Sin City Opening
The opening sequence is very stylised, using chiaroscuro and having the main source of light come beaming through windows that are far away, creates a secluded atmosphere and also gives everything a very un-real looking texture, almost like a drawing. This effect is added to by setting everything in black and white except for the woman's dress and lips which are a bright scarlet red. And by switching from footage of the actors to a black and white silhouetted drawing when the two kiss.

The pace starts very slow with the first image as a black screen with sirens sounding distantly, which fades gently into a long shot of the woman standing at a balcony over a darkened city. The scene is made intriguing by the non-diegetic sounds of a solo saxophone and voice over of a man poetically narrating the woman's actions. Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are used simultaneously as the saxophone continues throughout, mixed in with the diegetic sounds of the man's footsteps and the sounds of wind and rain as a gentle storm starts around them. The narration also continues, pausing to allow the conversation to take place then picking up again.

Anticipation is built up by the use of weighting as the man approaches from the shadows in the upper left part of the screen, making the viewer focus on him and become curious.
The long shots switch to close ups and over the shoulder shots as the two start to talk. With an extreme close up used to create drama when the woman's eyes briefly gain colour and turn green when talked about before fading back to black.
Though the audience has been made to anticipate something happening, they are also lulled into a false sense of security, just like the woman is, by the smooth voice of the narrator saying soothing things. This sense of safety is broken suddenly when just after the narrator says "I love you", there is the sound of a muted gun shot. The gun, highlighted and shining white comes into view, as the woman slumps against the man and the floor dead.

The audience is left with a long shot zooming out slowly of the woman dramatically in red against the black and white of the man and the ground as rain fall on them, and a burning curiosity to know why and what will happen next?