Film Opening Analysis - Vigilante (2023)

 Introduction

Genre: Action / Thriller

Director: Choi Jeong-yeol

Producers: Michelle Kwon

Distributed by: Disney +

Episodes: 8

Quote: "The law has loopholes, I'll close those loopholes myself."

Synopsis: The story revolves around Kim Ji Yong who is a student at a police academy. In the morning, Ji Yong was a normal student, but in the evening, he became a 'Vigilante' and punished criminals who received light sentences for heinous crimes. Thanks to his intelligence and the knowledge learned at the academy, police officers were unable to track his actions until a reporter, Choi Mi Ryeo started reporting on the Vigilante activity. The story begins to get more intense as Ji Yong needs to carry out his responsibility as a 'Vigilante' while avoiding tracking from the police. 

Film Opening Sequence

Vigilante (2023)

Clip Duration: 07:51

Start Point: 00:00

End Point: 07:51

Genre Studies

Vigilante has successfully established itself as an action thriller series, where the use of low-key lighting, close-up shots, and multiple action scenes have been clearly showcased in the 8-minute opening sequence. The lighting was one of the factors that complemented the genre the most since all the action scenes are set in low-key lighting, raising the mysteriousness and scariness of the scene. A monochromatic color scheme was also used when showcasing the past event, which helps to create a memorial feeling to it. The protagonist of the series identity was hidden until the very last minute of the opening sequence, which raised the curiosity of the audience and the enigma of the series. Close-up shots were used multiple times during the 8 minutes of the opening sequence, capturing the change in emotions of the young boy, the criminal, and the mystery character at the end. Since Vigilante is an action thriller, the sound that was heard throughout the sequence was related to punching, gasping, groaning, and screaming, emphasizing how intense the action scenes were. Background music was also frequently used both in very emotional situations as well as high-tension ones. In the emotional scene, it is used for the audience to further empathize with the character, while the music for the action shots raises the emotion and tension of the scene. Vigilante is a series that consists of 8 episodes so their opening sequence is quite long and a lot of enigmas are raised. For instance, the audience is curious about the identity of the mystery character when he is first introduced, why did the series show the protagonist killing the criminal so early on in the first episode?; Is there any purpose behind the protagonist's action or did he just want to take revenge for his mom? What is the protagonist's background that allows him to have the power and strength to kill the criminal alone? All the questions asked could then be answered as the audience continues to watch the 7 other episodes of the series. 

Analysis

The opening sequence starts with the identity of the production studio, Studio N. One more ident appears before a note stating that the series is based on a Webtoon series by Kyusam Kim is seen. Then, a warning appears and reads: all characters, locations, and incidents in this are fictitious. 

After the idents, we hear a non-diegetic sound of a man speaking, while the screen remains dark. Based on the subtitles, we could understand that a ruling is to be announced, connotating that the man speaking could be a judge. 

The screen then fades in and slowly reveals a boy while the sound continues, as the man reports a crime. During the sequence, monochromatic colors are applied, showing that the event happened in the past. Medium close-ups are used to fully capture the boy's emotion and partly his outfit. 

The non-diegetic sound changes into diegetic, as the scene reveals a judge, reading the crime of a criminal. The screen then cuts to a man sitting, with a stiff face. According to Barthes's theory, the outfit he is wearing with numbers on it connotes that he is the criminal in the crime that the judge is reporting. 

Based on the facial looks on his face, we can also infer that he is an evil middle-age character, with a beard, messy hair, and looks unpleasant. Stuart Hall's theory of stereotype was also seen as the criminal’s image is built according to the stereotypical evil and bad character. After introducing the judge and the criminal, the scene cuts back to the boy in a close-up shot, showing his emotion when hearing the ruling for the criminal. 

We could see that the boy was staring at someone and infer that he was staring at the criminal, showing his indignation to the criminal. This is further confirmed as we hear the diegetic sound of the boy breathing heavily and looking shocked when the ruling is confirmed. In this scene, the audience could understand that the ruling is false, therefore leading to the boy reacting in such a way. The scene then cuts to the criminal, looking satisfied with the result, the binary opposite of the feeling of the boy. 

The moment the final ruling was heard to be only three and a half years in prison, the non-diegetic sound of the gavel banging showed that the ruling was done and the sentence was confirmed by the judge. As the police walk the criminal out, a series of back-and-forth points-of-view shots between the boy and the criminal is seen, emphasizing the binary opposition of their feeling about the sentence. 

The criminal then stops to curse the boy, looking very aggressive. When the boy hears the curse, he immediately gets frightened and the close-up shot captures a tear running down his face. 

The scene then cuts to a woman being punched by a man, who was seen to be the criminal. The audience can now infer that the boy was evoking his memories about the day his mom was killed. A series of diegetic sounds of glass shattering, a woman’s heavy breath, and grunts, groans, sobs, and punches were heard, this is the sound that the boy heard during the scene, and was traumatized by it. 

A piece of non-diegetic music was also heard and had a sad, emotional tune. This helps the viewers emphasize the feeling of the boy when he witnessed his mom being killed, in front of his eyes. The sequence was also in slow motion, to show that the scene for the boy is very long-lasting and affects him hardly, despite it being only a few seconds long. 

The scene then shows the criminal cursing the boy and the match cuts back to the court where the criminal scoffs and smirks as he walks by the boy. The boy is shown still in his emotion as he remembers his mom, who is killed by the criminal. Knowing that the mom was killed only because she offended the criminal and based on how the criminal reacts, the audience could empathize with the boy and start to hate the criminal. 

A wide shot with a deep depth of field from behind the boy’s back was then seen, and loneliness could be felt through the screen as the jury and lawyer slowly left the court, leaving the boy behind alone. Non-diegetic music continues to be heard, adding further emotions to the scene. 

The scene then cuts to an establishing shot of a city at night, and a close-up of a light is seen. A title card also appears and reads, 12 years later. Based on the title card and the color scheme of the scene, the audience could understand that this is now the present. 

We then hear a siren wailing and the sound of a vehicle approaching. This is to alarm the viewer about what is to happen. A bus then arrives at the bus stop, near the light that was seen before. 

A shadow then appears, showing a mystery character walking towards the bus. When the scene reveals the bus, we can infer that we are seeing from the mysterious person's point of view. 

As the person walks up the bus, the bus driver is seen saying “Hello”. This action connotes that he is a very friendly person. Based on his outfit, and a formal t-shirt, Barthes's theory suggests that this is a professional bus driver who is still performing his job very well despite it being late at night. The scene then cuts to the view outside of the bus, on the driver's side and the audience is introduced to the mystery character, the criminal we saw 12 years ago. The scene then shows the criminal punching the bus driver and cursing him. 

An abrupt diegetic scream was heard by the customer on the bus, raising the tension for the scene. He then started asking why the bus driver called the cops on him and constantly abused the bus driver. Based on his action as Barthe’s theory suggests, he is very angry and is still a bad guy after his time in prison. During the scene where he attempts to kill the bus driver, a tracking shot is used to showcase how the whole scene looks, allowing the audience to fully see the action of the criminal. 

The medium close-up shot also reveals the surrounding environment where the customers are very afraid of the scene they are witnessing. This raised the emotions of the audience as they felt angry, and frustrated that innocent people were killed by the criminals and the law did not punish them accordingly. As the camera movement circles the bus, people seen on the bus are frightened by the scene and are too scared to stand up to help. 

After killing the bus driver, the criminal noticed the camera on the bus and snatched it out. The clock on the bus is seen, denoting that it is 11:21 which is almost midnight. He then pointed to the person on the bus, threatening them to not report what just happened. This series of action further connotes that the man is a very evil character, who is ignorant and acts like a psychopath. 

When the camera slowly zooms out and shows the side of the bus, a person wearing a black hoodie is seen approaching the bus through the reflection on the windows. 

The character is then formally introduced as we see them standing in a medium shot. The background is very dark and despite a source of light coming from above, we are unable to see the character's identity. However, based on the title Vigilante, the audience could infer that this character might be a vigilante. This scene raises an enigma for the viewer, as they are curious about the identity of the mystery character. The scene then cuts back to the criminal walking down the bus, at a low angle. This helps to show the power of the character, as they just killed the bus driver and succeeded in threatening the others on the bus. 

The criminal then looks up to see the hoodie character looking at him, shown in a medium close-up but still too dark to know who the character is.  The scene then cuts back to the criminal in close-up, emphasizing that he loses the “power” that he has when he walks out of the bus as he sees someone mysterious watching him. 

However, the criminal continues to clear his throat, looking ignorant as he leaves. The scene switches from shallow to deep depth of field, showing the bus driver being dead behind. This action confirms the cold bloodiness of the character and raises the viewer's emotion as they want to see the criminal dead. The mysterious character is once again seen in a close-up, but the identity is still hidden as the audience is unable to see the character’s face. 

The scene then cuts into an establishing shot at an alley, also at night. The audience could then infer that this upcoming scene happens after the death of the bus driver. We hear someone whistling peacefully, following the binary opposition theory of Strauss as the peaceful whistle is in contrast to the chaotic and scary situation on the bus. An extreme wide shot was seen and a man was walking across the alley. A cold color scheme was used for the scene, to bring in the coldness and scariness. Low key lighting was also applied, alarming the intense upcoming scene. The scene then cuts to a ground angle as we see the man and someone walking behind him. 

The diegetic whistling sounds continue as the camera movement zooms into the man. When the whistle stops, the camera continues to zoom closer until the man turns back and is revealed to be the criminal. During this scene, only a backlight and fill light, no direct main light was used, therefore the scene was very dark and raised the tension. The action of the criminal infer that he heard someone approaching, therefore stops whistling and turns back. 

The scene then cuts to a wide shot, showing both the criminal and the mystery man following him the character wearing a hoodie. Narrow ideals of beauty are also shown in this scene as the hero character always looks very polished, with perfect figure, and seems to overpower the other character. In the background, we could see a source of light coming from above. Based on the time, the audience could infer it is the moonlight. The yellow light seen in the alley doesn’t reflect on the character, emphasizing the lack of warmth in the situation. Smoke is also seen behind the hoodie character and helps to add tension to the upcoming scene. The criminal then starts the conversation by yelling who are you but doesn't get a reply. After asking about him being followed, he loses his patience and starts cursing the character.

The character now starts speaking, in a calm manner” “Choi Sungsoo, 18 criminal convictions.”. According to the context of the mystery character, the audience could infer that Choi Sungsoo is the name of the criminal, who has 18 criminal convictions. Based on the voice of the character, viewers are informed that the character is a man. A series of shot reverse shots is then applied to showcase the conversation between the 2 men and the voice of the 2 characters could notify the viewers that an intense match between the 2 is about to occur. 

After Sungsoo answered that his freedom was based on what the law decided, he quickly ran toward the mystery character and wanted to punch him but got punched back by the mystery character. At the same time, a diegetic sound of air is heard caused by the punch, and the non-diegetic sound of punching is added to further emphasize the strong force that is used. Then, a series of diegetic sounds of groans, bottles clattering, and screams were heard, connoting that Sungsoo was badly hurt by the punch. Just when Sungsoo was cursing the character, a ‘whoosh’ diegetic sound was heard. 

An abrupt sound of a kick was heard as the criminal fell and hit the rubble behind him, causing a diegetic sound of different objects banging each other. The character continues to speak as he mentions how his family is ruined by Sungsoo, the information that the audience could infer and remember about the boy at the beginning of the sequence, whose mom was also killed by Sungsoo. As the character was about to punch Sungsoo again, he gathered his last strength to hit back, leading to a grunt from both characters. 

The scene then cuts to a waist-angle shot and a diegetic sound of metal is heard, as the shot shows a close-up of Sungsoo's hand holding something. With the sound and the image on the screen, viewers could infer that the object might be a knife or a weapon that he wanted to use on the mystery character. Sungsoo then moves up and starts yelling, taking the strength to attempt murdering the character, a non-diegetic sound of a squeak is also heard, causing an unpleasant feeling to the audience. This is because of the sound heard but also how angry the audience is with Sungsoo. 

The scene then cuts to the character stopping the action from the criminal and fighting back. A punch is heard and seen, as the shot zooms out to a medium close-up of the mystery character from a low angle, connotating the power that the character has, compared to Sungsoo who is currently lying on the floor. This is a change from the status of Sungsoo, starting at the bus where he controls all the people, from the equal status when meeting the character and the low status as he was now beaten up badly.

As the camera zooms further out into a wide shot, the Straussian theory suggests that the standing figure and the lying down figure are binary opposites in status and power. The character then picks up an object and a diegetic sound of metal is heard, connoting that it is the weapon that Sungsoo was holding just now to fight back. This action connotes that the status and power are now switched as the mystery character is the one who controls Sungsoo. The scene then cuts to a close-up shot of the character, but only a backlight is used, leading to the audience still being unable to know how the character looks. The use of only a backlight in a low-key lighting environment creates an extremely mysterious feeling to the scene. The close-up shot remains as the character continues to step forward, forcing Sungsoo to move backward and as the character reaches a part where the lighting shines on, his face is finally revealed. 

It is seen that he is a young character who might be in his 20s, with a very good-looking and cold-blooded face. Van Zoonen's theory is once again seen as the hero character is built to look very nice as directors believe that the external look will reflect the internal personality of the character. The non-diegetic sound of music gets more intense, alarming the viewers that the character is about to further punish Sungsoo for his action, and another fight might happen. Then, another series of the diegetic sounds of punch, grunts, and pants are heard, together with a non-diegetic sound of squeak that is very high in pitch, raising the tension and the emotion of the audience as they feel satisfied that the criminal is finally getting the punishment he deserved. The character then continues to punch Sungsoo, as the music gets louder and more intense, the grunts of the criminal are no longer heard, and the viewers could infer that he might be unconscious and have no energy to defend himself anymore. 

As the character punishes the criminal, a close-up shot of his face is seen on screen, showing his emotion and the moment when blood is splashed onto his face and a satisfied smirk at the end. This connotes that the criminal has been heavily injured and could potentially be dead. However, the audience could not confirm the death of Sungsoo, as his body is not shown, which is different from the previous 2 scenes where a murder happens and the body of a person is revealed on screen. This helps to raise the enigma for the audience, making them question that did he killed the criminal or decided to only punish him and take revenge on his mom. 

The scene then cuts to a medium close-up as the character opens the door and the audience can infer that the scene happens after the fight with the criminal, based on his outfit and the blood still visible on his face. The scene is a binary opposition based on the Straussian theory of the previous scene where the fight happens in the alley. This shoot has a warmer tone and color to it, created by the warm yellow light that reflects in from outside the house. 

The intense music also stops, as we now only hear the diegetic sound of objects such as the door opening, footsteps as he walks into his house, as well as the non-diegetic sad music in the background. Despite the use of warm colors, loneliness was the main feeling of the scene due to the low-key lighting and the music used. 

The house has no lights on, and the character is also seen to be living alone, since his mother passed away 12 years ago, which further indicates loneliness, like the scene at the court at the beginning of the sequence. As the character walks slowly into his house, a tracking shot is used to follow him in a medium close-up and the audience can have a brief look at his house. 

He then sits down on the couch and the scene cuts to a close-up shot of him, with his bloody face and a hard-to-tell expression. The character then lets out a sigh, connoting that his emotions are very mixed up and somewhat tired, which might be due to the fight. He then looks up at something as the scene cuts to a framed picture of a boy and his mom looking very happy. 

The editing helps the audience to infer that the boy in the picture is with his mom, and his emotions could be that he is missing his mom, while also wanting to tell her that he could finally take revenge for her. The scene then cuts back to the character still staring at the picture, while the camera starts to zoom in closer to his face. This helps to fully capture the character’s emotion as he seems to look very emotional, potentially thinking and remembering his mom.

Ident

An abrupt sound cuts the changes in emotion of the character and the series title ident appears, written in Korean and means Vigilante. An animated blood splash caused the title ident to look very bloody, emphasizing and summarizing the main theme of the series. 

A hoodie character then appears as the background for the ident. This character is the main protagonist of the series and only the hoodie is seen, with a blank black face, that hides the identity of the character. 

The camera then zooms out, revealing more of the character's hoodie as the ident fades out but the identity remains hidden from the audience. A shallow depth of field is used, focusing solely on the main character appearing on screen and the scene slowly fades out to black, ending the opening sequence.