City of God Opening

The first minute of the film is very fast paced, the editing of the clips is very choppy and random. It leaves the audience quite confused. Some of the images are grusome and sickening, for example the birds head being chopped off. This demonstrates death and torture.

The music in the background has a fast and repetitive beat, it's the sound of someone beating a steal drum and someone faintly playing a guitar. There are lots of sound effects used along with the music to create a busy atmosphere.

The sharpening of the metal knife connotes death and it creates an eerie atmosphere. The sound of it scraping against the rock cuts through the happy music playing in the background. The focus of the clip is on the knife, this connotes that it could be a vital instrument in the film. A knife is a dangerous and sharp object used for cutting things. A few seconds later the knife is used to cut up the bird. This is a close up shot which leaves the audience feeling disturbed and traumatised.

A different bird gets away and runs off. Whilst following this bird, a pool of blood on a white plate suddenly appears. The shot is an extreme close up which leaves you feeling nauseous. Once the plate of blood is shown, the editing slows down and the music stops quickly. The audience are left with diagetic sounds of the scene such as the birds squawking, people moving and then a man shouting.

At the end of the opening credits, the aural sound of a car horn is heard. An image of the car is then seen and the bird appears underneath it still running away. This made me panic and left me feeling nervous as I thought the bird was going to die. Men appear holding guns, this connotes that they are violent and dangerous. One of the men command the boy on the other side to go after the bird. A police car pulls up suddenly behind the boy, the group of men pull the triggers on their guns aiming it their way. The young boy is left stuck in the middle between the good (the police) and the bad (the group of men). He bends down towards the bird, this is a long shot image. A 180 degree turn of the camera then happens, the boys eyes move with the camera. The focus is then on the police for a matter of seconds until another 180 degree turn happens where the focus goes back onto the group of men. The opening scene ends with a 360 degree turn where the boy visualises himself at a younger age. The ending creates a narrative that the boy in the middle is going to be the main character of the film.