Opening Scene - I Am Legend

During this lesson we studied the film opening to I Am Legend. we were again asked to focus on certain things, the setting, plot, characters, gender and camera settings. the first scene is a voice over talking about the sports and what team is winning this weekend. It then reported back to a studio news room with to women one news reporter and a doctor. the doctors name was Dr Crippen which rang some bells for us as an audience as Dr Crippen was a murderer in the 1900's and was a well known case. this hints that she has the same intentions as the original doctor. the news reporter claims that she has cured cancer and the she has cured everyone she has tried the vaccination. she is hesitant with her speech and goes of on a tangent about drunk drivers and policemen which makes us believe that she is not serious about what she is saying. the next scene is a blank screen with writing across the screen which is used to push the story along or to keep us updated if the story is moving along to fast. the next scene a group of establishing shots all in a row which is showing us where the film is set. these shots also show us that something severe has happened as the streets are empty and deserted which has either forced the people out of the city or that there has been multiple deaths occurred. the establishing shots also show us that the city has been deserted for over a year as the Christmas decorations are still up and swinging in the wind. the next shot is a crane shot which is typically used in New York scenes to show how busy the city is when its flooded with people and yellow cabs. however this scene is used to show how empty and deserted the city is except for the single red car the is driving down the street. the main character is a black masculine male played by will smith  who has played the hero in many other action films for example Men in Black and I Robot. This is also very similar to the Book Of Eli which also has a black male as their main character. this opening scene also involves a German Shepard which is similar to The Book Of Eli which involves a cat. The scene uses a lot of camera scenes including a long shot, panning shot, crane shot close up, tracking shot and a point of view shot which I thought was interesting as it was the point of view from the front of the car. The film I am legend has been given the BBFC classification of a 15 due to the use of strong and frequent violence throughout the film. The film also have scenes where animals are being killed which is why it has been given the 15 classifications.

 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksGH1NN8TBA- second part of the opening scene that couldn't be embedded