SA - Technical Analysis - 'Cloverfield'

The opening sequence of 'Cloverfield'(Reeves, 2008) starts with the Paramount titles and the Bad Robot titles which have a thumping non-diagetic sound which gives an ominous feel to the start of the film. It then fades to black and then cuts to a testcard with a monotone beep for a few seconds, then it cuts to writing covering the testcard saying 'U.S. Department of Defense' with a timer ticking forward at the bottom similar to one on a tape recorder. There are also various numbers and letters which gives a very realistic feel to it. Also the faded watermark saying 'Property of U.S. Government, Do Not Duplicate' adds verisimilitude to the image. Then it cuts to a black screen with writing on it which give clues about the plot, it says:

"Document #USGX-8810-B467
Digital SD Card
Multiple Sightings of Case Designate
'Cloverfield'"

It then cuts to more text on a black screen which says:

"Camera retrieved at incident site "US-447", area formally known as 'central park'"

Throughout these cuts the clock/timer ticks forward.
It then cuts to a black screen and the timer runs until '00:04:29:03'
Then it cuts to a handy-cam POV shot of an apartment room, with the camera moving towards a window, getting jogged and bumped while the person is walking.
There is a clock in the bottom left hand corner which says 'APR 27 6:41AM', when the camera reaches the window the clock switches to'6:42AM'
The filming is continuous with no cuts of techniques.
The camera stops at the window and there is a POV shot out of the window.
diagetic dialogue is then heard, the man says:

"6:42AM...Beth's Dad's place...he's outta town...and it's already a good day"

There is then a jump cut to another part of the apartment and the time in the bottom left shows '6:43AM'

The start of this film is quite slow and lacks much action, in fact there is none, but the black screens with writing on set up the enigma of the film as it tells you the camera was found in Central Park, and then it is played back from the start this helps hook the audience to the film as it starts questions in the audiences mind about why this camera was found and how it came to be here.
This opening is very interesting as it is quite unconventional, in fact the whole film is unconventional.




I couldn't find the opening part of the film on Youtube, but I found the trailer and it is good in showing the type of camera techniques used.

I also found this website, which talks about the film and how it is different from others, worth a read I think:

http://lightdocuments.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/forget-the-tripod-%E2%80%93-just-run-oh-is-the-battery-charged/