Opening title sequence analysis- 'The Shining' (1980)

The Shining opening sequence This is the opening sequence to the film 'The Shining' (1980) by Stanley Kubrick. The film 'The Shining' is based off Stephen King's novel, published in 1977. It tells the story of Jack Torrance, a writer who takes a job as a caretaker of an isolated hotel and how he loses his sanity because of the supernatural activity that takes place there, putting his wife and son in danger.

The opening sequence uses an aerial tracking shot as an establishing shot. The usage of this specific shot creates a smooth camera movement, showing the beautiful scenery which captivates the audience even more. Throughout the sequence we follow a yellow Beetle's journey across large mountains, lakes and forests, using only aerial shots. By doing this, we can only get a general view of the action which may suggest the destination where they are headed is important. 

The Director further reinforces this idea by making these shots long and slow paced. When sound is placed, the atmosphere quickly changes to a more depressing, or threatening even as an eerie, unpleasant music plays in the background of the occurring action. The Director's choice of background music creates a juxtaposition to the peaceful shots of the journey, leaving the audience confused. It also gives the audience an idea of the film being a thriller/horror and builds up tension. With this in mind the choice of camera shot as an aerial shot may be used to show the fact the car is headed towards an isolated area which foreshadows something bad will happen as it does in most thrillers/horror movies.

link to opening scene