Again, like other opening sequences the first thing we see in this opening sequence is the makers of the film.
As soon as the music starts the credits appear as well.
The music is very upbeat and girly much the the rest of the opening sequence suggesting that this is quite a happy, uplifting, fun film.
The credits look as though they have been hand written in a white, swirly font with a pink outline. The credits really stand out in this opening sequence.
This is something we can consider when making our opening sequence, wether we want to make the credits quite arty and make them a main part of the opening sequence or whether we want them quite simple and less likely to take the audiences attention off the motion. In this opening sequence it doesn’t matter so much where your attention is as there is quite a lot of action going on and if you look at something else for a moment you are not going to lose the story. Whereas in another opening sequence you may miss something important for the narrative.
After the production company etc, the title of the film is displayed in the same font and style as the credits.
As the title of the film is displayed the background comes into focus and you see a close up of the back of a girls head, brushing her hair.
At this moment the first and main actresses name (Reese Witherspoon) is shown.
Seeing the actors and actresses names is a convention of opening sequences as it is what we would expect to see.
From this shot we can see that she is wearing an expensive looking bracelet and has perfectly painted nails, also the predominate colour is pink which has connotations of love and romance. Therefore we can already conclude that this is the main character and quite a ‘girly girl’.
The next shot is a close up an envelope with the name ‘Elle’ written on it in a bike basket.
The camera tracks the bike and establishes the location, a university. Between each shot of the location is another shot of the girl we first saw, although we never see her face. This suggests to the audience that someone is cycling to deliver this letter to her.
The next montage of shots shows people signing this card that was being delivered. This creates questions for the audience and create a narrative.
The props we can see in the shots of this girls room implies to the audience that it is a girly, romantic film. The lighting is also bright and sunny again adding to the feel that it is a cheerful film.
In the opening sequence we have seen the credits, been introduced to the main character, and the location has been set. These are all conventions that we would expect to see in the opening to a film.
In this opening sequence similarly to ‘Cleaner’ and ‘Gone baby gone’, we do not see the main characters face, only parts of the body. This can be an effective way to open a film and could be something we could consider doing in our opening sequence.
Cleaners is another opening sequence which I really like, it interests me and makes me want to watch the rest of the film.
Film starts with a fade from black and we see ‘Millennium Film’s’ logo.
Fades to black again and the opening credits begin, ‘Millennium Films presents’ then over the first shot ‘An Anonymous Content production’. I like how this is against the first shot, establishing the location.
Both an establishing shot and opening credits are conventions that you would expect to see in an opening sequence.
The camera then tracks along the street and as we see a woman walking towards the camera, from a long shot, with shopping and flowers we know that our attention is to be on her.
Durning these shots actors names are introduced to the opening credits, another convention we are used to seeing in opening sequences.
At this moment a voice over starts. It is a male voice so we know it is not the woman who we have just been introduced to. Instead he is narrating what she is doing as he is telling a story about ‘last week’.
I really like it when voice overs are used in opening sequences, especially if we have not yet been introduced to the character.
As the woman enters the dark room, the title of the film ‘Cleaner’ appears in large white letters across the screen.
When the woman enters her mothers house, the voice over narrates what the woman is seeing.
A close up of her shopping being dropped shows that she is in shock.
As the camera tracks through the house the voice over becomes quite detailed in the information he is giving us about this woman. This can make the audience think that he has something to do with her in some way.
Through the next montage of shots, and as he says ‘business’ we can get the feeling that the voice over has something to do with working with dead bodies.
This is confirmed when he says ‘That’s where I come in.”
“That’s where I come in” signifies that the next shot is of him as the voice over momentarily stops and the shots of him begin, although we do not yet see his face.
We see a range of angled shots to introduce his job but still do not see his face.
As he is speaking about his job, it then cuts to a close up of his face and we see that he was talking to someone.
Through the first 3:18 of the film we have been introduced to the location, the main character, his job, the producers, the actors and an idea of the narrative. All conventions you would expect to see in the opening of a film.
As we would expect to see in opening sequences of a film, we see the the production company and its logo (Universal).
The film begins with a sound bridge from darkness to motion.
For nearly 30 seconds we are literally left in the dark. During this time a voice over, much like a news readers voice begins ‘Day 1000 of the siege of Seattle’. As the voice over continues we realise that this is a news program as just before motion we hear ‘Good morning, our lead story.’
Through the voice over, on the screen, are more opening credits.
Before the motion has even started we know that ‘the youngest boy on the planet’ has died. Immediately a narrative is beginning to form, and questions such as how old is this boy? And how has he died? start to arise. Already as an audience member I am gripped.
The first shot, is a mid shot of a group of people inside a cafe all trying to watch the tv.
On the other side of the room is another tv.
I like how the voice over started of on a black screen and bridged over to the motion where you realise it is on the tv which everyone is watching. Also I like how there is another tv on the other side of the cafe, therefor you know what everyone is looking at yet you are still able to to see their facial expressions and see that they are listening intensely.
It then cuts to a close up of the screen everyone is looking at and we are able to see this boy that the news readers are talking about; ‘Baby Diago’. We also see the date 2009-2027.
In this shot we have been introduced to a main character, the time, the setting and the genre of the film.
We know know that this film is set in the future.
The camera then tracks a man out of the cafe and pans the dirty street he has entered out on to.
I like this shot as it is quite hand held and you feel as though you are following him out onto the street and seeing exactly what he would be.
As the camera continues to track around the man we see an explosion from the cafe and a woman emerges holding what appears to be her arm.
This leaves questions for the audience and is quite gripping because you are left unsure why that just happened and whether it has anything to do with the death previously mentioned. The lighting of the mise-en-scene outside is very dull and grim, suggesting that 2027 is not a nice place and the world is coming to an end, also suggested by the fact that the youngest person in the universe was 18 years old.
Similarly to other opening sequences I have mentioned, the production company etc is mentioned, however, the opening credits have not yet started before the motion or on top of the motion like ‘Cleaner’ where the director and actors are introduced.
Gone Baby Gone, 2007. Ben Affleck, Opening sequence
An opening sequence to any film is the decider between watching on or choosing another film. It has to be captivating enough yet not disclose the plot too soon, give you an insight to the characters personality yet not yet show why. Gone Baby Gone is easily one of my favorite opening sequences. It shows all the conventions of a gripping opening sequence that will lead on to an as equally gripping and moving story line. The narrative functions in the first 3 minutes 16 seconds gives you just the right amount of information to form an opinion of the film.
The initial shot fades from black to a row of houses with balconies. It’s plain and quite with no people or movement. The mise-en-scene shows a picture of the American flag in the foreground stuck to a building, in the back ground more buildings, a peaceful pink sky and a bird flying past. The bird flying through this city has connotations of freedom, either what the city has or wants, we are not sure yet. Within the first 20 seconds the location is established and a tranquil feel is set.This and the first shot suggests the calmness and peace over the city, that there is not much action that happens there. Possibly foreboding that something could disrupt this. The first shot of characters we are introduced to, is a close up of a man outside smoking, followed by an upwards tilt of a woman standing next to him. At this point, slow thoughtful, non-diegetic sound starts to play. It fits in with the first shots of the city and the feeling it creates for the audience as well as the expression on the first characters that we see.
The next montage of shots shows a variety of people, races and ages, along with the time, and the class of the area we have been introduced to. A medium shot of a man looking out on to the street from his balcony, a long shot of an elderly woman and her dog also on her balcony looking out on to the street and a low angle shot of two young boys looking out of a window. All of whom looking as though they are waiting for something to happen in their neighborhood, are wearing simple clothes and their houses look quite run down.
At this point voice over is introduced, a soft male voice who starts: “I always believed it was the things you don’t chose, that makes you who you are”. By saying ‘believed’, the thought is that he no longer believes it, and opens the question as to why. We are yet to see this man, but know that he will have something to do with the story.
The camera then cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a young girl sitting on a mans knee, playing with his hat. We don’t see this mans face which suggests he is not significant to the story line, but has significance in the opening setting this feeling of community. “Your city, your neighborhood, your family”, spoken by the voice over with emphasis on the word ‘family’ as if he is trying to suggest your city and neighborhood to be part of your family as illustrated by the rest of the sequence. The title credits appear from here, simple and small, not to distract you from the the story being introduced.
The camera then pans a large wall, fully decorated with what could be paintings of black Americans. At the end of this pan a white woman is painting, suggesting again this sense of community, and mix cultural diversity. We start to get the feeling now that this is a close knit, welcoming, friendly community.
The camera then cuts to a group of boys, and through a mid shot, pans across the group so we see they are a variety of cultures and ages. Again this sense of community and equality. Here more conventions are displayed as the actors names are appearing in the opening credits.
The next shot is a track shot of a church as the voice over uses the word ‘souls’, religion is a topic brought up again during the opening, making it a possible theme for the film. The next sequence of shots, a long shot followed by a mid shot of a man teaching children how to play baseball. Followed by a mid shot of a barber and a hairdresser as if we are looking at them through the window of the shop.
Most of the sequence is filmed at the same level not many high or low angle shots, suggesting that everyone in that community is on the same level.
Another shot of what looks like should be over the city, yet is blocked by buildings, shows the title and again the bird as a symbol of freedom. Soon after, a road of traffic and an introduction to the voice over, who we assume is the main character. The camera tracks Casey Affleck towards a couple of people while he, as the voice over, says “I lived on this block my whole life”. We now know his connection to the city, “when your job is to find people who are missing”, and his job. This also gives the audience a clue as to what the film is about. The camera track Casey Affleck again past a school of children playing. The camera then changes angle so we see his face looking at the children.
After this another montage shows more people in the community, playing together, making fun out of the things they have. Until a shot of a police man and a picture on the ground of a young girl creates new questions about the plot of the film. Still with this sense of community, the camera tracks around the cameramen and the public before tracking down, past teddies, to a picture of a young girl with the words ‘Missing girl’. From what Casey Afflecks character told us earlier about his job, the audience is able to predict that he will have something to do with finding her. The final shot shows a close up of the missing girls mother giving a statement to the news about her daughter.
From the first 3 minutes 16 seconds we, as an audience, have been introduced to the main character(s), the location, the story line and we know who the actors etc are from the opening credits.
