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.