Blue velvet

The opening sequence of blue velvet starts with violins playing which is relaxing and calm to start with in contrast with nearer the end of the opening sequence it gets louder which could show foreshadowing of the dangers to come. The title then dissolves into a downwards pan. a tilt shot then reveals a near cloudless blue sky, white picket fence and red roses. The red roses are very significant as the colour red symbolizes danger, death and blood and also roses portray imagery of loss or a funeral that will occur. The music in which is played is the song blue velvet. the roses then dissolve into a collection of shots of typical American suburb life.

In the next scene, it is a sunny day but there is a man who is watering his garden but this then cuts to his wife watching a crime show on television which is ironic. there is the quick cuts between the man untanglin his hose, the knot in the hose and the water valve this raises tention then the man falls to the ground and suspeted heart attack.  All these shots are slightly unfocused and blurry and lit in a very soft way. Making them seem more like memories than actual places and events. we then see a wide shot of the man on the ground and the dog trying to bite the stream and a small child coming to see what was happening.

Next, we see hundreds of beetles fighting underneath the ground whilst the background music fades away and changes into a disturbing drone. this builds to a crescendo. the shots are starkly lit and are full of erratic movement which unsettles watchers and gives them a feeling of disgust.

In the rest of the opening scene,the town is portrayed as a very safe town like with the markings on the road for the children going to school and the lollypop lady helping them get to the other side. There is also an old fire engine that drives past too showing irony as the man is stood right on the edge of the truck as it is driving which isn't safe so the image contradicts itself.

This sequence really sets the mood for the rest of the film.  the message is that no matter what the surface shows there is always a darker, more sinister side to perfect things. The contrast in lighting between the underworld of the grass and suburbia. Soft and sunny for above, dark and shadowed for the insect scene. One is innocent and happy, the other is filthy and violent. Both co-exist but are completely unaware of each other.