Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Conventions are 'ingredients' or 'elements' that we expect to see in a media product.

Titles

This wordle is used to show the key points of the use of titles in opening sequences. Titles are used to make it clear who was involved in the making of the media product but they also enhance the mood through the use of font type, colour and size.

A title that has a serif font and has been written in a dark or cold colour symbolises that the media product is a serious and dangerous film.
A title that has a sans-serif font with lighter colours emphasises that the prosuct is a comedy.

Examples:
Bridget Jones' Diary
The titles have been written in a sans-serif font. The font is a bright, yellow colour. These show that Bridget Jones' Diary is a comedy and is not serious. The font looks like handwriting which links back to the title 'Bridget Jones' Diary'.

Titles during the opening sequence of Bridget Jones' Diary

Breaking Dawn Part 2
The titles have been written in a serif font which emphasises that the film is serious with little comedy. The colour changes from white to red which represents the theme of vampires in the film and the change that Bella went through from human to vampire.

Memento
The titles in 'Memento' are written in a serif font which shows the audience that it is a serious thriller film. They are also in a dark, yellow colour which makes the film seem sinister for the audience.

Close-ups and Extreme Close-ups

This wordle is used to show the key points of using close-ups and extreme close-ups in the opening sequence of a film. The use of close-ups and extreme close-ups give the audience clues but not answers, therefore encouraging them to watch more of the film.

The clues are given by highlighting specific detail to characters or objects and is usually seen in thrillers or action/adventure films.


Examples:
Spiderwick Chronicles
The use of close-ups and extreme close-ups on the specimens in the opening sequence of 'Spiderwick Chronicles' gives the audience clues that the film has quite a sinister and magical theme, due to the fact that some of the specimens seen in the close-ups, we rarely or would never see in everyday life.

Memento
In the opening sequence of 'Memento', close-ups and extreme close-ups are used to give the audience clues at what happened which was someone being murdered. The audience know that someone has been murdered by showing specific detail to objects such as the bullet and showing detail to the blood on the wall.

Brick
Close-ups are used in the opening sequence of 'Brick' to show features of the dead girl. This provides the audience with clues but not answers as to who the girl is and what had happened to her.

Soundtrack

This wordle shows some of the key points of using a soundtrack in an opening sequence of a media product. The use of the soundtrack enhances the mood of the film by building up tension to a climax or by matching the mood of the characters on screen.
Thriller and action/adventure films will use a soundtrack that builds up the suspense to make the audience feel nervous and uncomfortable at what is about to happen in the film. A romantic comedy will use the soundtrack to match the mood of the characters on the screen at the time that the soundtrack is on.

Examples:
Brick
The soundtrack in 'Brick' creates the sorrowful mood that the character is feeling as he is looking at the girl who had died. This soundtrack makes the audience feel sorrow and despair along with the character. Even before the audience sees the body, they know that something must have happened due to the slow pace, low volume and low pitch, which makes the film seem quite sorrowful.

 
Spiderwick Chronicles
The soundtrack in 'Spiderwick Chronicles' builds up from the beginning when the character runs in and starts to finish the book. The soundtrack also matches his mood which is quite erratic and the audience know that he is in a hurry due to the fast pace, high volume and high pitch. The soundtrack switches between a high and low pitch which shows the audience that there is going to be a battle between good and evil in the film.


 
A Series Of Unfortunate Events
The soundtrack in 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' sets a sinister and evil mood to the film. The soundtrack is very slow, quiet and switches between a low and a high pitch which shows the conflict and fight between good and evil.

 
Establish mood/theme

This wordle shows the key points of the analysis of what is used to establish the mood and theme. The mise-en-scene and soundtrack can be used to establish the mood and the theme.

Low-key lighting is used to make the film's mood more dangerous and daunting. The audience know through the use of low-key lighting that something sinister will happen during the film. This contrasts with high-key lighting which shows the audience that the film will be calm and a bit humourous. The soundtrack is used to establish the theme or the mood because a low pitched, slow and quiet sound represents the idea of danger whereas high pitched, quick and loud music can represent the idea of either a character being in a hurry or a happy, safe theme.

Examples:
The Sixth Sense
'The Sixth Sense' establishes the theme of a supernatural activity by the use of low-key lighting and the diegetic sounds of something which cannot be seen moving around. This makes the audience feel nervous for the characters in 'The Sixth Sense' because they do not know what will happen to the characters during the film.

Bridget Jones' Diary
The mood and theme are established in 'Bridget Jones' Diary' by the use of a slow, sad soundtrack. The song 'All By Myself' is used to show the audience that the main character has lost all motivation and is feeling very sorry for herself. This makes the audience feel sorry for Bridget Jones and they also think that she looks quite pathetic when she is in her living room.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The mood is set in the opening sequence by the use of low-key lighting when the planes are flying over London. This, along with the low-pitched, loud and slow soundtrack sets a theme that is full of danger and the audience automatically know that the main characters are in danger which builds up the tension.

Establishing Shot

This wordle is used to show the key points of the establishing shots. Establishing shots are used as the first shot to show the whole setting of the film and what it looks like. This gives the audience an idea about where and when the film was set. It also enhances the mood of the audiene by various uses of mise-en-scene.





Examples:
The Sixth Sense
The establishing shot in 'The Sixth Sense' is used to show that it is set in an isolated house and the dark, dangerous and supernatural atmosphere is set through the use of low-key lighting.

Breaking Dawn Part 2
In 'Breaking Dawn Part 2', establishing shots are used on the forest. The audience know that this is a place where the vampires live and this is made clear by the low-key lighting that is used. During the opening titles, different shots of remote areas are used which makes the film seem pleasant but a bit daunting at the beginning.

Wallander
The establishing shot of 'Wallander' shows a rural area. The audience do not know where it is set but at first the mood is quite peaceful. It becomes more threatening when the shot starts to show the taxi and the two girls walking away from the taxi.

Gives the audience clues

This wordle shows the key points of why clues are given to the audience in an opening sequence.
Clues are given to the audience through the use of extreme close-ups. This is because they provide some of the specific details of what is happening on screen to the audience without giving away the answers of what has happened. This encourages the audience to carry on watching the film to find out the answers.



Examples:
Brick
The opening sequence of 'Brick' provides clues for the audience by using extreme close-ups on the body of the dead girl. This tells the audience that she has died but they do not know how she has died or what had happened before she had died. This makes the audience want to carry on watching the film to find out the answers.

Wallander
The opening sequence of 'Wallander' shows the audience through the use of close-ups that an attack has taken place. The audience are shown close-ups of different objects that link to the attack. They begin to guess who did it through the use of cross-cutting between the van and the two girls but they are not given the answer until the last shot of the opening sequence when one of the girls drops the knife.

Memento
'Memento' gives the audience clues through the use of close-up and extreme close-ups by showing the audience props such as the glasses, the bullet and the blood running down the wall.

Prompts the audience to ask questions

This wordle shows how opening sequences prompt the audience to ask questions about the film and what is happening in it.
The audience are prompted to ask questions by the use of clues given to the audience without answers. This encourages them to carry on watching the film to find out the answers and they prompt the audience to ask questions such as, "Why is this significant?" and "What has happened to that character?"


Examples:
Brick
The opening sequence of 'Brick' prompts the audience to ask questions such as, "What has happened to the girl?" and "Was she important to the boy?"

Memento
The opening sequence of 'Momento' prompts the audience to ask questions such as, "Did he know the man that he just killed?" and "Does he kill for a living? Is he trained to do this?"

Wallander
The opening sequence of 'Wallander' prompts the audience to ask questions such as, "What exactly happened?" and "Who attacked who first? What were their motives?"

Equilibrium

This wordle shows the key points of equilibrium in opening sequences. Equilibrium is the balance at the beginning of films, where everything is normal. This will lead to the disequilibrium where everything goes wrong for the characters.
Disequilibrium can be seen at the beginnning of thriller films instead of equilibrium, which means that something goes wrong at the very beginning of the film.



Examples:
War Horse
'War Horse' starts with equilibrium when the audience first see that Joey was born and then gets sold to the main character. The plot then switches to disequilibrium when Joey is sold and goes off to be a horse in the war.

Wild Child
'Wild Child' starts with an equilibrium which quickly changes to disequilibrium when the main character gets sent to a boarding school in England.

Memento
'Memento' starts with a disequilibrium when the first character shoots another character. 'Memento' is a thriller and thrillers usually start with disequilibrium instead of equilibrium.

 Production/Distribution company logos

This wordle shows the key ideas about Production and Distribution logos. They usually appear at the beginning of the opening sequence before any of the first shots appear on the screen. The soundtrack generally starts to play when the logos are on the screen to set the mood and the theme of the film that is about to be played.





Examples:
Spiderwick Chronicles
The production and distribution company logos appear at the beginning of the sequence before we see the close-ups of the specimens. The soundtrack which is slow, quiet and contrasts between high and low pitched begins to play while the logos are on the screen.

War Horse
Before 'War Horse' starts company logos are put on the screen. The soundtrack begins to play when the logos appear which sets the theme of the film which is quite peaceful at the start of the film.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The production and company logos appear at the very start of the film. Unlike in 'War Horse' and 'Spiderwick Chronicles', the soundtrack of the film does not begin to play. Instead, the company logos have their own soundtrack which begin to play for the time that they are on screen.

Spiderwick Chronicles Opening Sequence Analysis

This is a video showing some of the analysis of the opening sequence of 'Spiderwick Chronicles'.

The wordle shows some of the key words used in the analysis of the opening sequence of 'Spiderwick Chronicles' such as serif, magic and low-key.

The diegetic sound used in the opening sequence of 'Spiderwick Chronicles' is used to emphasise the magic involved in the sequence. This is shown after the character seals the book, when he looks out of the window, the audience hears thunder and a roar from a creature that is not part of the everyday world. This makes the film seem like a fantasy as it contains mythical animals that we would never see.

Bridget Jones' Diary Opening Sequence Analysis

The use of the freeze frame before the cross dissolve shows the audience that this is a significant moment for Bridget Jones and it is one that she cannot escape from. The voiceover gives the audience a better idea of what Bridget Jones is thinking at that moment in the opening sequence. The cross dissolve into the scene showing her house shows that time has passed between the two shots. The contrast in lighting from the high key lighting to the low key lighting shows that Bridget has lost all of her motivation after the gathering. It shows the sudden changes in the mood of the film, from happy to isolated and sorrowful.

This Wordle is used to show the most important pieces of analysis such as the cross dissolve, the freeze frame and the use of high key lighting.

The close-up of the crinkled party hat symbolises Bridget Jones' mood and represents the idea that Christmas has finished, making her lose all of her motivation. The camera begins to tilt up to show different parts of her house. This also makes her house look more isolated and daunting in the low-key lighting, emphasising how isolated from everyone else she feels.

The audience are then introduced to Bridget Jones' living room by a long shot. The use of this long shot separates Bridget from the audience. The room is very disorganised which shows that she is quite disorganised with no motivation.
 
The title font is sans-serif which shows that this is not a serious film, highlighting the fact that it is a romantic comedy. The font looks like handwriting which links back to the title, 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. The yellow font shows that the film is not serious and it will be quite humorous and comedic.

The cross dissolves show that time is passing for Bridget but she is not achieving anything which shows her lack of motivation. The song 'All By Myself' is non-diegetic at this moment in the clip. The song becomes diegetic later on showing that Bridget Jones is bringing herself back to reality and knows that she needs to change and motivate herself. The lyrics match her mood of being sorrowful. 

This shot shows that she is suddenly throwing herself into the movements by dramatically playing the drums along to the music which emphasises that she does not want to be by herself and she wants to change. When she had first started to sing, she looked quite pathetic, which made the audience feel sympathy towards her. The audience now knows that she does not want to be alone anymore. The use of the mid shot at this point brings the audience closer to Bridget Jones so that she is not separated from them and they know that she is gaining the motivation to change.

Wallander Opening Sequence Analysis

This is a screencast of my analysis of the opening sequence of Wallander. The audience response to the opening sequence of Wallander would first be 'Where are the two girls?' This is because they are in a quiet, remote place and the two girls would have been there for a reason. The setting also surprises the audience once they find out that an attack has taken place there.

The way that the two girls are dressed in dark colours illustrates to the audience that the two girls are quite rebellious and would find them quite intimidating. This is because the audience would link dark clothes and different colours in one of the girls' hair with them committing a crime and would feel uneasy when they first see the girls.

 The first shot fades in from black which shows that something sinister had happened before the opening sequence started. This makes the audience feel uncomfortable as from the very beginning, they know that something bad has happened such as an attack.

At the end when the audience is shown the knife, the non-diegetic sound becomes high pitched and uncomfortable for the audience to hear. It sounds like metal which links to the shot of the knife. The audience now know that the girls were the ones who attacked the man in the taxi.

Analysis of the Opening Sequence of 'Brick'

The camerawork in the opening sequence of 'Brick' hides information from the viewer through the use of extreme close-ups. This is seen with the second shot when the audience is shown a shot of the main character's face. This shot is followed by various shots of the dead girl. The use of extreme close-ups shows detail in one part of an object or character but also withholds information from the viewer. The audience begin to ask questions such as "What has happened to the girl?" and "Did he have anything to do with her death?" These questions encourage the audience to keep watching to find out the answers. The hair over the girl's face hides her identity and the audience do not see who she is until later on in the film. The audience can not see the boy's face because his hand covers the majority of his face as he covers it in shock. This keeps the audience 'in the dark' about who he is, creating a feeling of mystery for the audience.

The editing in the opening sequence of 'Brick' shows the audience that the first character that they see is shocked about the fact that he has found the girl dead. This is shown by the use of eyeline match editing.

The title in the opening sequence of 'Brick uses a serif font which shows the audience that 'Brick' is a serious film. The white font against the black background shows the contrast between two atmospheres. At first when the audience hear the music, they think that the atmosphere is quite peaceful until the first shot of the gutter and the main character's shoes is shown. The audience then know that this film is serious and even a bit dark in the way that someone was murdered.

The eyeline match in the opening sequence of 'Brick' shows the reaction of the boy when he is looking at the dead girl. When the audience are shown shots of him, the character is looking offscreen and the audience want to know what he is looking at. They are then shown a shot of a feature of the girl such as her feet and legs. There is then a cut back to the boy, still in the same position. By using the eyeline match, the audience can see his reaction and they begin to guess that the girl was important to him, which they learn about later on in the film.

The graphic match in the opening sequence of 'Brick' shows the audience the sudden change in atmosphere from sinister to normal and familiar. The graphic match first shows the girl's hand in the water when she has been found dead. The shot then cuts to a setting which is familiar and quite comfortable when the audience see the school lockers. We know that the character putting the note into the locker is the one who was found dead by her bracelets. This makes the audience wonder how she died and what happens between the two shots.

The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence of 'Brick' sets the dark, sinister atmosphere of the film. The low-key lighting at the beginning of the opening sequence shows that something sinister has happened and this contrasts with the peaceful atmosphere that we get from the soundtrack when the opening sequence starts. The audience feel uncomfortable with the first shots because they know that something bad has happened by the low-key lighting. Once the long shot of the two characters appears, the audience know that a tragic event has happened, the shot makes it certain to the audience that a character has died, but they do not know how.

The non diegetic soundtrack of 'Brick' starts off as quite a low-pitched, slow, quiet sound that sounds like music from Western America. The sound of bells starts at the beginning when the first shot appears. This gives the audience an idea that the film was set in the West parts of North America. It also tells the audience that a fight may have happened before the film started and the effects of the fight are seen by the audience when they see the long shot of the boy staring at the dead girl. The slow music enhances the atmosphere of shock and grief; the emotions that the boy is feeling.
The diegetic sound heard in the shots that take place at school in the opening sequence of 'Brick' was an example of a sound bridge. At the end of the shot where the girl's bracelets are seen, the audience hear a school bell ringing. This sound carries on into the next shot of the girl slipping the note into a locker. The sound of the school bell makes the audience feel more comfortable after the shots where they see that a murder has taken place. The audience feel comfortable because the shot setting is familiar to them because it was set in a school. The bell enhances the mood of being in a more comfortable and familiar area which is high in security and makes the audience wonder how the murder could have taken place. They then ask questions such as "What or who would have caused her death?" These questions would make them watch more of the film to find out the answers.

Brick analysis from LindsayB96

Analysis of The Sixth Sense Opening Sequence

This is a Prezi to show the analysis of the opening sequence of 'The Sixth Sense'.

Cinematography
The cinematography has been made effective by the variety of shot lengths used, from close-ups of the light bulb flickering on to long shots of the women looking into the room once she has come down the stairs. The variety in these shots allow for the audience to see different details, they can see that the lightbulb is significant in setting the eerie atmosphere through the use of a close-up and they can see the setting of the room through the long shot when the woman enters the room.

Mise-en-Scene

The mise-en-scene has also been made effective because the lighting has been constant throughout the scene. The lighting was very low-key in this scene which shows the audience that the woman is in constant danger whilst in the room eventhough she does not know that she is.