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My best film opening 
Analysis 
George jacklin
The film that I have decided to use is 
‘The Book of ELI’ 
 I have chose this film because of the amount of enigma in the opening scene. 
I also like the actor ‘Denzel Washington’. All of the way through the opening 
scene you are thinking who is this person and what is he doing in this 
abandoned place. There is also a very impressive fight scene where one man 
gets his hand cut clean off. This shows us that the film producers have put a 
lot of money in the film because it looks very convincing. Directed by the 
Hughes brothers. The film was first realest in 2010. 
 Main cast: 
 Denzel Washington = Eli Gary Oldman = Carnegie Mila Kunis =Solara
How the actors look 
 The actor Denzel Washington who plays the role of Eli looks very fitting to 
the scene. He is wearing dirty clothing and has most of himself covered up. 
This connotes that he doesn't want to stand out and just wants to get past 
without getting interrupted. The bandits look as though they are in clothing 
that they have acquired from all of the people that they have stole from, for 
example they are not all in the same type of clothing like a uniform so they 
stand out from each other. The girl in the middle of the road is in a dress, this 
connotes that she is venerable and that she needs help. This is good because 
it makes the audience trust her but we then find out that she was with the 
bandits.
Stand out moments in this opening. 
 The main stand out moment in this opening is when the bandits attempt to 
rob Eli but he ends up cutting one mans hand off and then kills all of them 
without a problem. This stands out because of the graphic content on the 
mans cut off hand, it look very realistic and makes you gasp and cringe. 
 Another stand out moment in the opening is when Eli first encounters the 
woman in the middle of the road. At first the audience thinks that she is 
venerable and that he is going to help her but then it soon escalates and all of 
the bandits come out. 
 Another standout moment in this opening is when is does a establishing shot 
of the high way that is full of destroyed cars. This stands out because is 
contrasts with the normal world and really draws you attention in to the film 
because you want to know what could have done this to this many people.
The book of Eli summarised plot 
 Eli (played by Denzel Washington) is appointed the task of finding and 
delivering the book (bible) to the ship where a collection of all of the most 
famous book are being saved. This takes place after a nuclear apocalypse so 
most of the land is desert. He comes across a gang of bikers and there boss 
wanted the last known bible so that he could rewrite history with him playing 
the part of God. Once he has delivered the book, they copy it thousands of 
times and spared the work of God.
MELCS 
Mise-en-scene 
 In this opening there has been good use of setting and props. For example the 
woman is on the floor she has a shopping trolley by her side and all of the 
content has fallen out. This makes her look vulnerable to Eli so he isn't 
threatened by her. Another good use of props is the weapons the bandits use, 
They all look to be real. The setting is very effective because it looks to be 
set in a place where it was once very populated but now is left abandoned. At 
the very start there is a dead body on the floor, this shows the audience that 
the film is going to be violent throughout. This is then supported when it goes 
to the fight scene and Eli has to kill all of the men. At the start the setting is 
in a dark forest which connotes danger and evil. This also links in the film as a 
whole because it is a very violent film with lots of blood and gore.
MELCS 
Editing 
 Low key green lighting in the forest right at the start of the film, this 
connotes that something is going to go wrong and people should be afraid of 
this place . Extremely good continuity I saw no errors that would make the 
film seem to be unreal of poorly made. This connotes that the film was good 
quality and that the film producers have put lots of money in the this film to 
make sure that it all goes right and according to plan. The start of the film is 
very slow pace, This will build up tension and create lots of enigma. This will 
intern make the audience want to carry on watching the film to find out what 
will happen next. The transitions that are used are cut transitions. They use 
these because they make it more realistic then is they was to put a star cut 
in.
MELCS 
Lighting 
 Low key under the bridge when the fighting goes on. Low key lighting in the 
forest connotes danger and horror. This sets the tone of the film and givers 
you a good idea of the genre. This will create a large amount of enigma for 
the audience and makes them feel uneasy about what the film is going to be 
about. In the image at the bottom shows Eli to be on a high way that has been 
abandoned. there is low key lighting to show that many people have lost their 
lives in this place. It also shows that Eli is the centre and the world is all gone 
in to chaos
MELCS 
camera 
 Low angle shots of Eli to show that he is superior to the other men. There is a 
restricted shot at the start of the opening scene where the camera is showing 
you around the location and then it goes down to the floor so that you cannot 
see what is there. This creates a mass amount of enigma and really makes you 
want to know what is there. This will make the audience want to carry on 
watching the film to find out what is happening. They use a pan camera shot 
right at the start of the opening, this is to show the audience all of the 
location of the setting to exaggerate that the man is all alone. This is very 
affective because is shows dead people and shows that Eli is the only man left 
alive.
MELCS 
Sound 
 Slow pace non-diegetic music is used as it connotes danger and horror. They 
have done this because it will make the audience need to engage with the 
film to know what is going on. It also sets the tone of the film and allows the 
viewers to know that the film is going to be gory and have some jumpy 
moments throughout. 
 The film also uses diegtic sound for the cross bow when he shoots the cat. 
There is next to no sound until you hear the twang of the arrow cutting 
through the air towards the helpless cat. This builds up enigma because you 
don't know what Eli is going to shoot as there is a dead bodies next to the cat 
so it makes you think that he is shooting people.
Conventions 
 The film shows the title “The Book of Eli” right at the end of the opening 
scene. This will build up enigma and make the audience need to use their 
brain to find out what might be going on and indulges them in to the film. 
 The opening also shows the names of some of the main actors such as Denzel 
Washington. This tells the audience that the film has had a big budget as 
Denzel Washington is a highly regarded actor and has been in many good films 
with a high budget. 
 They also use the studio logo in the opening so that the audience know a bit 
more about the film like the genre and things like is the film going to be a 
cartoon or real people. 

Conventions 
 The film also introduces you to the main character very well. You see Eli 
looking in buildings and cars for supplies. This tells that reader that he knows 
what he is doing in this situation and makes them think that it has been going 
on for a long time. 
 They use a good establishing shot at the start to show the whole location and 
to exaggerate how alone that Eli is. 
 The equilibrium in this film is used to create a world in the future where 
there has been a nuclear explosion destroying a large amount of the world 
leaving it as one large desert.
Enigma 
One question that is raised in the opening scene of this film is, what is the 
book? The fact that they don't tell you what the book is right until the end of 
the film makes the think of all sorts of things, you really want to know what 
the book is about and how it can restore hope to the world. 
Another question the opening raises is, how did Eli survive the nuclear 
apocalypse all by himself? This makes the audience think that the book could 
have given his some kind of powers. This is supported by the fact that he is 
capable of killing all of the bandits with ought them ever touching him. 
Another question the opening raises is why is there a dead man there? Did Eli 
kill him? of was this man Eli? This is very effective as it makes the audience 
feel uneasy because you don't expect to see a dead man right at the start of 
the film. It helps to establish the genre because if there is a dead man they 
you know that the film will be a horror or a action film.
The opening scene establishes genre 
 The opening scene establishes genre because of the low key lighting. The low 
key lighting would connote that the film is going to be a action film or a 
horror as people would expect a horror or action film to be in the dark. 
 Another way the opening scene establishes genre is the dead man with a gun 
next to him. The gun connotes danger and fast pace action and the dead man 
connotes horror. This will allow the audience to understand the genre. 
 Also the opening scene establishes genre by showing the man with a bow and 
arrow. This connotes that the film is going to be a fast pace action film.
Narative 
 This film opening does not have a supportive narrative throughout. This is not 
used because it will help to build up the amount of enigma. If the opening 
was to have a narrative then it would not be as effective in the way that all 
of the information that is hidden would be given away to easy and make the 
film boring.
What makes the opening good 
I think that this film is good because of the amount of enigma that is created. It 
makes the audience want to know what is going on and makes them want to 
continue to watch the film. 
Another reason why this film opening is good is because of the low key lighting 
that has been used. This sets the tone and genre of the film and also ads even 
more enigma to the scene. 
The opening scene is good because it doesn't show the actors names right at the 
start so no attention is drawn away from what is going on on the screen