Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Sherlock Holmes opening scene analysis.

The theme music at the beginning of the film is old fashioned piano music. As the action starts up, the music increases in speed and volume. The music goes with the overall tone of the opening scene as Sherlock Holmes is running through the street. There is also a lot of diegetic sound over the top of the theme music. You can hear horses, a gun loading, crows and heavy breathing.
The non-diegetic sound (background music) changes for certain people. All the time Holmes and Watson are on the screen the upbeat piano/drum music plays whereas, when the villain is shown, there is a kind of continuous, ominous sound. 
Also, the background music becomes very quiet when a conversation or voiceover is taking place but then builds up again just before a big fight so that the audience knows that action is coming. The drum beat becomes more prominent when a fight begins. 
When there's a big fight scene, the sounds are very exaggerated. For example, the punching sounds and the bones breaking.
At the end of the first scene there is a sound bridge. A picture is taken and the camera flash leads to the opening title. 

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