Disturbia

Before the movie even starts, the audience is introduced to the sinister soundtrack which signifies to them the movie is going to include some elements of thriller. Additionally when the movie does start, the screen is black and we just hear the voices of two male characters who think somebody is watching them. Already the fact that there’s no picture just sound builds suspense as the audience want to see what is going on, and the dialogue going on between the characters signify as if they are in danger.

However in the next shot when the camera tilts up from the water the audience see that the characters are not in danger but actually fishing, also the soundtrack changes from sinister to light-hearted and relaxing. As a result the audience can relax a little as they know the next few scenes will not be as tense as they expected. Furthermore the wide shot of the mountains and the greenery help establish the setting which is in the country. The next couple of shots of the Father and son fishing signifies their strong relationship, for example the two-shot of them standing close together. This is a typical thriller convention of how ordinary somebody’s life may seem until something comes along and makes it extraordinary.

Nevertheless in the following shot when the Father and son are in the car, the non-diegetic music is stopped and we can only hear the diegetic music such as the car engine. By this time the audience think everything is going well, as the dialogue between the son and the Mother shows. However when there’s a shot of the son looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing a car speed pass him, it starts to build suspense as we think somebody's going to crash. But then for the next couple of seconds nothing happens until suddenly the car crashes.

This shocks and thrills the audience because they weren’t expecting it, and also during the crash the non-diegetic sound builds up again and adds more tension to the scene. When the car eventually stops, so does the music so the audience think that the worst is over. However abruptly another car crashes into them and again the music builds up. When the camera slowly pans into the car window the audience already know that somebody has been seriously injured or worse and the music adds the suspense as the audience want to know who has survived.

When the son drags himself out of the car and his Father doesn’t follow again this keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. As the son goes round the car we then see a close-up of his face as he looks through the window. His expression tells us that

his Father didn’t make it and this is reinforced by the non-diegetic soundtrack which sounds like violins. From this point on the audience know things aren’t going to be the same for the son which could mean more danger ahead.Lastly the next shot is of the main title which is in white font which contrasts against the black background; the binary opposition signifies that there’s going to be good and evil battling it out later on in the film.