When the warner bros logo is on screen for the beginning of this opening, the music in the background is effectively dramatic. Organ makes the viewer think something huge is about to happen, because of the connotations behind it. (Organs are often heard in church music, as a part of a religious piece or a funeral. The idea of funeral music is very appropriate for a movie where the protagonist is a serial killer.)
The camera then pans from a dark and stormy sky to dreary looking London buildings, and a dark and intense atmosphere is set. The smog spurting out of the building's chimneys foreshadows the idea of London being a "great black pit" as is mentioned in the first song, "No Place Like London."The music in the back ground is eerie because of the sudden drop in volume, and the wind sound effects that are quite low in the mix. The frantic string parts give a feeling of anticipation, and the thunder helps to set an ominous mood.
The camera then zooms through Mr Todd's barbershop window, and onto the most important part of the opening: the pie machine. This part fits well into the movie, because it introduces the idea of meat pies being sinister. Mrs Lovett and Mr Todd use this machine to make a profit out of other human's deaths, and it is important to establish the machine as a pivotal prop. There is a small trickle of blood on the window as the camera zooms in. This further supports the pie machine.
From then on there is a strong theme of blood in the opening sequence. Almost every shot has blood in it in some shape or form. This also helps with the idea that it is dangerous in Mr Todd's shop, because outside of it the scene had no blood. The blood symbolises danger and death.
Blood trickles down the handle of the pie machine and onto the cogs on the inside. The flute part makes the music creepy, because it is high pitched and resonant of horror music. The cogs in the machine turn around slowly, and the blood pools on the edge of it before dripping in between two gears and falling through a trapdoor. To make the blood stand out against the otherwise dull gray colours in this scene, Burton has chosen to use and artificially vibrant shade of red.
The camera quickly zooms out onto a meat minder that is churning out large quantities of sausage-like meat. Anyone who has seen this movie before knows that the meat is far from innocent, almost definitely being human flesh. At this point the music builds up again.
A bright red spiral is drawn on the ground in more blood, which is very effective to look at. The red, again, is a huge contrast to the black floor it is on. The camera pull focuses to a close up of a fire blazing, while the meat is being cooked. The camera then shifts to a view of several meat pies baking in the oven: the final product. The door is closed by its self.
We then see how the blood is disposed of, when a sewer-like system washes it away down a pipe. The liquid is bubbly and disturbing, a mixture between water and blood. After this liquid is tracked through a vent, the water looses its colour and gradually fades into a mist, where we see a ship float in, indicating the end of the opening sequence. The music suddenly halts to help leave the scene with a feeling of resolution.
The lighting throughout this scene is dark and gloomy, because of the subject matter. There are very few colours other than the blood.
Great description here of some of the techniques in the opening and you have also explained how they create a mood. Don't worry if you repeat yourself a little bit in some of your posts about the film techniques because you have some great ideas here!
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