Blue velvet

In the opening of Blue velvet the audience is presented with the colours, white, red and blue. These colours reflects the American flag, this suggests to us that the film is set in America, the colours signify different things these things however do contrast in some way, the colour red is shown through the use of roses, the red suggests to the audience that the film will contain danger of some nature and blood, this could be supported by the use of a dead or cut off rose head on the left hand of the shot perhaps to represent death. However, as the colour is represented through the flower of a rose, this could also mean that the movie contains some form of love, perhaps a deprivation of it, the director could be portraying both of these meaning, through portraying the red through an innocent flower, this makes the two ideas contrast which gives the audience a mixed feeling about how the film may play out. The colour white is presented through the white picket fence, the picket fence itself signifies America as it is representative of a typical suburban America, the white typically signifies purity which isn’t normal for a horror film, however the director could be using the white to represent the innocent people who are victims in the film. The colour of the blue, represented through the sky could suggest heaven which links to the danger that the red may suggest.

The music that is used throughout the opening scene is non-diegetic and is a positive song called Blue velvet by Bobby Vinton, the music towards the end of the opening scene contrasts with what is happening on screen. The song is an upbeat and calm song that is sang by an American pop artist, the song itself seems stereotypical an American style. However the contrast is caused by the happy and upbeat song being played over the top of the man having a fatal heart attack. The contrast between these creates a feeling of sadness possible nostalgia because it makes the audience think about the man’s life and family as the baby and dog surrounds him and his wife sits peacefully in the living room unknown. The diegetic sound of the hose that is used creates tension in the audience this is because it could burst at any point, the hose is in danger of bursting due to it letting air in, this is contrasted through the man, this is because the man is struggling for air which in itself creates tension as the audience is worried that no one will come to his rescue and he will die, being a horror film this thought is heightened in the audience as they assume he will be the first death. 

The opening scene presents to the audience a typical American suburb environment, the scenes before the man having a heart attack fit well with the music, although the large houses that are found in the suburbs are typically related to horror this is because although the environment in the day is peaceful and happy at night it can be like any other city and the large houses create an effect of unknown due to the people in it being  unaware of what it going on in their house while they are in bed or focused on the TV like the women inside the house is unknown to her husband’s fatal heart attack in the back garden of their home. Although the environment of the suburbs could be used to make it clear to the audience that the film is set in America, this is because you wouldn't find these types of houses in suburbs anywhere else such as Britain, this is because it is representative of the typical American dream, having white picket fences and living in a seemly happy and friendly neighbourhood.  The happy and non-dangerous neighbourhood is presented through the directors use of fading as it is constant happiness as the children are free to walk to school alone and the fireman is with his dog waving a people, meaning that he is not business which tells the audience that the neighbourhood is safe. The view that is presented of this area is un-typical of a horror film, this contrast makes the audience feel more shocked when drastic things start to happen. 

The use of mise en scene is portrayed through the use of the TV, this is because the TV that the wife is watching presents a gun and a slow moving character this suggests to the audience that the people living in the neighbourhood aren't exposed to this kind of violence or mystery, resulting in her gets entertainment through watching these types of films or TV shows. The use of a gun signifies danger, injury or death, these are then presented later when the man has his heart attack, the neighbourhood has now been exposed to a level of danger and not knowing what is going to happen.  The slow moving character on the TV could be used to reflect the slow event of the man having a heart attack, to which it is a unknown to the wife of what is happing to her husband, it could represent the heart attack approaching the man, as the man on the TV seems to be close to his victim, this is when the film goes back to the man in the garden as after 20 seconds after going back to him he has his heart attack which could mean that the TV is foreshadowing what was going to happen or perhaps represented the heart attack metaphorically . The man on the TV is shadowed which represents mystery this links to the point about it metaphorically being the heart attack as nobody not even the man himself saw it coming therefore the thing that caused the heart attack could be said to be ‘lurking in the shadows’ similar to the man on the TV.