"The Day After Tomorrow" starts with a blackout, and the titles appear with a silver colour and a horizontal receding font. Then, we see some movement. Some canyons appear along with the huge ice sheets and dark blue sea.
It's almost like we are in a helicopter. Now, there are shadows that can be seen from the font on the sea. We can tell that the font is about 15 metres above sea level.As the camera shot continues, it tilts and goes back up and then, we see the camp in the distance. As we approach the camp, clouds can be seen in the background.
They have a darkish colour, so we may be led to thinking that it's a bit industrialised.Now we're almost at the camp. The camp looks very small from the high angle shot, so we assume that the camera must be quite high up. The camera gets to the camp, and then it goes round the camp like a helicopter would before landing.Now we cut to the American flag looking at it in an extreme close up. This tells the viewer that the camp's inhabitants must be American.
We then get a look at the ice core samples with a close-up shot.The camera then goes into the cabin at eye-level with the actors. This creates a sense of equality between the viewer and the actors. The camera goes out of the cabin and we get a look at the drill. Jason is stood next to the drill drilling into the ice, so we know that the drill is about the size of a man.As Jason is drilling into the ice, only we get to see the crack that forms away from the drill.
Now the viewers know that something dangerous is about to happen, but Jason doesn't sense the danger. This makes you feel tension and you really want Jason to sense the danger. This knowing more than the actor is called 'dramatic irony.'When the cracking ice surrounds Jason, he finds out that he's in danger becuase he hears the ice crack. The camera is now on Jason in a high angle shot, as the cracking ice surrounds him.
This camera position (high angle shot) makes the actor, Jason, look vulnerable because it's looking down at him. The cracking ice sounds like glass breaking, and we hear the ice crack before we actually see it. This excites you, and the hearing of the ice crack is called diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is sound made by the person or the object on screen.When Jason is pulled safe from the cracking ice, the drill falls down the chasm and the camera shot goes above the chasm, looking down into it.
We get an idea of how big the chasm is as the drill, which as we already know is the size of a man, falls down it.The music in the movie is made to fit with each camera shot precisely. This is evident because when the camera reaches the camp, we get a crescendo. The music when Jack is jumping across the ice is discordant-it is very out of tune and sounds confused. This music is known as non-diegetic sound, and it excites you. Non-diegetic sound is sound we don't recognize as part of the film world, such as background music.
The characters in 'The Day After Tomorrow' sometimes use their facial expressions to let the viewer know what his emotions are and what he is feeling. Jason acts as an innocent guy. This is evident as when the ice cracks around him and Professor Hall comes out, Jason holds his hands up and says he didn't do anything.Dr Hall is very serious about his work. When he comes to know that Jason was operating on the drill, he says to the older guy 'You let Jason on the drill!?,' as if in disbelief. Dr Hall is the leader of the group he is with.
This is evident as when he is with Jason's father in the cabin, and the two of them hear that strange sound, Dr Hall is the first one out to see what's happened.The opening sequence of 'The Day After Tomorrow' is very successful. This is as everything is made to fit the movie precisely and features like the camera shots are produced so that you feel involved with the movie.
