Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" Opening Sequence

The opening sequence for this film is comprised mainly of moving images of birds with an overlay of text. There is tense, string music being played behind these images which tells the viewer the type of genre that the film is. There is also the sound effects of the movements of the birds making the birds the main focus of the sequence.  The transitions of the words when they are changing are slow and gradual fades which fits with the mysterious theme of the opening sequence.














The sound is made up of a deep tone that repeats with a similarity to the daunting 'Jaws' soundtrack. This is used well to create the suspense theme that is commonly associated with the thriller genre of film. There is also sounds of Birds 'squawking' in an aggressive manner. 

This Shot is an establishing shot of the main character which shows her walking in an abrupt fashion across a zebra crossing. This used to give an impression of this character. The impression is that the character is posh, sightly vulnerable to the male eye.

This is the first time in the film that we see the birds, although seeing birds outside in something you would see in an ordinary world, the fact that it is a sudden thing and appears to be pretty random and we know, as the viewer that this is something extraordinary is going to happen with these birds. 

This shot shows a mid shot of the main character as she just finishes watching the birds, the way she is looking back over her shoulder suggests her curiosity towards the events that are happening around her.

Overall the opening sequence sets the scene for the film. It uses the establishing shots and introduces the main character we're also able to get a good impression of the type of character she is.