the ongoing idea that things here do not match. The down to up motion could also represents the car's physical journey up the mountain and away from civilization.

Narrative enigmas are already created for the audience- they have been introduced into this car yet do not whose in it nor do they know where exactly the film sets place, just that something isn't completely right here. The genre of the film is mostly constructed through the music; the low sounds create a creepy, haunting tone for the film and it is only when the shots of the deserted location are paired with this that they hint to a horror film- because of the organ sounds, the natural setting does not seem peaceful and serene but isolated and strange. Because of these two elements, it is clear that the horror film will be focusing more on the psychological side of things and using that to create an affect or provoke a response rather than the usual iconography that we associate with horror films such as blood and the usual setting of night. 

As the scene goes on, the bird eye view shots show us cars that appear to have been abandoned and the one car we see moving is driving in the other direction completely away from the scenery, suggesting that there is something dangerous with the location and a reason as to why there are no people here. The pace of the sequence is relatively slow- it isn't rushed which hints that the audience are supposed to take in the scale of the location and again could be used to unnerve them. There are not a huge amounts of cuts in the sequence which adds to this idea that the car is being directly followed through the maze of trees and as the further it gets towards its destination, instruments in the music begin to take on a higher pitch. This builds up tension and the instrument, at points, sounds like somebody is screaming, supporting the horror genre and danger theme. The text at this point gives details of cast and crew.

The last shot on screening in this opening sequence is the lingering shot of the hotel. It appears to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by water and mountains, and looks old and worn which is key in horror film iconography.  We can infer that this is the destination of the car as it is the last shot. The music reaches its peak here and the low organ sounds continue with a screeching and moaning like instrument at the loudest it has ever been which suggests that there is something really wrong with this house, that it's haunted, eerie, dangerous and it will not bode well for the people in the car we assume were heading here.