OPENING SEQUENCES AND SETTING - 'THE SHINING'

The first film I am going to be analysing how they introduce setting and how this creates meaning and expectations for the audience is the film 'The Shining'. The Shining' is a psychological horror film. 

The opening sequence of 'The Shining' is a very good example of a film that uses the first scenes to introduce setting. The first three minutes of the film are directly focusing on the setting, not introducing any characters. The closest thing the audience can see to the characters is a small yellow car, which they can infer has the main protagonists inside. Whilst this foreshadows what happens later on in the movie, it is indirect. It focuses completely on the long, winding roads, with desolate, uninhibited land around them, signalling to the audience that the characters are moving far away from reality and civilisation. The director uses aerial, establishing shots to create an unnerving atmosphere surrounding the setting. It feels like the car is being followed, with surveillance-like camera work. This presents the setting as ominous, and creeping away from reality. The vast, cold landscape reinforces the sense that the characters are heading out to a place where they will be physically and psychologically cut off from the outside world. The combination of the camera angles and the vast setting both contribute to building an oncoming fear within the audience before they even reach the hotel.