Opening sequence to Anna Karenina

The opening sequence of Anna Kareninare resembles a live play set in a theatre. When the sequence begins, the audience feel like they are about to see a recorded live performance. This makes the sequnce seem more rustic, like 18th Century Russia, and makes the audience almost believe that the sequence will contain more emotion as it is theatrical. This traditional like set and costumes make it lappear it is set in 18th Century Russia. The music throughout the opening sequence is traditional to the era and up beat which makes the audience feel safe and that thre are no shocks coming. As the scene progresses, the music changes key, this change, alteres the feeling of secuirty and lets the audience know that there is a mystery between the characters. in the secene where the man is getting a shave, of the scene raises and puts the audience on edge, this too removes the feeling of security and instead makes the audience worry for the man and the razor shaves him out of shot. The volume of the music increases and the camera shot go from mid to close up shots, allowing the audience to see the emotion on characters faces, like they would in a real theatre. As the opening sequence finishes, a sillouette of a mother and son behind a sheets is shown, this is a common convention in many films and connotes that they are keeping a scret or hiding. For example, in childrens films, 'building a fort' is often shown like this to represent that the characters are in private.After this scene, a match cut of a toy train, transitions to become a real train to reoresent the journey of the characters.