The sound at the beginning of the scene is a scraping knife, this immediately gives a sense of verisimilitude giving the illusion of reality to symbolise danger which represents the violent lifestyle of the characters.  Then another sound is introduced-drums. These set the scene more for the audience as it gives the vibe of tribes and the culture as well as signifying life around; it gives the impression of this as the drums have a rhythm going like a heartbeat. The director doesn’t give any clues to whether the drum sounds are diegetic or non-diegetic as when another shot is shown the music still plays, making it seem like it’s non-diegetic as it could be played over the top. On the other hand, when the drums are the main focus the volume of the drum sound gets louder giving the impression that the mic is next to them as if it’s a real life sound so it could be diegetic. This confusion could be imitating their lifestyle.

Meirelles said “what struck me was how that chicken was feeling in the middle of all that craziness and how that related to the entire movie, how those characters feel.” He developed his opening therefore by making everything happen all at the same time. He followed on to say: “to give all this information to the audience so fast, so quick, so loud, that they would feel kind of claustrophobic, overwhelmed the same way the chicken was feeling”, he does by using fast and subliminal clips which provide messages without the audience even realising it. This face pace is enhanced using a whip pan to give a nice transition between shots so it’s easier and more comfortable to watch; it also links with the rhythm of the drums to build tension for the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the chicken as the object of the shot, the depth of field effect is presented to blur the background and bring him into focus. This continues even when the chicken is running, although it could be emphasising how quick he is which is supported by the drums, which introduced the chase and movement of the chicken’s legs as it runs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the chase has begun, to stretch the feeling of time the chicken is being chased for and to introduce more characters, the director uses the cross cutting effect.  The length of the next clip is much longer than those at the start; this could imply the difference in the characters as everything seems quite relaxed compared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Switching back to the original situation, the director gives another hint at the lifestyle as the gang of boys each have a gun and when a gunshot is fired there isn’t any sign of panic around, which suggests that this isn’t unusual and no one thinks anything of it.

The scene switches again back to the other characters as they speak about someone he doesn’t want to approach. After saying the words “yeah, well, he’s got to catch me first” the shot turns back to the gang and as one of the member comes into focus a slow motion technique is used. This is significant because it could be highlighting the dialogue and stating that this is the character he’d wanted to stay away from, however, it could be symbolising something about the character himself showing he’s got a mental illness and this is how he sees the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the shot goes back to the boy the 180 degree rule is broken as the shot sweeps round over the action line, this causes the audience to feel disorientated, like the character, as he is about to face the gang and doesn’t know what to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The director said “the art of editing is the art of manipulating people” he does this from the beginning as he uses a blue filter effect which is washed over the whole screen and is displayed throughout the present day, this only changes at the end when he is reflecting back on his past. The colour from his past is orange; the vibrant colour compared to the dullness from the present day suggests that his life in the past was better and happier for him than it is in his current state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The director’s aim for the opening scene was to get the audience to connect with the chicken so that during the chase the gang members are seen as the enemy in the situation and he does this by “connecting ideas to create a feeling”; by doing this the audience experiences the excitement, suspense, and fear for the chicken.