http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/gone-girl/

Description of the opening sequence:

• The sequence starts with a long lasting shot of a man stroking the back of his wifes hair as she lays on his chest. As he strokes her hair he begans an inner-monolgue: “When I think of my wife, I always think of the back of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brain, trying to get answers. The primal questions of a marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?”

• The woman looks up at what is presumably the husbands face then rests her head on his chest, giving the viewer the first close up of the womans face.

• The shot fades into black and appears the main actors names on the screen.• The name of the film then appears with a scenic view of a sea shore at dawn.• The sequence continues with more actors name coming up on screen, each name

changes to a different shot of a town in what is presumably the main setting.• The camera then pans up to a shot of a clock, maybe in the middle of the town.• The shot then changes to a man who is in front of his house, near the road. He stands

there, looks left to right then behind him and turns to walk back to his house.• End of opening sequence.

Conforms to typical thriller conventions:

This opening sequences holds many conventions which are frequently seen in thriller films. The woman depicted below is shown to have her head rested upon her husbands chest. Her perfect blonde and beautiful features give the idea that she is innocent and pure, like an angel. However when she looks up, her facial expression looks arguably worried or scared- as if she is clenching the muscle in her neck from anticipation. This creates the illusion that she is a victim, which conforms to typical thriller characters. The viewer doesn’t actually see the husbands face yet as its behind the camera, but they can already assume he is a violent man through the inner monologue he is speaking. The way his hand strokes his wife’s hair is as if he has tamed her and has complete control over her as if she is ‘his possession’ and she cant escape his grasp. This creates the idea that he is somewhat psychotic or a criminal in some way, which once again follows typical thriller characters. The way in which the camera is positioned suggests the viewer is the man who has power over her, it creates the illusion like the viewer is watching her which conforms to the typical thriller theme of voyeurism and also relates to the thriller narrative of being watched.

Challenges typical thriller conventions:

The lighting is not conventional and doesn’t conform to typical thriller light. Usually lighting within thrillers involve dark and poor lighting which create shadows-this builds suspense and tension without music (shadows also follow typical thriller iconography). However, the lighting in the opening is day light which is associated with happiness and brightness. An example of a thriller film that has an opening that uses dim and dull lighting is ‘Se7en’:http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/se7en/The effect of challenging thriller conventions is a false sense of security and hope which the viewer experiences through the ‘new day’ lighting.

Soundtrack and SoundThe soundtrack, alike many other thriller soundtracks, uses high pitched noises to create suspense that initiates tension in the upcoming story. However, the 'gone girl' opening sequence soundtrack uses sounds that are usually associated with aliens, e.g the use of glass harp which is eerie and serious, which is not regularly used in thrillers. This soundtrack is very effective as it is not cliche as it doesn't use the typical loud and booming drum sounds to build suspense, instead it uses wirey and high notes to show a slow-burning story that is mirrored in the film. In the title sequence the non-diegetic sound of the narrators commentary is added. Spoken by Nick Dunne (the supposed anti-hero centering the film), his paced and neutral tone matched with his violent words create tension and initiate the idea that he may have killed his wife. Diegetic sounds are also used in the opening, including the sound of waves hitting the shore once the title of the film presents on screen and the sound of birds chirping in the morning throughout the scenic still shots of the town and the scene of Nick at the end of the sequence. These diegetic sounds were added to normalize the situation, it balances out the eerie of the soundtrack and the early narration with the normal images of the setting and the diegetic sounds.

The TitleThis title contrasts the scene around it, as it is in a small font centered on screen. It is in a pale yellow colour, symbolosing a new start or an awakening, comparatively to the dark and ominous blues that seem threatening to the title. The kerning of the title is very subtle, due to its small font, but its impact implies loneliness or a slow separation in which the characters are suffering. Therefore, the assumption could be made that a women is missing- presumably someone related to Nick- and that their relationship was not on good terms as they were drifting apart, much alike what the title seems to be doing. The centering of the title shows its importance to the story, as it symbolises the character of Amy in the story who wants to be at the center of attention and to be realised by everyone else. The purpose in displaying the title this way is to make sure the viewer isn’t suspicious about the female lead, whom appears to be the victim but is actually a psycho-which follows thriller conventions. The effect upon the viewer is within the same context as the purpose as it mirrors Amy’s deceiving personality perfectly, making the viewer seem safe within the captivating images on screen.

CostumeThe opening sequence establishes character/setting for the viewer. So as Nick Dunne appears on screen, the viewer must realise that he is significant to the plot of the film, so judge him based on his physical appearance ect.

Nick wears monotone and simple clothing, which may reflect his personality. The plain/somewhat dark expression matches his costume to reveal somewhat sinister qualities within this man. He also appears to be seen wearing running shows, implying that he is fed up with the life he lives so he wishes to run away but some force always returns him home, as if his life is running in circles.

LightingLighting is important throughout the opening sequence as well as the whole film as it reflects the theme of time. Within this still image it depicts that it is dawn, as if the town is waking up. The lighting is natural and is a mix of purple/orange/blue colours, which make it seem as if the weather is cold. The director uses

In this still image it shows a now blue sky, once again using natural lighting. It is used by the director to show a normal, everyday atmosphere for the characters-which is contradicted by the soundtrack.

Camera Angles/shotsVery interesting and different camera angles are used throughout the opening sequence, particularly in the title sequence where different still images of the town is shown. The first image is a worms eye angle shot and is particularly interesting because the placement of the camera creates perspective, giving the illusion that the shot is canted. Alike the first still image, the second also has an alluring sense of perspective as it is a slight low angle. The director used this camera angles to display the abnormality within the town.

This still image presents an eye level angled shot, which is unambiguously shown when the women turns her face to the camera. Such angles are used to show the character on screen in detail, not paying much intention to the background-only the features of the person on screen.

RepresentationWithin the opening sequence, time is a key theme presented unambiguously throughout. It is noticeably dawn when the title of the film comes up, were the background slowly gets brighter as the morning awakens. Then there is a mass of different shots, each creates an illusion that time is going on and the people of the town are waking up. When the shot goes to Nick, he is already up and seems to have been on a run. This can be interpreted as he is the only one awake during the early hours, symbolising his unhappiness and a need for an escape. Time is apparent as the opening sequence begins to close and ‘The morning of’ appears on the screen. This shows how something terrible is going to happen, and time will be necessary for this mans future. Unknown to the viewer, Nick has a certain amount of time before all the clues are found which points him as the suspected murderer of his wife. However, the director gives clues to importance of time throughout the opening.

‘Macro Ideas’-GenderWithin this scene, men are shown as controlling and violent which is shown through the use of sound and images on screen, whilst women are shown as delicate victims. These type of characteristics follow well-known stereotypes of these genders and is shown through the inner dialogue spoken by Nick implies harm onto Amy, whom seems innocent and unknown of his intentions. However, it can be said that this is also a countertype as men are supposed to save the damsels in distress, not hurt them-which isn’t implied here. Nick is shown to be masculine and strong through is appearance as he is wearing plain clothing that clings to his defined muscles, which is a stereotype that all men are strong. Amy’s appearance also follows the ‘blonde, thin and beautiful is perfect’ stereotype of women, as she is shown to have no hair out of place nor a blemish.