The opening scene of Breaking Bad is highly atmospheric. It has to be so because the series is a long one, with a lot of different plots, and so the viewer must be engaged from the outset.

In the opening scene we see a rocky desert set against a stunning blue sky. The only diegetic sounds are bird noises and insects. The craggy rock formations are filmed from the shady side giving them a look that is a little bit spooky, but there is nothing else that gives any indication of anything bad about to happen. It is ominous.

Next the camera pans to a beautiful blue sky, peaceful and calm. At the very same moment, some background music fades in quietly, and at the same time an item of clothing comes into the frame. The first indication of anything unusual is the pair of trousers that start to gently tumble in the desert breeze, and as they fall closer to the ground they turn upside down and fill with air, inflating the trousers which then parachute quite comically down to the ground. They land on the ground and immediately crumple as the air is knocked out of the on impact. The non-diegetic sound has become louder now. There is a dark humour to this scene which is representative of the series, staged around an intense world of drugs and violence weaved into the lives of normal people.

The scene is set. We are in a desert. But something is about to happen that is unexpected. Suddenly an engine sound comes into the shot. At the same point a vehicle drives right over the trousers that are lying crumpled on the ground. The music changes completely at this point. Chaos becomes apparent. The wheels of a large mobile home have driven over the clothing and the vehicle is in full view as it races through the desert, again quite a comical scene.The shot switches to the inside of the mobile home. A panicked driver is at the wheel driving erratically through the desert. Next to him in the passenger seat is an unconscious person. The angle switches to show that both of these people are wearing gas masks. The indication is that something dangerous is taking place. The panic of the driver is very clear as the handheld camera switches from one shot to the next, allowing the viewer to absorb what is happening. Along with the noise of an engine driving fast, there are crashes and bangs, along with which the camera pans from the driver who glances around,  to the rear of the truck which shows the origin of the noises as bottles and equipment and other unidentified things smash inside the vehicle. There is also another person, lying face down, sliding across the floor of the truck, and we assume he is dead as this man is not wearing a gas mask. The shot switches from close of WW´s face, breathing heavily and sounding scared, with his gas mask steaming up as he tries to see and to control the truck, to the outside in the desert showing the huge vehicle careering dangerously through the desert scrub, swerving from side to side until it finally comes to a crashing halt amidst clouds of dust in the rocky sand. There is a khaki green shirt hanging on a coat hanger  which is still attached to the wing mirror of the truck.The only sounds now are the creaking and smashing of the things inside the vehicle. With the camera on the truck crash site, there is a  brief moment to absorb the halt of the vehicle.

And then as quickly as the camera moves to the side door of the truck, a boot heavily kicks the door open and out runs our main character Walter White, stumbling forward in his underpants as he grapples to remove his gas mask and get some air. The camera pans away to show him next to the crashed truc where he throws his hands in the air and curses as the enormity of what has just happened sinks in. No music is needed. It is a comical scene, no music is used, just the sounds of the desert, WW cursing,……..and the sound of a police siren fading in! Panic! What should he do? He holds his head in his hands to help him focus. The truck is full of illegal equipment and there is an unconscious passenger in a gas mask slumped on the passenger seat. WW reaches for the hanging shirt and puts it on. Still in his big white underpants and brown boots, he buttons his shirt in a vain attempt to make himself look more respectable, and as he does so, his mind racing, he winces at something that he remembers. He rushes back inside the truck. Inside he goes straight to the dead man on the floor and prises a pistol out of his hand. Still there is no additional sound. The noise of WW holding his breath, stuffing the pistol in his underpants, rushing to collect a video camera from the glove compartment, and running gasping for air back outside to the desert where the sound of the police siren tells us that the police are coming closer. He grapples with the video camera. The camera again gives us a clue to the era in which the movie is set, aas it is a fairly bulky hand held object that is less common to see nowadays. The camera pans away to remind the viewer of the enormity of his situation. In a deserted location, next to a huge crashed truck and wearing only boots and underpants, WW is desperate, and although it is quite comical, it is also very clear that he is in a terrifying situatioñn. Close up to his face. WW is shot close up as he ruffles his hair and tries to compose himself. He is holding the video camera close up to his face and is about to record himself. The side angle of him starting to speak, taking breaths and attempting to stay calm, show his pained face, the fear that he experiences. He states his full name and his full address. This indicates to the viewer that this is a man who has arrived in a chaotic and potentially criminal situation, but who is not an individual who would normally be this way. He is a respectable citizen in a shocking situation, and a glance into his perspective and his feelings is emphasised as the shot changes to an image of WW from the video camera itself as he starts to speak, addressing the law enforcement agencies. The police sirens come closer.