SSC Film Studies

Blade Runner Opening Scene

The opening scene of blade runner begins with a wide shot; this is used to establish the scene and the context of the film; in this shot we see the world could be interpreted as a representation of hell; lacking all natural colours the blue and greens, it is filled with an uneasy mixture of red and black. The world is seen to be a place where there is minimal life suggesting it is an unpleasant place also reinforcing the point its similar to 'Hell'. The shot further represents hell through the use of fire and explosions - this gives the impression the film will be full of danger, violence and death. The shot slowly tracks forwards this makes the audience feel as though they are there - the POV shot gives the impression that the audience are slowly being drawn to the unfamiliar world. Throughout the opening scene you are given an impression of the world itself, the use of the spaceships allow us to see the advancement in technology along with the industry dominated world.

Within the opening shots of BladeRunner there is a cut-in extreme close-up shot of an eye, this gives the audience the sense that the film will be a thriller and full of emotion, within this shot you can see the reflection of the environment this tells the audience that they are in two similar places. The eye is seen to be 'the window through the soul' this gives us a sense of emotion and what the character is feeling as the shot is an extreme  close up it hides the identity of the character, giving a sense of mystery enforcing the Thriller/Sci-fi genre.

The shot of the Pyramid Building allows us to see the significance of the building itself; giving the impression that it will be important to the narrative, the building and world itself are a complete juxtaposition of each-other as one is surrounded by light and the other by darkness. We are further given the impression that this building is important to the narrative as all the shots leading up to this the audience have slowly been progressing to it suggesting this could be the ending place of the film or the most important scene will happen here. The building dominates the environment, the size of the building itself represents its importance to the narrative.