C) Sound

Non-diegetic sound is used at the start of the Opening Sequence of 'To kill a Mockingbird'. Non-diegetic sounds is when sounds is added to create a mood and / or feeling appropriate to the intended meaning of the scene. An example of this is at the start of the opening scene when we here Scout humming. This gives the feeling of a child like innocence, which we feel throughout the opening scene and is a main theme in the movie. Once this feeling is created through the humming of Scout it explains a lot about Scout herself. It makes us as the viewer now feel / know that Scout is an innocent little girl, and that she poses no threat / harm / worry for us as viewers. This then sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Another example of sound used in the opening sequence is the ticking of the pocket watch which he hear just before the music begins to play. The 'tick-tocking' of the pocket watch symbolizes Scouts innocence moving on through time and the changes that occur in the way she thinks / acts. 

With this very educated use of sound techniques we find that it is all linked to a larger idea. This larger idea is the theme of innocence which is also linked in with the main theme of racism / segregation between dark skinned people and white skinned people. These are the two main ideas  that the director is trying to get across to the audience / viewers. Through Scouts humming, like I have previously mentioned we feel a sort of child like innocence, however, if you ventured deeper into the exact sound of her hum, you can hear a little sound of unsureness. This unsureness sort of foreshadows the uneasiness which soon follows throughout the movie. The feeling of insecurity. However, as the viewer we do not focus on this because it is a negative thing and we want to feel safer, rather than unsure. So whilst the opening scenes sound techniques give us a feeling of security and child like innocence we can then view the whole movie through the eyes of a child / and through the way a child interprets things, people and situations. We get to see and experience this all through Scout, who is still only very young in this movie. I believe that the director has used sound techniques such as non-diegetic sound (Scouts Humming) throughout the opening scene to foreshadow / link it to the main ideas / themes of the movie itself. I believe he has done this in a very effective manor that most viewers would not consciously recognize, but subconsciously it tells us a lot about the movie and what we should be aware of; all done through the simple use of sound.

C) Shot sizes

In the opening sequence of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' the shot sizes mainly consist of close ups and extreme close ups. A close up is when a camera 'zooms' into an object so the object 'zoomed' in on is the main thing in the frame ( or the camera is just close to an object); e.g. a cigar box. An extreme close up is when the camera is extremely close to an object ( or extremely zoomed in ) e.g you can just see the grip of a pen in a shot. Extreme close ups and close ups are usually used in film to show detail of an object / person or to make the audience aware of something in particular. An example of this would be when the camera shows a close up shot of a whistle nearer the end of the opening sequence. The close up starts off blurred and then gains a clear focus on the whistle, we can see this by looking at the images below.
1) Here the whistle is blurry. 

Here the whistle is not blurry.
2) 




I believe the director did this because it makes us even more aware that we need to pay special attention to the whistle and what it may mean. The director highlights this because the whistle could be symbolism for Atticus’s part in the movie as the defender of Tom Robinson (his lawyer). It shows the authority that Atticus has, however it also shows that whoever blows the whistle has the final say (like an umpire). This means that it could also be symbolism for the Jury / townsfolk / judge. Atticus is Scouts father and a lawyer in this movie. From this camera shot on the whistle we learn that Atticus is a very fair person and obeys what is right. It tells us that Atticus is a very honourable man. I believe this is the message the director was trying to get across when using this camera shot. This shot also tells us about one of the main themes in the movie - Racism. The whistle is supposed to stand for authority and fairness however, the image of the whistle starting off blurred tells us that this is not so. It shows us that what should be fair is not. Racism was a big part in the movie 'To Kill a Mockingbird' because the movie tells a story of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. It affects the black man (Toms) life immensely and in the end we see that justice does not come. This is when we learn that the authority (whistle blower) has blurred the lines of what should be right. This story line helps us learn about life and racism in the 1930s because that is when this movie and story are set. In the 1930's racism was a huge thing. Blacks were not 'allowed' to associate with the whites at all. White skinned people were considered so superior, that a simple 'hello' from a dark skinned person (negroe) was considered very rude. Whites and blacks attended different schools, different churches and lived in different areas of the town. We see all of this very clearly throughout the movie. We also learn that if a black person is accused of wronging a white person in anyway, nobody really objects to their death / conviction in any way. However in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' we see a white lawyer (Atticus) stand up for a black man accused of raping a white woman. He and his family risk public condemnation from Atticus doing this but he does it regardless in order to stick up for what he feels is right. We can learn a lot from shot sizes in the opening sequence of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

b) Genre / atmosphere

At the beginning of the opening sequence we see an old cigar box being opened by young girls hands with a point of view shot. Whilst she is opening the cigar box we can hear the young girl humming. We know this young girl is 'Scout' one of the main characters who is a 7-8 year old girl whose 'daddy' is a lawyer; she has a brother named Jem who is older than her. However once the cigar box has been opened we discover that it is being used as a toy / trinket box. The camera slowly zooms in, to the toy box and then Scout sighs which is followed by the shot fading out into an extreme close up of Scout picking a crayon up out of the box whilst making sound noises (“Bom bom bom bom”). As Scout hums to herself, she colors over lined paper with a (what we see as) black crayon, revealing the title of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' which is the title of the film. The shot then fades out and it follows her with the crayon drawing a straight line on blank paper whilst she makes noises like “bom, bom, bom, bom.” Up to this point I believe it portrays innocence and curiosity by the sounds she is making and the way she opens the toy box carefully. However the way she confidently colours over the blank piece of paper portrays that she might have a strong knowing of what is happening around her in life. I believe that with her soft humming in the background it also makes us feel secure about what is in the toy box. We as viewers do not worry about what could be in there at any point.

The camera then fades out and we see a close up of a pocket watch, we can also hear a steady ‘tick tocking’ of a clock when we see this. The camera circles above the pocket watch. This could symbolize the time in steadily moving by whilst Atticus is trying to keep Tom alive. However in the movie the pocket watch is a very special item that Scouts older brother was given by Atticus (their father).  That shot then gently fades out to the humming of Scouts voice, as we start to see close ups of objects (safety pin, coins) nostalgic music begins. This adds to the feeling of innocence and it gives the opening sequence a sense of safety. However, we find out that, that it is a feeling of false security.The camera then tracks an extreme close up of a pen where there is a shallow focus on a beaded necklace, the shot is slowly faded out until we clearly see ‘Scout’ drawing a stick figured bird; we assume this is a picture of a Mockingbird. The Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence and represents Tom Robinson an innocent black man. The camera then goes back into a close up view of items in the toy box. Two crayons are keeping a marble in it’s place but Scout moves them away and the camera tracks a marble rolling through all the different things until it hits another marble and comes to a stop. Before it hits the other marble however the stationary marble comes into clear focus and we see them hit each other. The marble is the only item in complete focus whilst it is rolling though (shallow focus). Whilst that was happening we can hear Scout still humming in the background. However when the moving marble hits the stationary one; scout makes a louder noise (“bing”). It could symbolize the children of the story 'Scout' and 'Jem' wandering innocently through their childhood but they get abruptly stopped when their father starts whole heartedly defending a black man. This gives us a feeling that maybe everything is not as it seems.


The shot then fades out into a point of view shot of the ‘toy box’ again, at this point the music is louder more dramatic.  That frame is then faded our so we see Scout drawing a wavy line with a crayon. This line could symbolise the changes of tone 'ups' and 'downs' in the movie. This shot then fades out to a close up tracking shot of the crayons and a bouncy ball.  That then fades out to a close up shot of a pocket watch, again the camera tracks along  some more of the contents until we see an out of focus image of one of the items. As the image comes into focus we see that it is a whistle. This could be symbolism for Atticus’s part in the movie as the defender of Tom Robinson (his lawyer). It shows the authority that Atticus has, however it also shows that whoever blows the whistle has the final say (like an umpire). This means that it could also be symbolism for the Jury / townsfolk / judge. Atticus is Scouts father and a lawyer in this movie.


This frame then fades out to a point of view shot of Scout shading a Mockingbird this is accompanied by a curious change in the music. Which is in turn followed by a fadeout to a point of view shot of the toy box again, however this time a crayon is dropped into the box, and the camera slowly zooms in. The crayon being dropped into the box and disturbing the contents around it could symbolize Atticuss's decision to whole heartedly take on the Tom Robinson case and how it disturbed the community around him. Whilst that is happening the music begins to slow down and become softer and Scouts laughing comes to our attention more so. Again that shot fades out until we see the picture of the Mockingbird has been scribbled over. This shocks us as the viewers especially because once we catch a glimpse of the drawing Scout rips it into two. As she rips it into two she makes a high pitched humming noise and the music slowly slows down as the shot fades out.  The ripping of the Mockingbird drawing shows us the segregation in society between the black and whites. The Mockingbird being the symbol of innocence shows us how unfair the segregation is between the two colours of skin. It shows us that the Negroes are being unfairly treated when they are most likely innocent. Tom Robinson is the black man who helps us see this in the movie. Whilst Scout is ripping the picture in two she still keeps her young innocence by giggling happily. This shows that at the beginning she doesn't really understand what is happening around her, and she carries on life as a young girl should (cluelessly). The soft slowing down music also carrys the theme of innocence right through till the very end.