Children of Men - Opening Scene Screen Shots Analysis

In this scene, we see a group of people, all adults and ranged from police officers, to businessmen to someone in casual wear. They appear to be in some kind of shop, as you can see rows of sandwiches being refrigerated on a shelf, and a television in the corner ceiling. All of the peoples' eyes are trained on the same thing; something important. However, them man centre of the frame (him being centre signals he is most important) is completely turned away so we can't see his face, resolutely ignoring whatever the people around him are watching. This immediately makes him stand out from the group, symbolising his abnormality. Also the lighting in this scene is rather dim, this perhaps means that the genre is  of a darker kind. 

This shot is mainly to tell us that this part of the movie is set in the future. We see text at the bottom of the screen dating the scene and telling us where it is set. The background supports this information because we see futuristic cars being driven on the road, and though contradicting, old wagons which are only really used in england. The wagons, like most of the objects in the scene, have a slight grimy appearance to them. This could tell us that London is going through a rough time. The buildings are fairly ordinary, but electronic advertisements are shown on the walls. People are walking around, going about their own ways, which tells us this is just your ordinary London street. The light in the sky tells us that is is either dawn or dusk.

We can see cars and a typical London bus on the street, this initially gives us the impression that the man is on a London road. A huge amount of smoke is emanating from one of the buildings. We know there has been a sudden explosion. The several people we can see in this scene are all ducking and running from the explosion, which means it is in the midst of happening. Also the man closest to the screen has spilled his coffee in reaction to the sound. The people are obviously shocked. The man who has spilled his coffee is perhaps the protagonist because the angle in which the camera has been placed almost makes it look like we are seeing the scene from his point of view.

Obviously the main focus in this image is the televsion screen. Although surrounding it are props such as plates and coffee making essential, and that tells us that maybe this shot is taken in a coffee shop. The screen reads 'BREAKING NEWS', and in the upper right coner there is a picture of a child, below the child's face is 'BABY DIEGO 2009-2027'. This information links together as it is shown on the same television screen and we sum up that 'baby diego' has passed away and this is shocking news. At first thought we think that maybe his death is so important because he was famous for one reason or another, which links us to the background image on the television screen. We can assume this is the grown up Diego, pictured so people can relate to the image, or perhaps this is a clip showing the moments righ before his death. Of course we can only assume the adult is Diego, as much clues aren't given.

The most interesting thing in this frame is the mix of old and new cars on the road. This tells us that perhaps the society shown is very mixed. The lighting is overcast, either it is dawn or sunset. Both times of day are used to the effect that something is about to happen. The characters displayed look like they are going about their usual buisness. Nothing is really out of the norm in this frame.

This shot is very shocking. The smoke immediately tells us there has been a sort of catastrophe, whether that be fire or explosion. We can see only one character in this frame, a woman looking up at the sky, her body at a strange tilt, this can mean she is in distress or maybe mad. She is holding what appears to be a human arm, this knolwedge tells us there was most likely an explosion strong enough to harm others but not kill everyone in it.

The fridge and wallpaper displaying words like 'cappucino' and 'caffiene' tell us this scene is set in a type of coffee shop. The store is crowded with people, though none look like how you would when usually just purchasing food from a store, especially one such as a coffee shop which are reknowned to be a place to relax. The people are all middle-aged and above, this may mean that they're situated area is not for children, or that there simply are no children. Their expressions range from shock, appauled and distress. Their eyes are all trained at the same thing. At the very back of the shop we see a television screen, seeing as most shops own several televisions, we can assume they are watching a television screen.

This frame shows several people, mainly just average citizens and a pair of police officers. We see a London bus on the road, which tells us the scene is most probably set in London. We can see a small patch of the sky between the buildings. The sky is of a pale orange colour, and this ties to old wives tales such as, 'red sky at night shephard's delight, red sky in the morning, shephard's warning', and from the lightness of the sky we can estimate this scene is set at dawn. The weather itself has purely foreshadowed danger.

The mid shot on the man in the centre of the frame tells us instantly he is the main focus. His back is to us, which makes us as an audience curious, and enables the man to appear secretive. He could also be the protagonist.