Research on Film Openings

To decide on a genre, we looked at different types of films from different genres to see what we liked and disliked about each one.  We discussed the sound, title and images of the openings and how we felt about them.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:

Sound:

• Throughout the clip is a constant beat, which gets increasingly fast as the clip goes on and then stops once the opening is finished.
• There also appears to be screaming in some places, often when the human body is used as an object in the opening.
• The loud music shows the intensity of the film opening and possible the intensity of the film.

Titles:

• The titles are very small and spaced around the action on the screen, which shows the importance of the titles.
• They are fast and there is a lot of action which reflects the genre of the film - thriller.

Images:

• The human body is used in a number of ways to express emotion.  These emotions include sadness, violence, struggle, love and torture.
• The images fade in and out constantly throughout the whole clip, and sometimes flash as well to show the action and thrill of the genre.
• Fire in the sequence represents danger and possible death.
• Dark, black content again representing danger and fear of the unknown.
• Faces and bodies used a lot, and it is very fluent throughout.

Se7en:

Sound:

• The opening starts with a loud bang showing there is going to be action.
• Creaking, screaching and screaming are introduced which signifies mystery and suspiciousness.
• Ticking is used to build suspense.
• As the opening is ending, the music begins to increase and gets louder, causing tension, yet then stops at 'Monday' at the beginning of the film.
• When at the beginning of the film, the is quiet background city noise which sets the scene.
• Rain, cars and talking is used to show that it is normal and apart of everyday life.

Titles:

• The titles change rapidly and are always moving, showing the action and tempo of the film.
• The font is san-serif with rough edges, which represents the possible violence of the rest of the film.
• On some occasions the titles turn around and are backwards which causes confusion, and could be a reflection on the storyline or some characters.

Images:

• Different types of materials are used, which could be involved in some sort of plan.
• It appears to be a crime scene, and that research is being done with the books.
• Isolation at the beginning could be a recurring theme throughout the film.
• A dead body is included with blood, showing danger and murder (relating back to a crime scene)

Trainspotting:

Sound:

• Throughout the title sequence the sound is diagetic as it is a voice over.
• When the two men are running, there is parallel sound with them as their feet touch the ground on the beat.
• The music is upbeat, along with the action that is occuring in the title sequence.
• The voiceover is also very demanding - and swears a lot which gives us an impression of the character.
• The screaching of the car shows the urgency of the car to stop, but could also show the urgency of the men trying to get away.

Titles:

• The characters in the opening scene are very rebellious.
• Things are dropping out of them as they run yet they do not seem to care.
• Swearing shows lack of education and represents them as a character.

Images:

• Injections are being put into each other containing drugs (medium and close-ups)
• Contrasts innocence of child and the rebellious adults in the same shot

In conclusion, our group decided that we preferred the more secretive and mysterious film opening because we connected (as a member of the audience) to the film opening.  Also, we felt it would be more appropriate and the music worked really well with it.