DTRT opening

• Beginning the film on an ECU tightly framing Mr Senor Love Daddy's mouth, a small golden clock and microphone all lit with this hot orange glow uses Spike Lees auteur trait of introducing characters through significant imagery.
• Pleonastic alarm of the clock followed by another SL trait 'wake up, wake up, up you wake' (wake up and heightened idiosyncratic tone)
• SL zones the audience attention onto the 'wake up' with the ECU on his mouth, indicating the didactic feel of this film, a soundbridge continues his voice throughout the opening
• Slow zoom out with non-diegetic chorus in the background, creating this theatrical style opening
• SL reverses classical continuity editing as he opens on an ECU before slowly zooming out and panning to an establishing shot of the BedStuy neighbourhood. Similar to Vertigo first shot.
• Bed Stuy neighbourhood is real, shot on location.
• Cinematographer Ernst Dickenson removed any blue tones from the film and applied colour lenses to the camera to further the heat that transfers through the screen.
• Cut to a ELA wide lens MS centre framing 'Smiley'
• CU of picture of Malcolm x and MLK, SL auteur using doc footage: Smiley comments 'they are dead but we still have to fight against hate' introducing one of the key messages of the film.
• Smileys stutter is a nuanced, wide representation of the neighbourhood unlike Vertigo's lack of representation.
• Black culture permeates the opening.
• It seems that the entire time, Smiley is the most radically opinionated individual out of all the characters, but his mental disability prevents him from speaking his mind. 
• Handheld, LA, floating (New Hollywood) camera movies into the red-lit (Ernst Dickerson colour lenses) room where Mookie's silhouette is seen counting money (characterising him through his 'get paid' raison d'etre - poverty)
• Black culture: Mookie is wearing a basketball jersey.
• Camera arcs around the bed to a MS where the red glow coming in from the window creates a shine on his forehead and highlights his sweat.
• Mookie seconds the 'wake up' message to his sister.
• The unclear camera angles and removal of three point lighting conforms to the New Hollywood Era, contrasting Vertigo's strict angular camera work
• The emphasised yellows, oranges and red are done to create the physical feeling of a heatwave through the cinematography. This contrasts to the mysterious, dark blue colour palette of vertigo.