Mean Creek opening sequence analysis

Mean Creek is an independent thriller/drama, released in 2004 and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, who gained an Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award due of its success. Other films by this director include Summoning and Nearing Grace.
The opening sequence to Mean Creek begins with a production company logo which fades to black and then to the beginning of the scene. There are no characters introduced to the viewer at this point in the film, however, the actors’ names slowly move across the screen. The location is unknown to the viewer as they can only see that the camera is underwater. As the camera moves around underwater, not much can be recognised from the setting as it becomes blurry and unfocused. The opening sequence uses a point of view shot throughout which gives the viewer a hint of what may happen to one of the characters later on in the film. However, it is difficult to identify other shot types in the opening sequence due to the location as there is no sense of scale. The only other shot that seems to be used is a low angle shot towards the end of the sequence showing a boat on the water’s surface. Also, at this point, the viewer can hear diagetic sounds of people talking. Apart from this, there is no other diagetic sound used, only non-diagetic sound which seems calm, like the water, but also very eerie, making the viewer feel uneasy. This introduces the viewer to the signature theme tune which they will hear later on in the film. At the end of the sequence, the title ‘Mean Creek’ appears on screen in the same way as the credits before, and the screen slowly fades to black.
The editing during the opening sequence is subtle and not very fast-paced, connoting the pace of the film and also mirroring the movement of the water. The viewer is able to tell the genre of the film almost immediately because of this. The pace of the opening sequence also shows the director’s style as he seems to keep it simple to leave the viewer guessing, making it obvious to the viewer that the genre is thriller. This also links to the opening sequence convention that ‘an opening sequence will contain questions that the viewer finds intriguing’, helping to draw the viewer in.
The viewer cannot be certain of the specific lighting used in the sequence, however we are led to believe that it is natural daylight. Although, the viewer gets a sinister feel about the film almost straight away due to the contrasting shadowing in the scene.
The opening sequence to Mean Creek is short and very basic, but effective. It gives almost no information about the film’s storyline whatsoever. This keeps the viewer questioning and wanting to see what happens next.



Unfortunately I was unable to find a clip of the film's opening sequence. However, here is the link to the official website which contains interesting things about the film: http://www.meancreekmovie.com/