Conventions of an opening sequence

One convention of an opening sequences is that they always show the title of the film and people that was involved in the making if the film.

we always expect to see this at the beginning of the movie some movies have very recognisable opening sequences.eg. James Bond.

Another convention is that the opening sequences shouldask questions and give little

clues to whats going to happen in the rest of the film.it can also gives us an idea of the genre with the back ground and font. For example a horror you would expect to see scary writing and a dark background.

Double Indemnity (1944, USA, Billy Wilder)

FILM TITLE:

The film title is very old fashoined as this film was made back in 1944,but what intersted me is the man on cruches in the background as the credits was on.this has already got the audience thinking who is that and why is he on cruches.

SETTING/LOCATION:

In this film the location is introudced by the sign saying 'los angeles railway' so we know what city they are in, from all the buildings around we know this is going to be set in a city, this wouldnt really be classed as a normal setting when you think of thriller you would think of a haunted house.

COSTUME/PROPS:

The props such as the traffic lights show us that the man in the car is in a hurry and driving franticly, as when the light goes red he drives striaght through and nearly crashes with another car.the man is dressed in a long over coat and a hat this is heloing keep the man mysterious because we cant see his face.when he take of his over coat we see a sort of red stain on the shoulder of his jacket suggesting he has been shot.Also they use things like him lighting a ciggerette to really emphysize he has hurt his arm as he is only using one arm to do everything.

CAMERA WORK/EDITING:

The transition from the man covering up the screen to the start of the film was a really intersting and clever editing because it makes the audience think is this the same man on cruches that is driving the car in such a hurry. Also the the camera shots never reveal the man untill he is in his office this was done purposly to keep us wondering who he actully is.

HOW IS THE OPENING STORY SET UP:

Well they start the film in like what you could think to be in the middle or the end as its starts with a car driving in a panic and we then see a sot wound on the mans shoulder this is causing the auidience to ask question and want to find out how he could have got this shot wound and why was he driving so fast to get to his office. Also it will make them think why wouldnt he go to a hospital if he has been shot?.

Genre:

Brick Anaylsis (Rian johnson, 2005,USA)

FLIM TITLE:

The title of this film fits exactly into the sterotype of thriller as it is just a white font on a black background,this title gives us no indication to what the film is going to be about or what kind of thriller it will be its is all very mysterious as the audience do not know what to expect from this film.

SETTING/LOCATION:

The first camera shot we are not sure of the setting or location its a tunnel which is pitch black inside and they are outside but not sure where this will make the audience start wondering how did they get there and why are they there. We then see that the setting is based around a high school as we hear school bells ringing and we see school lockers. this gives the audience an idea of the age of the characters. When he goes to the phone box we can see around him just a long highway with not alot of cars so it shows some isolation and that sense of he is alone.

COSTUME/PROPS:

We are shown the girls costume in separate shots we see her high heels suggestin maybe she was out parting before she died, and then we get a shot of her colourful cheap bangles which suggest to the audience she is a young girl. the film makers cleverly use the costumes as a way of idnetifying a character as we see the same bangles on the arm of a girl puting a note in the locker. this is so we know its the same person without having to see her face. They also use props like pieces of paper and photographs to introduce character ans also to introduce locations which i find is very clever.

EDITING/CAMERA:

The film starts of with a extreme close up off the boys eyes to really show his emotion to what he is seeing and at that point we didnt actually know what he was lookin at so it we make the audece wonder what he was looking at.They then use close up shots to show the character of the girl.The editing transition between the girls arm laying there lifeless to her arm putting a note in the locker i found really clever because it helps the audience to know its the same person.

HOW THE OPENING SETS UP THE STORY:

The opening starts at what we may think is the end of the film, as to why you see it comes up two days previous so it get the audience wanting to know how it got to the point of the young girl laying there dead and the boy staring at the body. It makes the audience ask questions like 'whats there relationship? why is she still in the same clothes and did she know it was going to happen?' this is a great way to open a film and good why to get the audience asking question.

GENRE:

this film is difentaly a thriller,just from the way the title is shown in a verysterotypical manner of black background and white font not giving aay anything about the film and remaining mysterious something that all thriller try to do.

Kiss Me Deadly(Aldrich,1955,US)

FILM TITLE:

Straight away the film title is unusual as it goes the opposite way on the screen then a usual film does, which goes against the stereotype that the titles go up at the start of the film. Already getting the audience suspicious about what might happen in the film.The title is just big bold white letters on a black background this is not giving away anything to the audience keeping them suspicious. By showing a bit of the film before the title sequences the audience have already been asking loads of questions and are now trying to link the title to what they have already seen which means the film makers have done there job and intrigued the audience. As the title roles down it appears to be correct and read 'kiss me deadly' but as it all enters the screen and you read it again it is read as 'deadly kiss me' this can get the audience questioning has that got anything to do with the film as maybe not everything you see is as it may seem really keeping them on the edge of there seat waiting another suspicious event to occur. The fact we have already seen a man and a women before the title sequences the words of the title 'kiss me' has the audience maybe trying to link it to the man and the women we have already seen.

SETTING/LOCATION:

The setting is very dark as it is set in the night time on a lonely road with nothing to lighten up the road.all we can see is sand and bushes next to the road the are not many cars or any houses around this makes as feel weary about this place because you get that feeling that if something happens to this women nobody would be around to help hear or even hear her. that is something that will get the audience really nervous about this place and expecting something bad to happen.

COSTUME/PROPS:

We see that the women is only wearing a long trench coat,straight away this strikes as something odd to the audience,the we get a shot of her feet she has to socks or shoes on this is were the audience we really start to ask questions like 'why is this women running in bare feet in the middle of no where?' so they have used costuming to get the audience thinking this is very clever. We then see a man in a car he is dressed smart also wearing a trench coat and with the slick back hair he seems to be a wealthy materialistic man. this made me feel like he was maybe someone important maybe high up in the law.

EDITING/CAMERA WORK:

The first shot is a long shot as we see the women running towards the camera but the camera stay still this shot helps as see behind the women and shows just a pitch black road that seems to lead to know where which makes the audience think 'how long has she been running for and where has she been running from?' As she is close to the camera we get a close up of her face showing her emotion and heavy breathing showing her facial expression to the audience makes us realise she is scared and must have been running away from someone or something. The shots from her legs running and to her upper body are fast shots making us realise she is frantic and scared. this is making the audience wonder why is she so scared and what is it that she is scared of.

HOW THE OPENING SETS UP THE STORY:

The opening goes straight in with out no build up, We start with a women we don't know running with hardly any clothes and is breathing frantically suggesting she is venerable,this has us asking many questions wanting to know where she is running form or maybe even whom she is running from. The opening does give that sense of mystery to the film with the background being dark so she is a unknown location we are not given any clues to what might be going on so we really want to watch on to see what has happen to her and what is going to happen to her. We also want to know who is this man and why is her so materialistic as her was more worried about his car then the women herself.

GENRE:

The genre of the movie is thriller. We can tell this from the way the movie has started. It hasn't given away us a lot of information we have two characters of who we don't know anything about and a location which is unknown.

The Sixth Sense(M.Night Shyamalan, 1999, USA)

FILM TITLE:

right from the start of the film it is very dark, the background is blacked out and the music is very creepy and high pitched, we then begin to see the credits and these are not presented in a cheerful manner as they seem the creep on to the screen and the text its self is blue which gives the effect of a cold chill. So already we know this is going to be a chilling thriller. When the title of the film appears there is a violin sound which is very loud a squeaky and really makes you jump so this could set you up for what is about to happen in the rest of the film.but also the title doesn't just appear once it re appears again after words which really made me feel a bit weary.Also i noticed that the letters are spaced further apart then normal and as they stay longer on the screen they get further away from each other this really gives it that spooky effect.


Setting/Location:

The film starts with a blacked out background and you can slightly see the bulb as the bulb turns on it takes a few seconds and the music beings to get more quieter,at this point the audience is on the edge of there sit because they got the idea from the title's that this could be a very jumpy thriller.As the bulb turns on u the her the lock turn and we hear footsteps we then notice the location is a cellar, a cellar is usually at the bottom of a house very creepy place where its usually damp and the floorboards are creaky.A very chilling setting to start with.as she comes down the starts she looks a bit frightened as she takes a step back again before she continues her walk,this will get the audience think and asking them self questions,such as "why is she so scared? has something happened before in the cellar?". Even though we can tell its a cellar we can not completely see the full setting as the camera shot is from behind the wine shelves this gives the audience sense of hiding something you do if you are scared.As we she reads the plaque we also find out that they live in Philadelphia

COSTUME/PROPS:

The women is dressed up like she is in the middle of a party or there are some guest round,because she is wearing a long purple dress and high heels which is not something you would just wear around your house, so this shows you she is not alone in the house. the props that are used like the wooden shelves are very old and dusty which can represent that spooky effect.Also the fact that she is come to collect wine suggest that these people are maybe wealthy people.As we get upstairs you see candles lit to add a sense of romance towards her husband this starts to settle us down he is also dressed very wealthy.

EDITING/CAMERA WORK:

The first camera shots is from behind the wine shelves this is creating curiosity for the audience as you can not completely see everything clearly, Also it gives you a sense of someone hiding in the cellar looking at the women.the next shot we see the women in the first third of the from which then draws attention to the centre of the frame where we see her shadow this is used to create a bit of eeriness about this cellar to make us feel like maybe she isn't alone in the cellar is there someone hiding in the house. When the women is reading the plaque the camera is at a angle where you can still see both of the actors for me i was expecting maybe someone to jump out as mirrors is used in a lot of thriller films for murder scenes.

HOW THE OPENING SEQUENCES SETS UP THE STORY:

The opening sequence sets up the story as it tells the audience that this story has more to what meets the eye and really makes them really want to know more about whats goign on, by getting the audience engaged in the story and wanting more. It also creates a real sense of uncertainty because the man being found in there house was really very unexpected and really have the audience confused and make them want to see the rest of the film to know why he is there.

GENRE:
This film is clearly a thriller as there are many conventions used such as, non- diegetic sound that builds tension and creats suspense to keep the audience on the edge of there seat, it being set in a house at night with an eery feel to it all th edark lighting and the title sequence with the black background conects it to a thriller as in a thriller you dont want to give to much away , and, there being a shooting a suicide within the opening sequence. All this indicates a thriller and are the vital parts which makes thrillers good.

ROLES OF A DIRECTOR:

Film directors are responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film under the film producer. They often develop the idea of the film in there mind and make it happen. They are responsible for turning the script into a sequences of shots. They also direct what an audience should gain from the cinematic experience. Film directors are responsible for deciding camera angles, lens effects, lighting, and set design, and will often take part in hiring key crew members. They coordinate the actors' moves and also may be involved in the writing, financing, and editing of a film.

ROLES OF A PRODUCER:

The Producer's primary role is to oversee and deliver a film project to all relevant people.A film producer or movie producer begins by getting the rights to, creating or co-creating a feature-length screenplay,The producer oversees the process, which includes coordinating, supervising and controlling major aspects of the project. These areas include fundraising, hiring key above-the-line roles (such as the casting director, film director)the producer is often actively involved throughout all major phases of the film making process.

ROLES OF A EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production

PRODUCTION DESIGNER:

A production designer is one of the creative roles in film making, they work closely with the directer and producer to make sure the film really does what it was planned to do.

COSTUME DESIGNER:

A costume designer is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film . He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The costume designer might also work with a makeup designer.

SCREENWRITER:

A screenwriter is the person that writes the script for the film and is the person that writes what the other people like directors and producers have to create.

CINEMATOGRAPHER:

A cinematographer is just the same as a director of photography and there role or job is to make every scene as realistic as they can and to us good angles and shots to really create the correct sense of feeling. this job is important because this is what the audience will see and what is really needed to attract audiences.

This is the opening credits to the film 'watching' i chose this because it is a great thriller and really ticks all the boxes of what it has to have. The music is very high pitched and has a slow tempo. The books and the blood suggest a kind of detective murder case.Also some of the credits are done on a knife an also written in blood.The sense of books could relate to a library which is quite so we now it wont be brutal murders but more mysterious smart murders.

law abiding citizen trailer

For the film 'law abiding citizen' the trailer really did what it was set out to do. It shows u exciting and meaningful parts but with out giving away to much, it will intrigue audiences to come and see it to see how the story unfolds. It also show us some main charcaters like 'jamie foxx' to also atrract people to watch it.

brief

The brief is to create title and opening sequence to a film, that is two minutes long.

Trailers are different to opening sequences a trailer's main priority is to give the audience an overview of the plot without giving the film away. Its idea is to also have a good sense of interest show little clips that make you want to see what actually happens and why these things happen.In many cases trailers can often show the best bits from across the whole film. The trailer will also have lots of shots and really throw loads of shots at the audience really quick shots very fast pace editing would be involved. keeping the audience guessing and curious would really make them want to go and watch the film.Trailer is the main way films are advertised.













The opening sequence to any film is really important.the open in sequences is used to really set the mood and atmosphere for the rest of the film.they opening sequences would only usually last about 2-3 minutes that how long they have to absorb the audience into the film and to keep them interested to watch the rest of the film. Compared to a trailer the pace of the shots on an open sequence are slower. It has to give a bit of info but don't give to much away. There will usually be a sound track in the background to help set the mood and be very relevant to the images on screen.

Se7en

These 9 still images are taken from the opening sequence from the film se7en all the shots are close ups this type of shot is used because they are trying not to give as to much information because they don't want to spoil the film.

task least enjoyed

The task I least enjoyed was the finding a wallet because my group didnt fully understand the task and it didnt end up being very good.

donnie darko

I really enjoyed this task because the whole class got invovled and it helped to get to know people,and i learned alot of new camera shots.

blogging practice

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