Script/dialogue.

There isn't much dialogue in this scene. The bulk of it is in the news interview where they bring up one of the main themes in the film, which is the threat of nuclear war. They talk about the doomsday clock which is the count down towards the potential nuclear war with russia and if it is at all possible that the war will happen, the three people disscus this point but come to no solid conlusion as they all have diffrent points of view on the subject. In this conversation one of the main characters is bought up ,Dr manhatten and the hand he will have in this war. The other dialogue is between the comedian and the masked man though the masked man dosent speek, but this is sparce and occurs before the fight when the Comedian states "Just a matter of time I s'pose" This leads us to believe that he knew this was coming which as the film continues we find out that it was a planed murder and was used to allude the watchmen from the bigger picture which is revealed at the end. The dialogue doesnt play a big part in this opening but does open you up for the rest of the fils story.

shot size / angle + camera movement.

Close up shots of the Comedian, punches also in slowmotion, the comedians gun fireing, the bullet hole in the tv, the masked man kicking in the door, the Comedians blood splashing onto his badge. The close ups are used to highlight the impact of  the action during the fight these position us right in the action as the shots are not quite at the attackers point of view but let us see what he is seeing . wide angle shots are used to give a larger view of the battle and see the effects that it has on there surroundings. for example when the comedian is chucked across his apartment into a glass table the camera follows and gives a wide view of the event.

Sound.

Mostly digetic sound is used in this scene. The sounds of the fight between the Comedian and the masked guy are amplified, the hits are louder and the sound of glass smashing is always dominant. The happy music contrasts against the brutal fight, at the start of the fight and at the end, the amplified hits are apparent in the rest of the film but the music during the other fights is mostly fast paced and sets the mood of a hard hitting, adrenalin pumping fight. So the music sets us up for the Comedians loss at the end of the scene. This scene mostly relied on digetic sound to make the fight the most dominant feature in the scene and draw our attention to the effect that it had on the characters and environment around them.

Lighting.

Mostly dark lighting is used in this scene. This is used to create an dark tone and a feeling of isolation this was shown by the darkness around the edges of the screen and the heavy use of shadowing in the comedians apartment. This was important for the fight to make it seem more life threating, this also means that we focous on the action as it is highlighted on the screen. The lighting also dulls the colours in the Comedians apartment making his things look old and more fitting for the time, this is shown by the diffrent lighting in the news interview which was quite colourful and bright.

Genre/atmosphere.

The first technique used in this film to set the scene was an extreme close up of the Comedians smiley face badge, and then zoomed out to show the comedian in the kitchen in his dark apartment smoking and watching tv.this creates a mild tone and leads us slowly into the film.

This is followed by a point of view shot at the tv, this then zooms in and the scene changes into a news interview where the basic camera shots are used to develop the setting of a news interview. this adds a dramatic and sad mood created by the themes of the interview.

The scene then goes back to the comedians apartment the channel is changed and the song 'unforgettable' starts and sets up a light mood. there is a point of view shot of the comedians apartment door and then an over the shoulder shot of the other side of the door and then the door is kicked in, in slow motion and the comedian stands and says " just a matter of time I spose" and the fight commences. the dark lighting of the apartment gives the scene a isolated look and the smooth music contrasts against the destructive fight that takes place, this changes the tone to more intense and hardened look.


to be continued ...

why did it appeal to you?

This opening appealed to me because it included an intense fight scene, with high impact slowmotion and gritty destruction of the comedians apartment, this set me up for the fight scenes later on in the film in which the same techniques are used and the mood is the same throughout . Another aspect which appealed to me was the establishment of the possibilty of the threat of nuclear war with Russia. This was shown in the form of a news interview where the host and guests discussed the possibility of the Russians attacking America, which is one of the main themes in the movie.

How does it fit into the film as a whole?

This opening fits into the film because it gives us the two main themes of the story. One is that the watchmen are being targeted and set up by an unknown threat.  This is shown by the masked assailant breaking into the comedians apartment and murdering him. The second theme is the threat of nuclear war which is shown through a news interview where they discuss the possibility of the Russians starting a nuclear war with America . These themes set the mood of the film and stay within the story throughout the film.

Breifly describe the opening

This scene starts with the elderly comedian sitting in his apartment smoking and watching tv. A masked man kicks in the door and a fight breaks out. The comedian is then thrown out the window after stating that "it`s all a joke". The scene ends with a close up on the comedians smiley face badge showing the splater of blood that covers it before it falls to the ground.

Intro Choice

I chose to do the watchmen intro. I chose this because it did a good job of setting the scene of a gritty 1985, where superheroes protect the streets and villans lurk in the shadows.It also shows how the public have responded to the heroes over time, leading up to their eventual disbandment. It shows examples of love, hate and murder which isn't uncommon for the watchmen, as it is shown in the opening scene and the opening credits. The music in the opening credits fit the imagery that was shown. It showed a passing of time for the world and for the watchmen including events such as the J.F.Kennedy asassination and the election of Richard Nixon. The credits ended with the words "who watches the watchmen" tagged on a window during a riot. This implies that the feelings for the watchmen have changed and that their role as protectors is no longer needed.