Research Work: Opening Scene

Research Work: Opening Sequence 
Movie: Predestination

Analyzing the opening scene of Predestination it was quite different then other movies. The Opening scene of the movie starts off with a blank screen and narration in the background. "What if I could put him in front of you? The man that ruined your life? If I could guarantee that you'd get away with it would you kill him?" This Quote gave the viewer some idea of what the movie could be about such as Betrayal, Crime, Drama and Action. This Quote is important as it is used later in the movie as well.

The next scene starts a sort of teaser of the movie which shows a man walking in the corridor of a building. People are walking up and down the corridor and their clothing is that of the 60's or 70's. Emphasis is given on the man which shows us that he is an important character.

The character is carrying a briefcase in one hand and a violin case in the other. Emphasis is given on the violin case giving the viewer the idea that it is an object of importance. This emphasis is really important because the violin case is an essential part of the movie. Till this point the character's identity is not revealed and the viewers are left in a suspensed mood.

The character who's identity still remains a mystery goes down some stairs to a sort of boiler room. The location in the background shows some sort of underground boiler room. The lighting here is dim the kind of you would find in a boiler room or basement etc. The character puts down the briefcase and the violin case. Suspensing and thrilling music plays in the background creating a an image in the minds of the viewers of what might take place next.

The character pulls off a cover a underneath we see a timer connected to some barrels. A closeup shot is taken of the timer which is counting down telling us that it is a bomb of some sort. At this point the viewers get some idea of what the character might be about, maybe an agent of some sort to disable a bomb? In this scene the shots range from medium to closeup shots of the character working to diffuse the bomb. Camera angles vary from low level to eye level shot. In the next scene another character is introduced whos identity is also hidden. The main character and the other character exchange some gunfire and as the main character almost diffuses the bomb it denotes early leaving the character burnt. In this scene the camera angles range fom high level to low level and at some points canted shots could be seen. Camera shots varied from long range to medium with individual shots.

In the above screenshot we can observe the main character who is burnt badly from the face holding thr violin case. Referring to my previous point where the violin case was emphasized upon it can be seen that it is indeed an object of importance. The character presses a button on the violin case and that is where the scene ends abruptly to this...

The viewers are again left here with many questions such as what happened when he pressed the button? Did he disappear or teleport? Why wasn't the main character showed? and lastly is this the same character from the previous scene? Over here we are shown someone (possibly the main character) wrapped in bandages. This is an extreme close up shot of the face and the camera angle seems to be a birds eye view.

The characters point of view is shown and the character looks upto these words on the ceiling. The viewers are left wondering what these mean and are left with the question of where the character is.

In the next shot we are shown a medium/long range shot of what seems to be a hospital room. The character is shown to be in the bed bandaged heavily and that gives the viewers the thought that this person could be the same character from the first scene. The location is really important in this shot as the previous scene gave an impression that it was set in the 60's or 70's but over here the room looks quite modern. Another thing that is quite noticeable is that it is not your ordinary hospital room and seems to be like a secure room of an intelligence agency or the army. The lighting of the room also gives the impression that the character is not in a hospital.

The scene then shifts and we see two men in suits debriefing the character. They present him with a medal and this shows that hes either military or a part of a secret organisation. They also talk about the mission he was sent on clarifying us that he is an agent. The character talks about a 'fizzle bomber' possibly someone he was sent to catch and and the viewers might also think that the fizzle bomber was the second character firing in the beginning. The two men then tell him to rest and recover before he is sent out on his next mission.

As the character recovers we are shown that he is in a room with articles and notes on the wall all about the fizzle bomber. The character is narrating in the background about how the fizzle bomber has killed so many people and that he has not been able to catch him yet. He then says that the fizzle bomber's grand plan is to kill 10,000 people in New york city and he has to stop that from happemimg.

In the next few shots we see that the character has had plastic surgery and has recovered well and is now about to be sent on a mission. The character is shown to be getting ready in the above shot in a room where there are clothes and the room seems quite similar to the hospital type room and this implies that he is in the same building. The two characters from the previous scene return to prepare the main chracter for his mission. A woman walks in holding the violin case which again points to the fact that it is a very important part of the movie.

The woman sets a date on the violin case and wishes the main character good luck. The viewers get some idea that maybe the violin case is a sort of teleportation device? As everyone says goodluck they leave the room and the opening scene of the movie ends with...

The Movie Title 'Predestination".