The film opens with a wide shot. Through mise en scene we can see that in this wide shot there is a traditional style American house in located in some woodland. Tall trees surround the house with one car sitting out the front. Just from this one shot we get a sense that the house is fairly secluded and away from any built up town or village meaning that the person or people that live in the house are physically quite alone. We also can infer that there is only one person living in the house as there is only one fairly small car sitting out the front. The camera then tracks forward towards the house telling the viewer that this will be a location that is relevant throughout the film. We can also hear the diegetic sound of the breeze and birds chirping which fit in with the setting of the. Furthermore we can hear the non-diegetic sound of some music faintly in the background. The music is slow and creates a sense of unease. Just as the camera reaches the house we hear the ticking of a gas stove, which tells the viewer that there is someone present in the house.
A montage of close up shots then follows this. These close ups are of typical cooking activities like the cork of a wine bottle opening, knife chopping an onion, the crushing of a garlic clove. Throughout these shots we can hear nothing but the diegetic sound effects of each of these actions. The sounds are louder than they normally would be to make them clear and even make the viewer think about the significance of these sounds. This is then followed by a medium close up of a female character facing her laptop. All of the background noise slowly fades as the camera rotates to be behind her shoulders so we see what she is seeing. This gives the viewer an understanding of what the female is experiencing. This gives the key point of information to the audience, which is that the main character is deaf. This is then followed by a mid shot of the oven where through editing the diegetic sound suddenly returns as the door shuts creating a very sudden slam sound. This sound makes the viewer jump and anticipate a sense of danger.
This is followed by a close up of the top right hand corner of her laptop. We hear the diegetic sound of a notification. We can see in this shot that the message says ‘can I stop by?’ From “Sarah Next Door’. This informs the audience that she is not completely secluded and that she does have friends and neighbours creating a slightly friendlier atmosphere. This is further reinforced in a low angle shot of the female characters feet where we see a cat run through the open door. We now know that the female character has a friend and a pet lessening the sense of loneliness.
This is followed by an over the shoulder shot of the female character walking towards the house making the house that previously looked fairly intimidating slightly more inviting. This is where we begin to understand the friendship between these two characters. This is shown immediately as they meet through a mid shot of them greeting one another with a hug suggesting they are fairly close friends.
Throughout this opening the viewer is made to feel slightly uncomfortable because of how secluded the character seems to be. The setting and style of the house also create a sense of mystery along with her disability while the close friend creates a slight sense of security.
A montage of close up shots then follows this. These close ups are of typical cooking activities like the cork of a wine bottle opening, knife chopping an onion, the crushing of a garlic clove. Throughout these shots we can hear nothing but the diegetic sound effects of each of these actions. The sounds are louder than they normally would be to make them clear and even make the viewer think about the significance of these sounds. This is then followed by a medium close up of a female character facing her laptop. All of the background noise slowly fades as the camera rotates to be behind her shoulders so we see what she is seeing. This gives the viewer an understanding of what the female is experiencing. This gives the key point of information to the audience, which is that the main character is deaf. This is then followed by a mid shot of the oven where through editing the diegetic sound suddenly returns as the door shuts creating a very sudden slam sound. This sound makes the viewer jump and anticipate a sense of danger.
This is followed by a close up of the top right hand corner of her laptop. We hear the diegetic sound of a notification. We can see in this shot that the message says ‘can I stop by?’ From “Sarah Next Door’. This informs the audience that she is not completely secluded and that she does have friends and neighbours creating a slightly friendlier atmosphere. This is further reinforced in a low angle shot of the female characters feet where we see a cat run through the open door. We now know that the female character has a friend and a pet lessening the sense of loneliness.
This is followed by an over the shoulder shot of the female character walking towards the house making the house that previously looked fairly intimidating slightly more inviting. This is where we begin to understand the friendship between these two characters. This is shown immediately as they meet through a mid shot of them greeting one another with a hug suggesting they are fairly close friends.
Throughout this opening the viewer is made to feel slightly uncomfortable because of how secluded the character seems to be. The setting and style of the house also create a sense of mystery along with her disability while the close friend creates a slight sense of security.