Bedlam Opening Credits Deconstruction

Supernatural

• In between some frames, a white-orange flash is introduced. This provides a contrast to the dark green and blue tones used primarily throughout the opening credits which are common conventions of psychological horror movies as they suggest isolation and themes of good vs evil.

• A wide shot of a boy in a straight jacket in an abandoned cell/room can then be seen, the boy looks young and does not move whilst the building he is in looks run down and derelict; both are common conventions of psychological horrors as it creates an effect of suspense and danger because it does not continue in parallel editing from the previous picture.

• A fast zooming in shot of a young girl on a hospital bed is shown quickly before it pans around her. The hospital iconography suggests that the girl is vulnerable though as we do not see her face an inhuman, dangerous effect is instead created.

• A long shot is shown of a girl of a girl in a dirty shift dress. 
• She is in a long corridor with open doors on each side which let in dim, purple light and give the shot a purple tint. This colour suggests supernatural occurrences and makes the audience feel uneasy as we assume the young girl is victim. 
• Initially, the girl is shown pushing herself away from the corridor wall and walking backwards to the middle of the corridor; this footage is in rewind and suggests she was pushed by an invisible force or person or that she had voluntarily thrown herself against the wall. 
• Just after this action, the girl is seen looking over her shoulder up the corridor and down the camera barrel, this establishes an emotional connection with the audience and highlights her vulnerability.

Setting

• The initial shot is an extreme close up shot of the top of a stone wall. The layout of this shot draws the audiences eye upwards and to the right of the frame which then goes out of focus, this immediately creates an enigma as the audience is unsure why the wall is significant and what could be seen to the right of the frame or in the background.

• The disequilibrium continues as a low angle shot with purple tinting shows the castle turrets and a cloudy sky after a brief jump cut mid-shot of a man in spectacles. 

• A wide shot pans left quite slowly revealing the lair in  dimly lit conditions. The camera is based initially behind a stone column or pillar which creates suspense as the audience does not know what is behind it and as it is slowly revealed they realise the lair is empty. The vacant room is a common convention of psychological thrillers and horrors as it shows that the "villain" is harder to pin down and suggests they can evade capture.

Introducing characters

• At 0:10, a wide shot of a smartly dressed man sitting at a desk is shown. The room is filled with burning paper which is falling to the ground and the man is not reacting. The lack of emotion and the fire are both common conventions of psychological/supernatural horrors as it suggests possession or inhuman qualities within a person who is otherwise (usually) mentally sound. 

• Another man is then shown straight after who is walking away from a fire/explosion in a calm and collected manner. The man is dressed in casual clothes including a jacket and sweater, this is unusual as the orange tint creates the idea that the scene is very hot (due to the fire) though he is otherwise unaffected.

• Another smartly dressed man (this time with safety goggles) is shown with a low angle close up. He is looking down, out of the frame, and seems to be holding a notebook or small folder in his hand. The camera pans very slowly around him though the angle we see of him does not change, only the background does. This implies that the man is absorbed in studying the object and is oblivious to what else is occurring around him. This idea is reinforced by the blue tones and low contrast within the scene which is not a common convention of supernatural horrors and we do not expect to see.