I Am Legend - opening sequence analysis

Narrative:
The narrative is linear and chronological, as all the events happen order, this makes this opening flowing and easy to follow. The interview at the beginning is quite positive and so there is equilibrium, however as the film then cuts to the 2012 the audience realize that Robert Neville (Will Smith) is left as the last heathy human in New York city, which results in a disequilibrium.

Codes & Conventions:

I Am Legend includes several codes and conventions of the thriller genre, it immediately introduces several questions to the audience, like 'How did she cure cancer?',  this is known as the question and answer model. I am Legend similarly uses mazes and labyrinths, as the main character is faced with many mazes full of twists and dead ends in order to come to a final outcome. Additionally 'Heroic Romance' is included as the main character likely to be an ordinary person is to be turned into a hero, this allows the audience to relate more to the film. 'The Exotic' as a normal/modern city like New York is has been transformed into something 'enchanted' full of mystery.

Camerawork:

The film begins with many establishing shots of New York city, emphasizing how stranded and abandoned it is, these shots express the vulnerability that the main character may have. Each shot includes something that suggests that this city has been stranded for at least a  few months as there are plants and weeds that are overgrown. There are many long shots, these additionally show the emptiness of this city. During the opening there is a birds eye view of the city which tracks the vehicle on the road, in this shot the only thing that is moving is Robert Neville's car, this more so portrays his isolationism to the world. When he is chasing the wild deer through the city, there is a tracking shot of the animals and the car, this shows the speed that he is going at and may also suggest how accustomed he is to these streets.

Mise-en-scene:

The lighting in the opening sequence is mostly bright, and begins very calm, however during the chase scene this changes and everything becomes a lot more frantic and unsettling. The majority of the opening sequence is very tense, this maybe to portray events that are to happen later in the film.

Sound:
The sound in the opening is all diegetic, during the first few shots all that can be heard are the singing of birds this is quite positive, other shots feature no sounds at all which may be seen to be calm, yet this may also be to represent death and the vast emptiness of this city. During the car scene, there is a constant roar of the cars exhaust, this may be used to portray the characters anger that he has with the world and the isolation that he has. Other diegetic sounds are the scream like groans from the escaping animals, this may further represent events that are come and the shocks that the audience are to see.

At the very beginning, there are many long takes, these represent the emptiness of the city. However during the chase scene the editing is fast paced and continuity editing is used to help with the flowing of each shot.

Graphics:

The graphics are white on black and the typography is quite animal like, maybe to represent the creatures that are living amongst the city.