I've chosen to analyse the Mise-en-scene of the opening titles
of the movie "One Hour Photo". The opening titles of this movie uses non-diegetic sound to create a creepy and eerie atmosphere and to set a tone for the rest of the movie, preparing the audience for what the movie will be like. The titles flash on the screen like a camera, relating to the plot of the movie as Robin Williams' character develops photos. The layout of the titles is also similar to that of a camera screen as the information is structured similarly to the information shown on a camera screen. During some of the titles, there are images of the family that are focuses on throughout the plot of the movie but because they are being developed are still in a negative format, bringing that creepy and tense atmosphere back again as the family look twisted and somewhat demonic. The first shot is a medium shot of the camera used to take mug shots of a criminal under incarceration. There is a long pause and the shot lingers until the camera flashes and then there is a black out. The setting of the opening is a police station, which tells the audience that this is a crime thriller and that the man under incarceration has committed a crime. The camera used as a prop in this opening scene is fairly dated as the movie was set in 2002, but at the time was probably state of the art technology. This sets up a recurring motif in the movie of cameras as there is this one used to take mug shots and Robin Williams' character "Sy" develops photos from disposable Kodak cameras. During the actual investigation sequence, the audience are not actually allowed to see the photos which creates a sense of uncertainty as we're not sure what crime has been committed and what kind of evidence the police asks. When Sy asks to see the photos it makes it seem as if he is proud of the crime he has committed, giving the impression that he is a psychopath or a sadist, which is a typical type of antagonist in a thriller movie, therefore sticking to the conventions of the thriller genre.
Ronan Roux Analysis of a thriller opening
We are first introduced to Sy when the camera flashes and we
see a mug shot of him on the screen. He is a well-dressed, middle-aged man who doesn't look like a typical criminal. This sticks to the conventions of the thriller genre as well as most thrillers are portrayed as somewhat realistic and this character introduced shows that everyone has the potential of being a criminal, adding to the sense of uneasiness the audience is feeling as they might feel they can't trust anyone.