Film Opening Continuity task

The opening to the Shining begins with an extreme longshot establishing the setting of a large natural lake surrounded by mountains and forests., this shot  tracks in towards a focal point as if imitating the flight of a bird, from its perspective. The shot then arcs to show a better view of the mountains, before dissolving into an extreme aerial shot, tracking to show the subject of the scene, a car, from the rear which it follows. This then cuts to another extreme long shot, this time at a high angle, continuing to follow the lone car on its long  journey through the setting. Again, the sequence cuts to an extreme aerial shot continuing to track the car, however this time tilting and arcing as it tracks in to the car, as a close-up, before tracking back out into the sky again. Another aerial shot is then used to show the car continuing on its seemingly endless journey, until the car is shown passing two cars- suggesting that they are not quite isolated, however, it then cuts to a much longer establishing shot to show a much darker area, before cutting to another establishing shot of a snowy landscape, and in the final shot, zooms into a large building- suggesting this is the setting of the film.

Within the sequence, all of the shots are long-range or aerial and are all positioned from behind the subject - the car, therefore make the audience feel distanced from the characters and aware of the setting, with the entire sequence consisting of the camera tracking to follow the car, at the sam constant smooth speed to make it seem realistic.

 As for the editing of the sequence, the quick clean cuts make it clear that it is a continuing narrative, with the occasional fade effectively highlighting the change of setting. Furthermore, the length of the opening is long enough to show to true isolation of the setting, but too long as to mislead the audience or bore them, along with the soundtrack this alludes to the horror genre of the film. 

Continuity wise, the sequence is seamless, with the smooth flow causing suture, and suspending the audiences disbelief, neither the 180 or 30 degree rules are broken, as the camera remains behind or above the subject the entire time, with the shot order structured to  introduce the setting, before focusing on the characters car, then returning to  show the location. Additionally, the match cuts show the pace of the car continually driving, and the fades indicate the change in time as a new setting is shown further along the journey, with match -on action consistent to allow the audience to feel as if they are a bird following the car on its long journey.