Studying Opening Scene Elements

The purpose of an opening title sequence to a film is to establish the visual style of the film and to introduce to the viewer the following:

-         Characters

-         Location

-         Narrative/Plot

-         Genre

-         Themes

Typically, an opening sequence will contain:

-         Details of the cast and crew

-         The film’s title

-         An introduction to character/type

-         Indication of the place

-         Indication of the historical period

-         Information regarding mood and tone

-         Introduction to signature theme tune

-         Information about the genre

-         Questions that the viewer finds intriguing

-         Patterns and types of editing that will be echoed in the remainder of the film

-         Mise en scene and cinematography that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film

(Cinematography is the creation of motion picture images. It can involve the use of film or digital imagery, usually with a movie camera. It is closely related to the art of still photography. Many additional technical difficulties and creative possibilities arise when the camera and elements of the scene may be in motion.)

This lesson we looked at other Media AS student’s work who had developed their ideas into short movie opening sequences. We watched three including Affliction, Deadly Shadow and Glitch. They was all very high-quality and professional. I was very impressed and they gave me inspiration and some proficient ideas for my ideas. Within the lesson we watched them 3 or four times and analysed them, saying what we thought went really well and things they could of improved on.  This will help me with planning and developing my opening sequence because I can get a good idea on what things really work well and the sort of things that don’t.

Affliction

What went well…

Ü  Brilliant sound effects

Ü  Good music choice

Ü  Straight forward shots

Ü  Created the right mood – enigma

Ü  No Dialogue

Even Better If…

Ü  Some pauses went on for too long

Ü  Too loud when boy trod on the glass

Ü  Mug didn’t fit in with the mood – didn’t look write

Ü  Didn’t understand the purpose of the phone call, confusing for audience

Ü  Actor didn’t respond well to being tortured also costume – didn’t look tortured or as if he was put through a lot to get to where he was

Ü  Also actor’s reaction wasn’t dramatic enough when he found out about his daughter being kidnapped

Deadly Shadow

What went well…

Ü  Slow motion shots

Ü  Really go quality make up

Ü  Good atmosphere created

Ü  Good timing with the shots

Ü  Good use of angles

Even Better If…

Ü  Wrong actor for the main character, too immature and young looking, looked unprofessional and killed the mood slightly.

Ü  Music didn’t match

Ü  Font of the writing of credits didn’t match genre

Ü  Setting was too casual

Ü  Lighting too bright for genre, should have been darker to make a sinister look

Ü  Title and font lead audience to believe ‘religious’ and completely isn’t

Ü  Actions were too sharp, the acting looked to rehearsed