'District 9' Opening Sequence Analysis

TITLES:

• Tristar a Sony Pictures Entertainment company: the film should have a good budget as it is a well known company.

CONVENTIONS:

• aliens, spaceships, fighting, discontent, government, a larger force trying to be in control of other things-these are all conventions of a sci-fi thriller

MISE-EN-SCENE:

• A man with a microphone being interviewed
  
• office behind him
  
• props: computers, phones, uniforms etc


• Aliens (aka Prawns)


• Spaceship
  
• Other Interviewees

CHARACTERS:

• the man is the first person we hear and see. He is the main focus of the first few shots and seems to be important throughout the whole of the opening sequence.
• We learn that he is working in an office, one that handles alien issues.
• He seems to be quite slow, nervous and slightly unintelligent by the way he fumbles about with the microphone not knowing where to put it and taking so long with it. Also, in the way he rambles on about his wife and doesn't know where to look whilst talking.
• He is from Johannesburg.
• His name is shown on the corner of the screen, as is his occupation.

CAMERA AND EDITING:

• looks like an interview and/or documentary-has the character's name and occupation at the left hand corner of the screen and is constantly focused on the character without movement at a medium/close up level.


• Some shots look like they are taken from a hand held camera as it wavers, zooms and focuses within the shot. This is predominantly when filming the spaceship so it looks like a civilian has filmed it or as if an official person who is an untrained cameraman has been hired to document the goings on.

• quick shots and camera movements to show destruction. Makes it seem more panicky and rushed.

SOUND:

• the muffling of the microphone being moved about


• the dialogue of the main character, the interviewer and the other interviewees


• the prawns


• the sound of the drill cutting into the spaceship


• these are all diagetic sounds which all seem to be part of the 'documentary'.

WHAT KEEPS US WATCHING?

It is a very unconventional way of filming and that intrigues us.

It also makes us ask lots of questions:

• why did the spaceship break down?


• Did the ship actually break down or is that a cover?


• what will happen to the aliens?


• why do the people disrespect them?
  
• whats going to happen?
  
• what is the man's role in all of the future events?


• are the aliens hostile?


• will they get to go back to their planet?

NARRATIVE:

• I think that the film is about an alien spaceship which has broken down over Johannesburg. The aliens inside are trapped and when the humans free them they create a horrible slum for them to live in. It seems that the aliens are treated unfairly and unethically and that events will progress from there. The man introduced at the very start will be a main character in the film, and, due to the fact he seems to be quite clumsy and awkward, something bad will happen to him.

*click here to watch the first 5 minutes of the film.*