Analysis of 'I Am Legend' Opening

Camera Shots/Angles (chronological order)

• Begins with an establishing shot of New York City so the audience are immediately aware of the location of the film, the camera then begins tilting down, so whilst also creating an enigma as we begin to realise this city looks completely deserted, it makes the city seem bigger and bigger and makes the audience feel intimidated by this massively deserted city.
• It then goes on to show different shots of around New York City, shots of famous places so that people instantly recognises it but also adds shock as the shots are to show how deserted everywhere is and people aren't used to seeing a city like this. The shots show grass growing through cracks in the roads and the buildings looking run down and dirty which suggests to the audience that the city has been deserted for a while. The main point of these shots is to show that no human activity has taken place in this city for a long time. 
• One of the shots that they focus on is some abandoned army cars which have signs stuck on them saying 'GOD STILL LOVES US' which they focus on just long enough for us to able to read it. The way the poster says 'STILL' suggests to us that something bad has happened as a result of human activity and that perhaps that could be the reason as to why the city has been deserted. 
• The camera then switches to a birds eye shot of the city and suddenly we see a fast driving car, this immediately draws the audience's attention to the car as we realise that there is in fact what we to believe a 'survivor'. This also creates yet another enigma as not only do we question who he is but also is he a 'goodie' or a 'baddie'. 
• The camera then goes within the car and we see that there is a gun on the seat next to him which makes the audience question whether he is good or bad and he also is wearing sunglasses which makes him seem mysterious and intriguing yet also quite dangerous. 
• However, we then see a shot of the dog in the car with him and he opens the window to allow his dog to put his head out, the majority of the audience will now immediately make the decision that he is most likely to be a hero rather then a villain as he is caring and looking after his dog, therefore if he loves animals then he must also love humans
• The camera then switches between tracking shots and POV's of him in the car and the camera following the car so during the POV shots we see whats it like to be him driving around the deserted city and the tracking shots allow us to see he is adventurous due to his reckless and fast driving - this not only suggests to the audience that he is fearless and brave but also makes us think he is in a rush to get somewhere and so something, creating yet more enigmas and engaging the audience. 
• During another POV shot of in the car a deer suddenly jumps across the car, shocking the audience as it is a sudden and unexpected flash of action, the angles of the camera then suddenly begins to change switching between POV's and shots of the deers running away, the car is shown to be driving erratically and this creates intense action and chaos. 
• After more shots of the deers running away and the car still driving erratically we see the car suddenly halt in front of a serious of cars left abandoned in the middle of the road, reminding the audience that the city has been abandoned but we also then watch the deers run through the cars and off into the distance 
• The camera now shows the character outside the car about to enter into some long grass in times square, at a high-angle shot he looks vulnerable and the audience worry for his as anything could be in the grass
• We see a shot through the gun, targeted on the deer. This is a tense moment as we wait for either the deer to run off or for it to get shot yet neither happens and there is an unnerving yet peaceful moment as we watch the deer, however a lion suddenly appears and leaps on the deer ruining the previous innocent image. This also reassures the audience on the decision that the character is good rather then bad as he didn't shoot the deer.
• We then see an extreme close up of the characters watch as some sort of alarm beeps. This brings suspense back in as the audience now wonder what the alarm is for as it suggests something is about to happen. The character looks to his dog and tells him it is time to go, which now suggests that perhaps the alarm is in fact a warning and we are now worried that something bad is coming/going to happen. 

Sound 

0ne of the main things which makes the I Am Legend opening so effective is there use of no music. The opening begins with exaggerated nature sounds (birds, grasshoppers etc) which contrasts with the sounds that you would perhaps find in a forest or jungle yet with an image of a city usually full of human activity and little nature. However, the no music also adds a strong sense of realism which can unsettle the audience as it feels as if it could be real and could actually happen. When we see the birds eye view of the car there is a load and aggressive engine sound, the angry human sound ruining the calming sound of the nature suggesting that even though there seems to be only one survivor he is still able to take control over nature by being louder. 

Setting

We can tell the setting instantly as it opens with an establishing shot of the famous New York City skyline however as the camera goes closer into the city we see that it looks different to how it should do normally. The use of the filming of familiar places around New York City such as Times Square etc and posters of recent theatre shows such as Wicked and sign for McDonalds unsettle the audience as all the familiar images and surroundings are incredibly close to home and it now seems like a real thing that could happen, whole cities being abandoned. 

Themes

The over-riding theme throughout the entire opening of I Am Legends appears to be isolation, this is due to the focus just being on one character and his dog which shows he is alone and only has his dog for company. The themes of aggression and violence are also hinted at with the images of the gun and lion eating the deer. The theme of nature is also very strong with the over-powering sounds of nature and also animals such as deer and lions. I believe that the opening hints that fear is going to be a strong theme in the film as an alarm sound goes of which warms him to leave, obviously in fear of something.