How Does Baz Luhrmann Create Atmosphere in the Opening Sequence of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essays

How Does Baz Luhrmann Create Atmosphere in the Opening Sequence of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essays How Does Baz Luhrmann Create Atmosphere in the Opening Sequence of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Paper How Does Baz Luhrmann Create Atmosphere in the Opening Sequence of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Paper Essay Topic: Film The opening sequence of a film is very important as it sets the tone for the rest of the film. Baz Luhrmann modernises Shakespeares 1595 classic tragic love story by using atmosphere such as the fonts he uses and the background music. The opening of a film introduces the director, and what his style is, it gives the director a chance to be creative and experiment with different sound effects and lighting. The first minute and a half of the film is the opening sequence. It gives you an idea of what genre it is going to be, Luhrmann creates his own category of Romantic drama, it shows you that its going to be a romance film because of the language it uses Star crossd lovers and drama by using take their lives, the opening sequence of this film shows the audience that its going to be action packed. Luhrmann uses guns and gang violence to connect with the audience and draw them in. You dont see Romeo or Juliet in the opening sequence of the film to build up the suspense, of how they will be introduced. The first scene we come to is a black screen with an old fashioned television this tells the audience that although its modern, they are still using old things to keep the essence of the play there. The black background suggests that its going to be quite a mysterious film with a lot of death in it because black is dark and when people mourn they wear black. The TV screen is snow screen and fuzzy which may suggest chaos and mayhem to some viewers. The second scene, the TV clicks on, Luhrmann presents the prologue as a news bulletin that gives the events a feeling of urgency of an on-the-spot news report. The news broadcaster has replaced Shakespeares chorus for a modern audience. The news broadcaster reading is diagetic sound because it is in the film, and if you were in the scene, you would hear it. The tone she speaks in is quite deep and serious, suggesting that something bad has happened. Luhrmann emphasizes the setting as the prologue ends, and you hear a rumble, this is non-diagetic sound because if you were in that scene, you wouldnt hear it, it is added in as a sound effect. The camera zooms forward to scenes of Verona, this is the third scene, this scene uses non-diagetic sound with the choral music which is in sync with the flashing and zooming camera movements and angles. It uses mainly non-diagetic sound; it has a camera zooming in sound as the camera actually zooms into an extreme close up of the Jesus statue. The modern font used represents the modern way Luhrmann has represented the classic play. The camera movements and camera angles used in this scene is a long shot which zooms into an extreme close up. The fourth scene is a close up of the Jesus statue, this is the second time we see this statue in the space of 30 seconds, and this suggests that things in the film are going to be quite rushed, showing that its going to be quite chaotic. The words In fair Verona makes it seem glamorous, but Luhrmann presents Verona as a modern city, dominated by scenes of urban violence. Again Luhrmann presents a chaotic urban world familiar to a 21st -century cinema audience. The fifth scene moves from the fourth scene by a camera zoom. It shows a crane shot, of the two familys skyscrapers, and the statue of Jesus in the middle of them, this shows that they both have one thing in common that joins them, their religion. The left skyscraper is the Capulets skyscraper, their logo is the head of a bear, bears are vicious animals and travel in packs, they will do anything to protect their cubs, this shows that the Capulet family is a very close family, and will do anything to protect each other, even if it means murder. On the left hand side of the Capulet skyscraper, is a block of apartments that look quite run-down, on the block, there is an advertisement for Montague. This shows that they are in competition, and in front of the apartment block, is a big billboard, the word Lamour is written in coca-cola font. Lamour is French for love. Verona beach is in Italy, but the film is set in America, and there is a French sign, this could be to do with the immigration to America at the time. On the right hand side of the Jesus statue is the Montague skyscraper, this is a lot more modern than the Capulet, and their logo is three hexagons, put together to look like a bees honeycomb, bees travel in swarms, and this shows that this family too is very close to one another, In front and just to the right of the skyscraper is an old building, there is an advertisement on it that says Capulet, this shows the rivalry between the two families. The Montague logo is a lot more modern than the Capulet; this is Baz Luhrmanns way of linking the old play, and the modern film together. The sixth scene is an extreme close-up of a Verona beach police car, the police car doesnt look like the police cars today so this shows us again, the play being brought into the film, not only through speech, but by using props that are associated with that time era. The camera movement is called tracking, this is where the camera follows or tracks the object, in this case a police car, and then switches to the next scene. Through all these scenes, the choral religious music is still played. The seventh scene is in three parts, the camera flashes quickly between three different images, the first is a picture of the two families, the second is the statue of Jesus, and the third is an image of the city, focusing on the two family skyscrapers. Camera angles used in this scene are crane shot, panning shot, and extreme close-up. The next scene is a crane shot of a police helicopter, standing in the open doorway of it, is a policeman in full body gear, and a gun in his hand. This shows even more violence. This scene uses diagetic sound by using the helicopter blades. The choral music is still playing throughout these scenes. The camera movement used in this scene is tracking, the camera is following the helicopter, and then again, it flicks to the next scene. This builds up tension in the scene by using the choral music; it is quite a high and dramatic sounding track so it goes with the theme of Romeo and Juliet. The ninth scene is a mid-shot and a crane shot, it shows a man being forced down onto a mattress by police officers, the mattress is grubby looking and dirty, and the floor around him is covered in rubbish, this shows that Verona beach is not a glamorous place, and is far from it. Some of the police officers have guns in their hands, and one of them pulls his handcuffs out. This creates a violent and disturbing atmosphere, not all of the people who live in Verona are a Montague or Capulet, so why dont they leave Verona? They might want to stay because of the atmosphere it creates, it thrills them, and everyday would be exciting. The next scene is the tenth, it uses a mid-shot of the family trees, which are faded in front of the skyscrapers, the family trees set on fire, and the choral music fades. The prologue that the news broadcaster read out is then repeated by a male narrator. When he says Take their life it is in an older fashioned font, thet looks like a crucifix This creates a religious atmosphere, leading us to believe that maybe religion is the only thing these families have in common, and religion is the only thing stopping them killing each other. This religious atmosphere tells us that the film will have a lot of quotes from the bible and a lot of Christian sayings. Luhrmann presents Verona as a modern city, dominated by scenes of urban violence. Aerial shots move across the cityscape as police cars and helicopters dart about, and casualties are scattered across the ground. Watching them is an enormous statue of Jesus, suggesting that the families are very religious; this is backed up by the choral religious music. These opening shots of a city divided by violence sets the scene and atmosphere for the eventual action of the film. The diagetic and non-diagetic sound, camera angles, camera movements and fast editing that Baz Luhrman uses creates a dramatic romantic atmosphere in the opening sequence. This dramatic opening draws in the more modern youths as an audience and builds up suspense for the action ahead.