Film Opening Analysis +

 



Django Unchained

 

More analysis to see how different genres of film make good film openings. Key conventions of film openings are reinforced by looking at a larger variety.

Django Unchained opens with a clear establishing shot of the environment of the Wild West with a barren desert with many rocks and mountains surrounding the valley. The Wild West theme is reinforced with the Django theme song with a strong Wild West sound/feel.

 

The titles that appear are also influenced by classic Wild West films and are stylised as such.

 

The time period is establish with obvious representations of slavery which was most common during the time of the Wild West around the 1800’s most likely.

 

Following this more establishing shots are used to emphasise the Wild West theme and setting, showing the vast open valleys and other landscapes with the slaves being led by some men on horseback.

A main character is established as the camera focuses on one slave out of the group and follows him during the majority of the opening.

It is also made clear that they have been journeying for some time as it cuts to different seasons as they travel from location to location. This is done to show how much traveling they have done and how much they’ve endured along with the marks on their backs from being whipped as slave tend to be shown.

Blues Brothers

Though not featured in the clip I watched on YouTube, The Blues Brothers starts with some establishing shots of the prison and long shots showing one of the main characters being escorted through said prison. The tracking shots on him establish he is a main character.

The prison is an indication of the characters background and preludes to criminal activity being a large part of the film. It also could foreshadow the place the characters end up at the end of the film.

The film takes a semi serious tone with hints of humour as the opening starts off very realistic while adding some element of amusement the way the prison guard, like other characters later on in the movie, talk (in this case about his clothing and belongings).

The clothing is made very bold by the fact that he reads out the list of them at the beginning of the film and links to the fact that these are the clothes the two main characters wear for almost the entire film.

 

More establishing shots show the prison and the car (Blues Mobil) to make it one the key elements of the film. It is focused on from the very start of the film along with the two main characters. The fact that it’s a police car is rather ironic too and this is referred to in the next scene as they are fugitives of sorts later on and they happen to be driving an old 1974 Dodge Sedan Police cruiser.

 

This will become a common sight throughout the film as many of the same model of police car seen later on in the film. One of the films main focuses is the police chases. The cars in the film also establish the time period of the 70’s or early 80’s.

 

The second main character is also established, driving the car. The two main characters are also shown with their names tattooed on their knuckles and this is focused on for both of them during the opening. When the two meet there is an even clearer indication of them being the main characters as the names of the actors appear as titles at this point and the title of the film is shown.

 

The music also kicks in at this point and the theme of blues is made obvious alongside the title of the film. It is also worth noting that there is a bright glow behind one of the characters as he leaves the prison which could indicate towards the supernatural elements of the film or could relate to the 'mission form god' that they embark on.

Terminator 2

Terminator 2 instantly kicks off with establishing the large amount of action in the film with fire and explosions as the titles start. The titles use a serious font and are somewhat sci-fi orientated trying to establish the sci-fi genre in the film alongside the action.

 

There is a sombre tone heard in the theme tune of the film along with clear elements of military march sound. This hints towards the narrative of the film a lot without giving away any information about what actually happens.

 

A park is shown in the flames to represent a sombre tone and connote to the sad ending to the film and narrative of the events that occur. The camera pans slowly across the park and there is no fast paced editing to be found either to emphasise the sadness.

 

Then there is the obvious icon of any sci-fi movie when the terminator robot appears from the flames. His red eye that is focused on clearly show the evil intent of the machines in the film and the skull like design foreshadows the main goal of the terminator, to kill and terminate. The terminator is also established here as the main character or object in the film.

Skyfall Opening Analysis

Looking more at film openings to help with making our own film opening and understand the key elements to show genre, themes etc... 

 

The Skyfall opening titles show a lot of hints to the genre and narrative of the film. It starts with 007 (main character) falling deeper in water which hints at the fact that he may be losing control in this movie, losing his power, his fight. He is dragged down by someone else and alongside a large number of other things, such as the title of the film and the soundtrack/theme song, hint directly at destruction of bond and him fighting a losing battle in this film.

 

The opening establishes a darker tone than previous bond films with the dark clouds, smoke, graves and more, which also hints at the death of a main character in the film. Red and black is a common theme supporting the themes of death and darkness.

 

 

The opening hints at how this film will be looking into bonds mind and his past and learning about him. This is clear by the camera zooming in on his eye multiple times to see into his mind.

 

Bond is shown as the target in the film as a target with his image on it is shot near the beginning of the opening. A theme of deception and mystery is shown too as he is shooting his own shadow and reflection and being hunted down by the shadow of the villain who is shown very clearly in the opening.

 

 

 

A theme and possible location is hinted at with the Chinese dragons and fire also hinting at destruction.

A house, which is a key location in the film, is shown as well.

 

Children of Men Opening Analysis

 

Children of men makes it’s narrative quite clear in it’s opening. The news report that everyone seems focused on implies that there are no children left in the world and people are no longer able to reproduce. The report specifies a time around 2027.

 

There are also clear themes and location of a near future London shown by the iconic red double decker buses and futuristic advertisements and billboards.

 

The film is given a dark and gritty feel and theme with lots of smoke, clouds and polluotion. The setting is made to feel overcrowded and busy as expected of the future of the world.

A main character is established as the camera focuses on him and tracks him as he leaves the shop.

 

The explosion leaves us to believe that the world is in conflict and possibly terrorist activity is occurring due to events. An impending end to the world feeling is given to the audience.

 

An overall serious, sombre tone is shown with a combination of on screen images, titles/font and non-diegetic music.

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Film Opening analysis

‘My best friends wedding’ 

To help with making our own film opening we shall be analysing a variety of different film openings. This will help us understand how good film openings work and the generic conventions for different genres of film and such.

 

This opening clearly establishes the themes and genre. The pink background and fancy ‘efeminate’ fonts are clear indications relating to a romantic, chik flick.

The themes are also made clear by the four female characters in bridesmaid’s dresses and a wedding dress, which alongside the title of the film show a theme of weddings.

The non-diegetic music ‘wishing and hoping’ connotes the narrative relating to trying to find the perfect guy to love and marry.

‘Catch me if you can’

‘Catch me if you can’ does a very good job of establishing themes, characters, setting and genre in it ‘s opening title animation. The non-diegetic music is used to establish the chase element of the film between the two main characters. These characters are made clear as they appear alongside the actors names in the opening titles.

 

 

The airport setting is shown well as a theme for the film. The escalators, planes, uniforms etc. are shown in abundance to make certain this theme is clear.

 

There is also an I indication of setting with this yellow taxi, iconic of New York City, USA.

 

The narrative is hinted at with the music and the chase between the two characters. One character is try to blend in and hide or run while the other in a stereotypical detective hat and coat tries to find and ‘catch’ him. This is hinted at by the title of the film as well.

 

This gives away the genre as a drama, noir based on a detective chasing down a criminal.

Differences between film trailers and film openings

Differences between film trailers and film openings

Film trailers contain snippets of the film with many cuts and fades to black to show off the film and entice people to watch the film. Film opening must establish themes and settings for the film while showing some titles or credits.

Titles

Usually appear at the end of a trailer whereas throughout a film opening. With most film openings the titles are shown in a particular order starting with production companies and ending with the director. It will usually show the star cast as their characters appear on screen to help establish the narrative and characters.

Content

Trailers contain cut sections from the film with a lot of fades to black. This allows the audience a taster of what they are expecting to see if they were to watch the film and hopefully entice them into doing so. Trailers will show some of the best bits without spoiling the film too much. It will often establish some of the main storyline and characters but in less detail than a film opening. Some non-diagetic music will often be played intermittently, usually multiple different tracks from the film, during a trailer to show off some of the themes and genre as well as allowing for some scenes with speech to be fit in without music.

A film opening should establish setting, characters and include hints towards the narrative of the film but show nothing too obvious. It may throw you straight into a more exciting scene but nothing climactic will be shown in an opening of a film for the most part. Sets a pace for the film so things don’t escalate too quickly. Some non-diagetic music will often be played over the top of the opening titles to help establish a tone for the film.

Edit

Trailers will almost always be fast paced , switching from scene to scene, and contain a lot of fades to black which can create more mystery and make it difficult to understand certain things from it. Openings can be slow or fast paced depending on the content/ genre of the film.

An example here is the Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer...

Here is an example of the Rogue Nation opening titles...

 

Preliminary Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Our preliminary task went well considering the time we left ourselves to do it. Due to not being able to film until the last minute. Our organization in getting the camera and actors we needed for filming was not very good. This is the main issue with the preliminary task for us so for future projects we must be more organized. Our filming was quite shaky and rushed for this film and we didn’t get the best actors but we couldn’t make many takes either.

 

 

Looking directly at the camera is obviously not part of the script. The chairs and tables in the background our quite distracting as well. We didn't have the time or resources to think about implementing and suitable mise, setting or sound. We kept the task simple and didn't expand on what we had been told to do. I feel we could have at least added some non-diegetic music or added some sound effects and cut out the real sounds in the film.

We stuck to the plan as much as possible though and our preparation for that was quite good. For such a random scene that we were instructed to film I feel we had some good ideas and our camera work seemed like it could have been quite good given more time. The titles in particular I am happy with for this task, the idea that they swipe on and off as characters walk past in the first shot.

Our match on action wasn't bad and our editing, the small amount that was there, was okay.

There is much to improve over the course of our next task.
 

Preliminary Task Film

Preliminary Storyboard

Preliminary Task Storyboard

With this we planned our film and was the key guide for us when we filmed it. The quick sketches showed us the camera angles, script and content of each scene.