The conventions of an opening sequence are:
1. Distribution company
2. Production company
3. List of actors the main characters first and not all actors are listed here
4.Casting by
5.Costume design
6. Music by
7.Editied by
8.Production designer
9. Director of photography
10.Executive producer
11.Produced by
12.Written and directed by
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Conventions of an opening sequence
Must obscure information:
Another film that obscures information very well in its opening sequence is Brick (Nolan 2005 US). We see the man sitting looking at the dead body this is obscures information because we don't see how she died and who did it but it lets us know that she is dead. This is a very good opening sequence for obscuring information as we see a lot of information but there are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up over the course of the film.
Titles:
All movies will have a title sequence this lets you know who starred in the film, the director etc. These are very important as you will need to know who directed the film but also to settle the audience down. If the director choose to jump straight into the action the audiences minds may not be focused and settled and may not be concentrating fully on the movie and may miss some valuable information and not enjoy the movie. Sixth Sense (Shaymalan 1999 US) has a very good title sequence.
Make you ask questions:
A good opening sequence will make you ask questions about what you are seeing and what you want to happen next. The reason that it will make you do this is it will want to keep you thinking about what is going to happen next as the director will want you to keep focused on the film at all times. A good opening sequence for this is brick.
Introduce some characters:
This is very important to the opening sequence as if we didn't see any characters we wouldn't know what to expect from them through out the movie as you will usually see what some of the characters will be like but you do not want to see all of them. This is very similar to obscuring information as you will only want show the audiencve a snippet of the movie to give them a taste of what the characters will be like. A good example of this would be in the movie the dark knight rises.
A successful opening sequence needs to give out some information but will need to hold most of the information away from the audience a good example of this is in the film Sucker Punch (Snyder 2011 US) as at the start of the opening sequence we see the woman sitting down upset which obscures the information why is she sitting down we then see a dead body which clarify some information but doesn't tell us why she is dead both of these examples are good indicators that the opening sequence of sucker punch is on the right lines to be very successful but will need to do all the other conventions to be a very successful sequence.
Another film that obscures information very well in its opening sequence is Brick (Nolan 2005 US). We see the man sitting looking at the dead body this is obscures information because we don't see how she died and who did it but it lets us know that she is dead. This is a very good opening sequence for obscuring information as we see a lot of information but there are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up over the course of the film.
Titles:
All movies will have a title sequence this lets you know who starred in the film, the director etc. These are very important as you will need to know who directed the film but also to settle the audience down. If the director choose to jump straight into the action the audiences minds may not be focused and settled and may not be concentrating fully on the movie and may miss some valuable information and not enjoy the movie. Sixth Sense (Shaymalan 1999 US) has a very good title sequence.
Make you ask questions:
A good opening sequence will make you ask questions about what you are seeing and what you want to happen next. The reason that it will make you do this is it will want to keep you thinking about what is going to happen next as the director will want you to keep focused on the film at all times. A good opening sequence for this is brick.
Introduce some characters:
This is very important to the opening sequence as if we didn't see any characters we wouldn't know what to expect from them through out the movie as you will usually see what some of the characters will be like but you do not want to see all of them. This is very similar to obscuring information as you will only want show the audiencve a snippet of the movie to give them a taste of what the characters will be like. A good example of this would be in the movie the dark knight rises.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Wallander (Firewall,7th December 2008,BBC1)
Sound:
Sound is used in Wallander to show that the women are murderers and to set up what type of genre this program could be. At the start of this scene we see a very high pitched
droning sound. This could indicate to us that the program could be a mystery as the sound is very mysterious. The Effect this could have on the audience would be that they will start to ask questions like what will this be about? what genre will the program be?. This piece of sound is crucial as it will need to be relevant to the programme as people may turn it off if the think it is not the genre that the opening suggested.
The music is also very important to the scene as it could show us that the women have done something bad. We hear some hyperbolic sound when the two women are walking away from the scene of the crime as the are huffing and puffing very loudly. This gives us a good indication that the women have done something wrong as you will only be out of breath from a physical activity and seeming they are walking away from a body could indicate they have beaten him to death.
Camerawork:
The camerawork in Wallander is very important as it shows us that the women are murderers and that they are in a remote place. We know the women are murderers because we see an extreme close up of the knife being dropped from one of the girls hands. We know it is one of them as they have blood all over them as well. The meaning that this will have on the audience is it will leave them guessing to what one killed the man and why did they do it.
Sound is used in Wallander to show that the women are murderers and to set up what type of genre this program could be. At the start of this scene we see a very high pitched
droning sound. This could indicate to us that the program could be a mystery as the sound is very mysterious. The Effect this could have on the audience would be that they will start to ask questions like what will this be about? what genre will the program be?. This piece of sound is crucial as it will need to be relevant to the programme as people may turn it off if the think it is not the genre that the opening suggested.
The music is also very important to the scene as it could show us that the women have done something bad. We hear some hyperbolic sound when the two women are walking away from the scene of the crime as the are huffing and puffing very loudly. This gives us a good indication that the women have done something wrong as you will only be out of breath from a physical activity and seeming they are walking away from a body could indicate they have beaten him to death.
Camerawork:
The camerawork in Wallander is very important as it shows us that the women are murderers and that they are in a remote place. We know the women are murderers because we see an extreme close up of the knife being dropped from one of the girls hands. We know it is one of them as they have blood all over them as well. The meaning that this will have on the audience is it will leave them guessing to what one killed the man and why did they do it.
We know that it is in the right place as they pan up from the sea which in its self is a very remote place. But then it pans up to a field which is a remote place in the middle of know where. The impact that this will have will be the audience asking the question why are we starting here and why are we seeing just a field.
Editing:
The editing is very slow thought this clip the reason that the director chooses to have slow editing could be to make the people watching get all the clips in and to add to the danger of the girls as they are slowly moving away from the car and them being on the screen a lot could mean that are the main suspects of the murder. Also we see the camera cut from the dead body to the girls walking away to say that they could be walking away with the mans life as he no longer able to walk because they killed him. The meaning that this will have on the audience is that they will be wondering why the girls killed him.
Mise en scene:
The Mise en scene shows us very clearly that the girls are the murderers. We know the girls are murders because we see that they are covered in blood when they are walking away from the car this is a very clear indication that they have killed the man the impact that this will have on the audience will be they will be wondering what will happen to the girls as they should not be able to get away from him.
We also see blood all over the windscreen this again shows us that the man has been killed but this is more of an indication that he has been violently killed. The effect that this will have on the audience will be that will again be asking questions like how did this happen?.
Monday, 14 October 2013
Memento (Nolan,2000,US)
Memento homework:
Sound:
Sound is very important in this clip because it gives is a good idea of what is happening in the scene. For example at the start of the scene we see the beginning credits and the music in the background is very dark and mysterious music this carry's on right up until we see the character. This creates meaning as the audience will ask questions like, why has it started so mysterious?, what has happened for the music to be so dark and mysterious?. so the music is very important in this scene and then the music changes from a dark mysterious sound to a more evil sounding music, this creates meaning by again making the audience ask more questions like, has the the character done something bad? or is he evil?, is he the protagonist or the antagonist?. again all these these questions are connotations from the small piece of sound tht we hear. All of these these questions have been asked from sound alone so sound is alot more important than many people think and will add a lot more depth to the scene. What we learnt about the character is that he could be a very evil person and a very mysterious person. The effect that this will have on the audience would be they would then see the character as a dark and evil characters and may fear for the other characters when they are in the shot together, as they see him as dark and evil.
Editing:
Editing is at the start is very slow and we know there is no danger and everything is normal but we start to see the danger when the shot speeds up. The editing is a very good and clear indication of something about to happen because you will see a change in the pace. This can sometimes be a very slight change in the pace or sometimes be a very fast paced change. We see the change in memento when we see the man take the camera shot the pace rapidly increases. This gives us a good a very good idea and understanding of the danger and what is happening in the shot as if the editing is slow you will presume nothing is happening and if the shot is slow for a shooting then it will be very unrealistic.
Cinematography:
There are many different types of camera shots in the memento clip.
This is an extreme close up. This shot adds meaning because we see his facial expressions and what he is doing. His facial expressions show us that he is confused and may be worried about what is about to happen to him or what he has done and is now regretting it.
Another shot type is low angle. This shot shows us that this character has a very high status as he is standing over us and over the dead body. This will indicate that the person does not care about what he has done and he is a very dangerous man. And will make the audience know that he is not to be messed with and could be the antagonist as he is a murderer.
Mise en scene:
The Mise en scene is very good because we see the man in a suit which shows us the man could be a wealthy man and has a lot of money and could be high up in his field. The meaning this adds would be the audience asking loads of questions like whey is he doing this?.
The make up is also very good as when we see the blood. Over the mans head this is very clear to us that he has passed away. This adds meaning as the audience knows that he has died and adds more questions to the piece like did the man kill him? and why did he do it?.
Sound:
Sound is very important in this clip because it gives is a good idea of what is happening in the scene. For example at the start of the scene we see the beginning credits and the music in the background is very dark and mysterious music this carry's on right up until we see the character. This creates meaning as the audience will ask questions like, why has it started so mysterious?, what has happened for the music to be so dark and mysterious?. so the music is very important in this scene and then the music changes from a dark mysterious sound to a more evil sounding music, this creates meaning by again making the audience ask more questions like, has the the character done something bad? or is he evil?, is he the protagonist or the antagonist?. again all these these questions are connotations from the small piece of sound tht we hear. All of these these questions have been asked from sound alone so sound is alot more important than many people think and will add a lot more depth to the scene. What we learnt about the character is that he could be a very evil person and a very mysterious person. The effect that this will have on the audience would be they would then see the character as a dark and evil characters and may fear for the other characters when they are in the shot together, as they see him as dark and evil.
Editing:
Editing is at the start is very slow and we know there is no danger and everything is normal but we start to see the danger when the shot speeds up. The editing is a very good and clear indication of something about to happen because you will see a change in the pace. This can sometimes be a very slight change in the pace or sometimes be a very fast paced change. We see the change in memento when we see the man take the camera shot the pace rapidly increases. This gives us a good a very good idea and understanding of the danger and what is happening in the shot as if the editing is slow you will presume nothing is happening and if the shot is slow for a shooting then it will be very unrealistic.
Cinematography:
There are many different types of camera shots in the memento clip.This is an extreme close up. This shot adds meaning because we see his facial expressions and what he is doing. His facial expressions show us that he is confused and may be worried about what is about to happen to him or what he has done and is now regretting it.
Another shot type is low angle. This shot shows us that this character has a very high status as he is standing over us and over the dead body. This will indicate that the person does not care about what he has done and he is a very dangerous man. And will make the audience know that he is not to be messed with and could be the antagonist as he is a murderer.
Mise en scene:
The Mise en scene is very good because we see the man in a suit which shows us the man could be a wealthy man and has a lot of money and could be high up in his field. The meaning this adds would be the audience asking loads of questions like whey is he doing this?.
The make up is also very good as when we see the blood. Over the mans head this is very clear to us that he has passed away. This adds meaning as the audience knows that he has died and adds more questions to the piece like did the man kill him? and why did he do it?.
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Brick(Johnson,2005,US)
Editing:
We then see a medium shot of a pair of legs the reason we see this is because the director wants us to know that the woman is dead as she has no color in her. This will add meaning the reason this will add meaning is because the audience will now start to ask questions like what is the relationship between these two people and how did they know her. We then see a close up of her face this is to just to reinforce the knowledge of her being dead.
We then see a shot of bangles in the river then by a locker this will show us that we have gone back in time to find out what happened to the girl maybe.
the editing in this scene is very slow from start to finish the reason I think the director has chosen to do this is because it will add to the up coming tension and give us more time to ask questions and think about what the man is doing crouched over the dead body. We see a shot reverse shot used in this scene as well, this will add meaning to the scene as it will show us that there maybe was a relationship between these to people.
Cinematography:
we see an extreme close up of the mans face at the start of the scene at the start of the shot it is blurry the camera then focuses to see the face clearer, the meaning this will give us is we will need to wait to see what this man looks like just like we will have to wait to get the answers for the woman, it will also give us a good idea of what the man looks like.
Sound:
At the start of the clip we hear some sort of pan flute music that is quiet clam and relaxing but also quite sad this ties in well with what we are seeing as the woman is dead which is a sad moment also because this music is sad it could suggest that the man didn't actuality kill her because it is sad if he did it would be more dark and evil.
Later in the clip we hear a school bell this shows us that they are still in school which will make the audience feel like they are young and naive and may have just been messing about somewhere that they shouldn't be and it has gone wrong.
Later in the clip we hear a school bell this shows us that they are still in school which will make the audience feel like they are young and naive and may have just been messing about somewhere that they shouldn't be and it has gone wrong.
Mise en scene:
The setting is in the begging of a sewer. This will add meaning because the audience will question why are they there. Another element would be the man has a worried look on his face and looks devastated that the woman is dead this will add meaning as people will see that he is upset and may have a positive relationship with her. The man is also crouched over showing hes upset that she has died.
The lighting is low key as they are out when it is dusk so the sun is not up yet which would raise the question why are the out at this time in the morning?. It will also make the audience feel like they are being stupid as they shouldn't be out at that time so they will have very little sympathy for them.
Sunday, 6 October 2013
The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan,1999,US)
Sound:
When we first hear the sound it is very mysterious. This will make the audience think very much about what they are seeing and what the film could be about. This is the sort of music found in horrors and thrillers meaning that this movie could be a horror or thriller. We then hear a sting and the music changes to a more dark and sad sort of sound which will make the audience feel a sort of chill and maybe change the mood and think the movie will be sad. The music then changes again to a more sci fi sort of feeling music. Which again may change the audiences idea about the film. This will mean that the audience will go in with a lot of ideas about the movie that will soon be answered.
Editing:
The editing is very slow though out this clip I the reason the director has chosen to do this is because it will make people see the eeriness even more. The woman is moving very slowly which will make the audience feel what the woman is feeling therefore they can feel closer to the movie and enjoy it more.
Camerawork:
At the start of the scene we see an extreme close up of the light bulb. The light bulb gives the audience the idea of the location which will make them feel eerie from the start and they will feel scared. This will also make the audience feel like why are we seeing this is this of any importance. If it is of imporatnce they will wonder why.
We then see the woman pause in the middle of the room for a few seconds. This may make the audience think why has she done this has she seen something is she scared all these questions will be asked. It will add meaning to the scene as it adds to the thrill and sets up for some spooky scenes in the future. The audience will feel sympathy for her as they will picture them selves in this
We then see the camera track back to a mid shot of the woman standing in high key lighting with her shadow and her facing into the shadow, this could mean that she has seen something that we haven't and we cannot see until a later date again this adds meaning to the seen and adds to the tension now building. The audience will again feel sympathy for the woman as their maybe be a supernatural thing around her which will make people sacred so the audience will sympathize with her.
In the last shot we see the woman start to shiver. again this could be a sense of an unknown presence that is making her shiver. This adds meaning as we now have an idea of the genre (thriller).
We then see the woman pause in the middle of the room for a few seconds. This may make the audience think why has she done this has she seen something is she scared all these questions will be asked. It will add meaning to the scene as it adds to the thrill and sets up for some spooky scenes in the future. The audience will feel sympathy for her as they will picture them selves in this
We then see the camera track back to a mid shot of the woman standing in high key lighting with her shadow and her facing into the shadow, this could mean that she has seen something that we haven't and we cannot see until a later date again this adds meaning to the seen and adds to the tension now building. The audience will again feel sympathy for the woman as their maybe be a supernatural thing around her which will make people sacred so the audience will sympathize with her.
Mise en scene:
The setting is in a basement which is quiet a dark and eerie place to go to with a lot of dark places for things to hide. This adds meaning as the setting sets up the type of movie we see and adding to the fact that the woman is stopping a lot which could add to the fact that she is stopping a lot of the time to see what is around her and may feel scared. The impact on the audience could be they will feel that something bad is going on as with the setting combined with the shots we are seeing they will definitely showing something is going on.
She is also wearing a dress which could indicate that she is having some sort of party. This adds to the meaning as we feel like she is having a fun time but my feel like its over after being scared. The audience will then feel like she has had her night ruined and feel bad for her.
She is also wearing a dress which could indicate that she is having some sort of party. This adds to the meaning as we feel like she is having a fun time but my feel like its over after being scared. The audience will then feel like she has had her night ruined and feel bad for her.
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