NINE FRAME STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF TWO FILM OPENINGS

8 1/2, DIR. FEDERICO FELINI (1963)

1. The establishing shot is a wide angled mid shot, positioned behind the protagonist's car. By deliberately introducing the protagonist from behind enigma is created.
2. The shot tracks to reveal the multiple lanes of traffic at a standstill. The lighting inside the tunnel is artificial and there are lots of shadows, again attributing to the enigma of the opening.
3. A close up of the protagonist shot again from behind implies the surrealistic atmosphere. The framing is tight, inferred not only by the shots positioning but by the setting. The cars surrounding the protagonist's suggest a sense of confinement. 
4. The camera pans to reveal the occupants of the nearby car, who are eerily indifferent to the situation. The almost deafening silence of these opening shots signifies the dramatic tone of the film.
5. The next shot hints at the impending danger has found himself in, as he begins to wipe the windscreen hurriedly. His face still hasn't been revealed. Later in the opening it is disclosed that this sequence was a dream. It can therefore be interpreted that the director chose to hide the protagonist's face deliberately because in dreams we can take on different personas, or perhaps its a reference to our inability to fabricate faces; instead every face that we see in a dream is one we have consciously seen before. Not showing the protagonist's face plays on this. 
6. Once again, there is a tight close up of the character from behind, this time it is more concentrated on his head. The car is starting to fill up with smoke and this shot indicates entrapment.
7. One of the key shots of the opening wherein the occupants of the surrounding cars are seen passively staring at the protagonist as he struggles to escape his car. The framing is dense which emphasises the eerie presence of the onlookers. At the top of the frame a bus is positioned, its passengers all stood up and pressed against the windows. Their heads however, like the protagonist, are unseen. 
8. Another shot of the protagonist attempting to escape his car. By cutting from shots of his car to that of the surrounding a powerful contrast is made; the protagonists supposed struggle against death with those around him's indifference. 
9. This shot from outside the window has a significant impact on the audience because by now the car has filled with white smoke and protagonist's actions of putting his hands on the window highlights his desperation and the seriousness of his situation. 

VERTIGO, DIR. ALFRED HITCHCOCK (1958)

1. In this establishing shot, the woman's face occupies the left third and therefore is the dominant in the frame. By using an extreme close up, enigma is created as to the identity of the woman.
2. The camera moves to frame her lips. This slow and partial reveal of her face attributes to the thriller genre.
3. The opening continues as the camera, using the pedestal movement, draws the audience's attention to the woman's eyes.
4. The camera begins to zoom into one of the eyes. Throughout the opening so far the framing has been tight meaning that the audience are restricted to view only what the director wants them to see, in this case features of an unknown woman's face.
5. The screen is gradually flooded with the colour red and the woman's eye widens, perhaps in an expression of fear. All of these unusual shots engage the audience's interest in the film. 
6. As the camera stays stationary, 'swirling' animation appears in the pupil and expands until it dominates the screen.
7. Lasting the next three shots, credits appear in the right third of the screen whilst various coloured animations occupy the other two thirds, contrasted against the black background.