The film opening I chose to analyse was Joss Whedon's sci-fi film Serenity (2005). The film starts silently with the title 'SERENITY' which transforms into the 'SERENITY' written on the side of the ship. With this transformation the music begins. The opening commences with a zoom out to a master shot of the spaceship static in the galaxy, the music is calm and peaceful until the engines start and the engine sound effects come in. Subsequently it becomes faster and louder as the camera pans across the spaceship to the window at the front. The scene cuts to inside the ship and the music cuts out. The sound is now diegetic - only engine sounds and dialogue, creating a contrast between the fantastical space setting and the real people inside. Mal and Wash argue about the engines failing and crashing and rumbling sounds follow, creating tension for the audience. Mal goes to the infirmary and is given an injection by Simon, we hear the sound of the fluid going in slightly too loudly which could make the viewer uneasy. As they enter the main room of the ship, the sounds echo, giving us a sense of the immensity of the space. The music comes in at the end when the scene cuts outside the spaceship again and they are landing on a sunny day, which has the effect of changing the mood from inside the ship and moving the sequence along.
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