Vertigo
AS Opening Scene Analysis
Octave Gascoin

Vertigo opens with an extreme close up of a hand grabbing a ladder strut. Then it starts to zoom out and shows a man racing up
hastfuly. The music is very strong, and it makes this scene very intese and has an effect that makes the scene chaotic. As two
men follow him up, the last one you can see is slower. As you find out this man has vertigo. The shot cut to an establishing shot of
the city and rooftops. This shot is setting the scene for the audience. There is very low-key lighting to show that there is trouble
and that there is danger ahead. The establishing shot then pans as it follows the men chasing each other. This pan makes the
chase more immersive and shows the length of of space between the men. The gun shots are used for the audience to fully
understand what is heepening, a rooftop chase. Then there is a wide shot, from a side angle, where the men jump accross from
one roof to another. This shot is very powerful as it shows the struggle of getting onto the next roof, as the second man is close to
falling and the last one actually falls and grabs hold of a drain. The music is building up and as the audience would expect the
music to become more dramatic as he falls and catches the drain, it actually becomes much more epic when he looks down, and
this is where the vertigo effect takes place. The vertigo effect is very immersing as the audience also experiences the view from
Scottie’s perspective, and this could be considered a POV shot. There is a reaction shot showing Scottie’s face as he sees the
ground, and the audience will be feeling his fear through his reaction this reaction is so strong that he seems almost unconscious,
and this is very effective in displaying Scottie’s fear. It then cuts to a reaction shot of the officer and he decides to help. He runs to
Scottie and it goes back to the powerful wide angle, showing the stuggling but now at a new level. Scottie looks back down and
the music becomes more epic once again, expressing the fear Scoittie has. A close up of the officer with his hand out shows his
effort, and that he is trying very hard. This shot adds suspense as we are not sure if he will succeed. A strong shot showing both
Scottie’s hands and the officer’s on a side angle also is creating the sense of suspension and urgency. But the officer falls and the
music once again becomes dramric and louder. Scottie’s reaction shot is much more alive and compared to his before reaction
shot he is very conscious and aware. Now his fear is much greater. The officer is falling from the same shot that had the vertigo
effect and the audience is catching Scottie’s fear. As he is falling the music becomes deeper and sounds like ‘doom’. The music
becomes more slow, while showing the dead officer on the ground with people sorrounding. This opening scene shows many
concepts of different shots and what they can bring to a thriller film. Also the music is important and a big factor in setting mood
aswell as when action occurs. Lighting has made this opening scene very malicous and from the start it is obvious that there will
be nothing happy in this scene.

The wide shot of the rooftops showing the struggle of
the men.

The famous vertigo effect, immersing the audience
from Scottie’s POV.

Reaction Shot of Scottie after seeing the ground. This
shot express his high level of fear.