Blue Velvet Analysis

At the beginning of the clip we can see an image of a blue sky, red flower and white fence which can symbolise the American flag. This gives the audience the idea of an ideal America or, in contrast with the later scene, the myth of America.

 This continues throughout the clip with the red, white and blue fire truck which again gives us a false sense of security due to a fire engine usually symbolising danger. As we can see that the sirens aren't on and the fireman is giving what looks to be a fixed smile, we can understand that there's something odd about this situation. Another way in which Mise en scene is used in the opening of Blue Velvet is the shot of the TV at the end of the consistent ideal situations. For example we have the clear blue skies, open clean streets and innocent children walking home from school, however in a jump cut we can see something that largely contrasts. The next scene is a TV show featuring a man with a gun, this in a way confirms our preconceived ideas of the situation in hand being dangerous. This scene also acts as a trigger for the following scenes to all be negative, such as the pipe bursting and the man being attacked. This allows the audience to understand that all the events after this will be negative and therefore understanding that the innocent name 'Blue Velvet' doesn't reflect on the movies genre but is infant totally opposite.

The editing in the opening scene is also used in order to create effect in Blue Velvet, for example through the use of transitions which change throughout the clip. For example before the the plot twist of the mans attack, the scenes dissolve into one another creating a peaceful fluency as it allows each calming situation to sink in to the audience meaning they have opportunity to keep up. This matches with the idea of consistent ideal situations. However this changes once we see the man watering the garden; from here the transitions become jump cuts from one to another making it harder for the audience to keep up especially once the man has been attacked. This helps Blue Velvet create mystery and therefore make the audience curious as to what has happened to the man and watch further.

Sound is used in the Blue Velvet opening scene, for example, through the music used. The piece of music 'Blue Velvet' is used over all the scenes adding to the mood and helping it seem harmless and a completely different genre to what is it. Unlike the transitions, the music doesn't change when the mood of the scene changes which creates contrast. For example once the man gets attacked, even though the whole mood of the scene changes, the music still continues.





Camera angles are also used in Blue Velvet for effect on the audience. For example at the start of the clip, the director uses multiple establishing shots of different parts of the town. We can see a fire truck driving past in one shot, children walking home from school in another up to the man watering the garden. This is done to give the audience the idea of the friendly town and again introduce the idea of the myth of America. However the main establishing shot is the house of the characters which allows the audience to realise something is about to happen here. Camera angles are also used in the clip to allow the audience to have understanding of what is happening. For example the use of close ups when the scenes turn negative, like the hose pipe tangles around the branch. This helps the audience to follow along rather than having to guess or assume what is happening.