Opening Sequence research

Mad Men

This film has a very interesting opening sequence, although its features are animated, it allows the audience to grasp some of the key genres this film shall include. The very first thing that is shown is a figure in black standing up in an office- which is illustrated by the layout of the furniture. Though the identity of said figure is anonymous we can tell that he is a sophisticated individual as it could be understood because he is wearing a suit and is holding a suitcase. Violins are used as the soundtrack for this sequence which adds to the mystery that shrouds this individual. Suddenly, everything around him begins to fall apart with him standing motionless, the music is parallel this as it and the tempo is quickened with additional instruments. We then observe the person falling, as he is falling, a building with a woman’s face and body, painted in old 60’s style, is seen passing him. Still airborne, the credits show up, and with the first name of the casts in a sharp red colour, almost like blood. This could suggest to the action theme this film may include in the narrative. Then he’s passing the same building while falling and the image of the woman changes to a pair of female legs. This could again suggest to one of the many themes included in this narrative, sexual affiliations. The shot changes, and we are able to see the same building with another illustration upon it. A poster that says- “Enjoy the best America has to offer” this already notifies the audience of the presumable settings and locations the narrative shall explore. Then an image of two hands, a man and a woman’s hand with wedding rings on each hand is on the building supported by the words “It’s the gift that never fails” this could imply the presents of a Romantic theme in the narrative and signify the idea of being bound. The man still falling- is seen falling past an image of a family with two parents and two children smiling, foreshadowing the life of this falling character. The sequence ends with the mans back facing the audience and in a stable and relaxed state with the title “Mad Men” with the “Mad” in red and “Men” in black, distinguishing the two words.

We want to use the element of mystery this opening sequence captures with the identity of the figure unknown, yet we as the audience may have just seen his life story. Already we are able to depict that his life may consist of sexual association, family matters, violence and business. All of these factors were presented in a subtle manner making it difficult for us to fathom and allowing us to make a judgement of his personality. This surreal illustration is very interesting as a wish to include the element of mystery in a surreal manner.

Napoleon Dynamite

I believe the director intended to show the audience the innocence of the character that is drawing the foods. A plate is placed in every shot, with various types of food, made of paper, on it and the credits in the middle. The rough- childlike drawings suggest to the immature personality of the character which allows the audience presume the involvement of a child. The music is up-beat and the lyrics are about school life, this again sets the seen for the themes that may be present in the narrative. This may trigger some questions that the audience may have such as; why is this person drawing? Or, in which state of mind may this person be in? it is obvious that they are happy, but this may be the illustrations of a mentally ill person. This, similar to “Mad Men”, allows the audience to identify some aspects of the characters personality and role(s) in the narrative. This challenges the audience’s judgement and gives us little information about the themes of the play as one of the themes are clearly expressed (childhood), this dominates the sequence and does not allow the audience to find any other themes.

I intend to use the way the credits are shown, I do not wish them to be too revealing though and I want the nature in which the credits are shown in “Napoleon Dynamite” to reflect the theme(s) of the narrative and illustrate the psyche of my main character.

Johnny English 

The opening sequence this film is similar to “Mad Men” as the opening sequence focuses on one person, albeit we are able to identify the main character in the opening sequence unlike “Mad Men” where we, as the audience, do not identify the character but we are able to observe his life and/or matter that may occur in the progressive narrative.

In this opening sequence, the lyrics to the music are contrapuntal to the actions the character is doing. This is seemingly mocking the character, therefore the comedic element is introduced and already one of the themes, from the narrative, has been established. Then we observe him reading a “Serious Spy” manual with uncontested concentration, this hints to the audience; that they are going to be subjected to some action during the course of the narrative. We can then depict him trying on a series of costumes and clothing’s; this illustrates the individual’s personality which may be found as amusing to the audience.

I believe the director intended to show the audience the nature of the character and foreshadows much of what he is doing in the opening sequence to the narrative. It is clear that this character is ambitious and yet naïvely in denial about his incompetence. This remains the nature of the character through-out the film, which adds to the comedic themes this film seizes. 

Se7en

The themes and focus points of this film are clearly illustrated in the opening sequence of this title. We are able to establish a character early on the sequence, though our visual identification of this individual is indefinite, we can, however, gather that this is a psychotic person; as we are able to see that this person is handling pictures of dead people. Despite the fact that we, as the audience, are unaware as to if this person actually did kill or not, we tend to assume it by judging the persons unpleasantly treated fingers and precise care of his/her pictures.

I believe the director intended to show a person, who the audience may think, as mentally disorientated which allows the director to establish the narrative by demonstrating the dilemma the protagonist(s) will face or to conjure an element of surprise by challenging the audience’s judgement of the character. This shall summon many questions by the audience, like, why this person has pictures of dead people, why this person has poorly bandaged fingers.

Also the music in the background adds to the assumed themes of the narrative, though its tempo and beat is not easily identified, therefore it does not allow the soundtrack to be jumpy and seem happy. Instead it stays flat until more instruments are added and finally it gives the soundtrack a jumpy beat, nevertheless it still remains creepy and stays parallel to the visual elements the sequence unfolds.

The fact that the person’s face and voice is shrouded in mystery, the director is still capable of identifying the character’s nature to the audience. 

Falling Down

The camera’s very first shot is a man’s lips and nose. It is clear that this person is sweating as droplets are present above the lip. Already, we as the audience can recognize the mental state the character is in, which is nervous. This is very important as now the director has to build on the reasons for this person’s discomfort. Though the first shot is considerably long, it established the person and his behaviour, the situation this individual is in, the people around him and how he’s reacting to them. The first shot persisted for 1 minute 48 seconds, which clearly illustrates the director’s intentions. The illustration of the setting the character was in was demonstrated by the camera panning to each and every article the character was seeing in just one long shot. The panning was slow which foreshadowed and also created tension which was supplemented by the growing noises around the character, such as the radio, the sound of people talking and the background music. This allowed the audience to explore the character’s senses and it was easily seen notified that the character was agitated. Alike "Falling Down" we aim to show our main characters situation in our opening sequence. This then allows us to build upon what we have established to the audience, and progress the narrative accordingly. 

Amelie

What I find interesting in this sequence, is the emphasis on attention to detail and the fact that there may be a symbolic references to said details. For example, when the credits for dialogue is written, the girl in the sequence is pretending to talk, when the credits for music is shown, the girl is seen making a sound with a glass even though everything else is muted and when the producer’s name is shown the girl is seen playing with a coin. These symbolic links, between the credits and the muse-en-scene involving the character, engages the audience and is intriguing. Though subliminal it is very skilfully executed and allows the director to boast their creative representation of information. 
I believe this opening sequence is very effective, its mysterious elements are shown through the lack of information given to the audience about the assumed significance of the child. Although we are able to fathom that this character may hold great importance to the narrative, by the constant emphasis on her actions, no specific detail is given to the audience about the narrative itself. This is then but a teaser for the audience to carry on watching this film, to satisfy their curiosity conjured by this child. In "Premonition", we intend to give our character a similar sort of mysterious outfit, that has been used in "Amelie". We will do this by also showing great significance to our character by concentrating on them within the muse-en-scene through out the sequence. 

Momento

This film is a thriller, therefore it was important for us to explore the different codes and conventions that this film has deployed to indicate it's genre. It starts off very subtle and some-what confusing as the only thing in the muse-en-scene is a picture being developed, which is of a man laying faced down on the floor with blood all over the walls. This, at first instance, may highly confuse the audience but as the sequence progresses it become clear that the sequence is played backwards. The fact that the audience is required to think and to figure out what is happening them self, clearly shows that this sequence is a psychological thriller. For our sequence we aim to do the same, we intend to force the audience to figure out what is being shown and to make a link between different elements. For example, Momento forced the audience to make a link between what they saw at in the beginning of the opening sequence and what they saw at the end. 

Also the mysterious elements that surround the characters are conventional in psychological thrillers, Saw IV has a central character whose history is blurred and so does Black Swan. This is done because it teases the audience therefore the lack of knowledge that the audience has of a character is compensated by their own use of imagination that fills that gap. We intend to do the same regarding the history of Cornelius, where throughout the narrative, his life before the time of the narrative is not explored.