Opening Scene 2 - IT

IT

I am going to be looking at the opening scene for the film IT, which is a horror film, and analysing the conventions of opening sequences.

The scene begins with a little boy running down the road playing with a paper boat, made for him by his brother. There is the use of contrapuntal sound, with happy music playing showing the boy laughing and having fun, as well as the use of pathetic fallacy with the weather. The music comes to a sudden stop when he hits his head and changes to sinister music as he chases after his toy. There is the use of different enhanced sound effects when the clown appears as well as when the boy is talking to him and when the clown attacks the boy, which adds suspense and fear to the audience. There is a clear indication of the genre as soon as we are introduced to the clown. The setting is shown at the start with a shot of his house, as well as the sewers when the boy meets the clown. The name of the film is shown at the end, with enhanced sound effects and ambient sound of children singing in the background.