Opening Scene Analysis

Dredd (2012) 

The opening to Dredd starts with heavy base non-diegetic sound and a screen is black, however the screen then fades into a long shot of the city in the foreground and is made clear to the audience that outside the city is abandoned due to the plain died land that lays before the city, as well as this the sun is also shining directly at the camera to show to the audience the intensity of the heat from the sun. At this point there is still the heavy base non- diegetic sound but it becomes more quiet as the voice of the narrator (Karl Urban) explains to the audience the questions they have created from just watching the first couple of seconds of the scene and the rest of the plot of the film.

There is then a moving Birds eye shot which slowly moves from the barren desert to the "mega city". It is then made clear due to the audience that the setting of the film is one of a dystopia due to the appearance of the city and the help of the narrator which describes the city as "cursed". The moving birds eye view continues to capture the landscape of the "wasteland" that is America.

The scene then cuts to another shot of the city and acts as an establishing shot for the audience it then makes it extra clear that the film is also a science fiction since within the shot a drone is flying past and behind it there are several housing blocks known as "mega blocks" which one holds the equivalent amount of people as one city.

Next, there is a transition to Dredd wrapping up his hand which makes the audience anticipate something and the director uses this to create suspense and keep the audience engaged in whats going on. To further grip the audience there is the use of a news report which incorporates long shots and a low angle shot of rioters, the director uses this to add to the realism of the film. There is then a transition to the hall of justice building which then pans up to show how big it is as well as the logo at the top of it. It then cuts and continues to show Dredd putting on his bullet proof vest to a close up shot showing the side of his gun where it shows his I.D. , to another close up of him putting on his helmet, however his face isn't shown and the director uses this to create an enigma and keep the audience interested in watching in the hope that his face will eventually be revealed this is then followed by a medium shot of Dredd in his full outfit.

The Non-diegetic music then stops being base underneath the narrator to loud fast paced upbeat music and the 3D effect of the title "DREDD" on the screen. This is then followed with a fast cut transition of the camera moving inside a tunel towards the right side of the screen until the scene is then concluded with Dredd speeding into the distance on a bike.