To increase my knowledge of film openings, and to gain an understanding of what order the titles appear in, I analysed and created timelines for some film openings. Firstly, I analysed the opening of 'Forrest Gump' and identified what order the titles came in. It begins with the production company (or companies') logos with no music playing, only the company logo's theme music. The film title of Forrest Gump, and many other films, is not the first title, but the sixth title and appears not right at the beginning, as you would unknowledgably expect, but 30 seconds into the opening. Many title placings, like where the film title is placed, surprised me once I had learnt how far in to the opening it was. Until I had created this timeline, like many other people, without even thinking about it I would have expected the film title to be the first thing that appeared. I was also surprised at the sheer amount of titles there were in a fairly short amount of time, and how this short (but important and necessary) time space can be cleverly used to hook and engage the audience.
Juno also starts with the production company logo right at the beginning of the opening. The title, similarly to Forrest Gump, appears 29 seconds into the opening, after introducing the producers and director, and always seems to be in a slightly different font, or made bigger and bolder, than the rest of the titles to ensure it stands out and the audience knows this is the film's title. The openings always end with the director's name before the film plays on. From the clips I have analysed this usually happens roughly 2 minutes into the openings. There isn't a designated time space for music overlay however, and this can begin from the very start over the production companies, or at any point throughout the opening. There may be a complete withdrawal of sound altogether (as seen in The Fall). I have also learnt that there can be more than one name on the screen at one time, but the names have to remain in the order as shown on the timelines.
I noticed, after attempting to analyse these four film openings that, strangely, these higher-grossing, mainstream films with top actors, didn't include any titles other than the production companies; the majority of them didn't even include the film title - with Twilight being the exception. I also found this was the case in the Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkahban opening that I analysed. One arguement for this suggests that films of this sort want to fully submerge their audiences in the film, and by adding opening titles this detracts away from the realism of the film. The Dark Knight also uses this method of minimal titles - it is only at the end of the whole film that the title appears as well as the cast list.
Film openings give the audience a starting point to help establish:
genre
narrative
character
atmosphere
themes
setting
sound
titles.
The Fall (2006) (Adventure/Drama/Fantasy) Opening Analysis
The Fall is a multi-generic film produced by Googly Films. From the opening, the audience may deduce that the film is to be of a Western genre due to the cowboy hats and horses. It also suggests that there is to be conflict - because of the bow-struck armour - or maybe war within the film; connoting an action genre.
There is not much of a narrative that the audience can establish from this opening. The storyline is left very open; with elements not interlinking with each other or making logical sense. This has connotations of discontinuous editing, suggesting confusion and unpredictability in the film. However, this helps to draw the audience into the film as they are left with many unanswered questions of which they want the answer to.
As for the characters, the audience are introduced to many - however they seem to not have a revelence to each other; or look as if they are from different time periods or setups and wouldn't normally be working together. This also suggests the film is not based on a realism theme, but maybe one of dreams and make-believe; of fantasy genre. From the characters' costumes, however, the audience can deduce that the film is set in older, more historical times - coupled with the fact the opening has been shot in black and white. This monochrome theme runs throughout the opening, again giving the film a sense of history and earlier setting. Overall, the opening does not focus upon any main characters and definitely does not, unlike other film openings, follow the route of introducing the main protagonist and antagonist - the audience are unaware of who the people are, why they are there, what the story is and who will be the main focus of the story.
The film opening introduces us, ironically, through the relatively slow pace to the utter panic that is going on. The use of slow-motion shows clearly the expressions of the characters, which suggest a sense of urgency and a desperate need for something. A hectic, hustle-bustle theme has been created from the point of view of a seemingly-dazed (due to the slow-motion) onlooker; of whom we do not know.
We can see the film might be set in a more rural - than urban - area, from the river and surrounding open space; countryside and hills. We do not hear any voices, and therefore no accents, so we cannot deduce what country the film is to be specifically set in.
The lack of sound at the very beginning builds tension and gives a dramatic, intense feel to the opening. It suggests this is the beginning of a build up towards an epic finale of action. The non-diegetic music overlay, however, that kicks in after the silence, does not fit the action. It makes the situation seem comedic, unlike the panicked expressions we see on the people's faces. It is not until the end of the opening when the audience realise they were all trying to save a horse from the water that we realise the music does fit due to the stange - almost comedic - situation.
The first title follows the monochrome, embossed white text on a black background (or vice versa) that were used in the 1920s - again, giving the film an olden feel. The fonts used are rather plain and do not give away any details (of genre, of theme) to the audience. This also means the titles do not detract away from the action of the characters in the opening; to help the audience follow the storyline, or lack of it at the moment. Other titles have been cleverly integrated into the action so as also not to attract attention.
I think this film opening works very well to create an eerie, yet confusing atmosphere which hooks the audience right from the start. It gradually get more strange as it goes on; changing the audiences perceptions of what the film might be about. I really like the fact that everything in it is very vague, yet it captures the attention and imagination of the audience which works well as a hook; with the audience wanting to watch on to find out more.
Casino Royale is a Bond film produced by Columbia Pictures. This animated opening clearly displays, from the start, the film's crime/action/adventure genre due to the prescence of guns, wounds fighting and energetic nature of the graphics.
The audience do not get much of an idea of the narrative of the film from the opening, apart from that there will most probably be fight scenes in it and that it could involve gambling; obviously due to the film title, playing cards and references to the four sets throughout the opening.
The audience assumes, due to the renowned nature of Bond films, that the figure within the circle at the beginning of the clip is 007 - James Bond, however we are never formally introduced to him as this character at all throughout the opening. Due to this assumption, we follow the darkened figures as they fight to the death, the outcome always being, we believe - due to the films' natures, with Bond being alive. From this we conclude that Bond is a brave, lethal and skillful well-trained fighter. We also know it's not a war-based film where Bond is a soldier, but that he is most probably an undercover agent; being in a suit, trying to blend in and be inconspicuous.
This opening is very effective and impactful, I believe. It is quite light-hearted considering the film's genre, but very well-done and well put-together. It gives the effect of a dream or a carefully-scripted dance, but like it all comes easily to Bond - he could do it in his sleep. The opening also creates a very disorientating atmosphere, which reminds me of a fun-house; lots of places to hide, hinting an ongoing theme of the Bond films. Obviously, an ongoing theme in this opening is the reference to the playing cards and gambling.
There is no diegetic sound (apart from, maybe, the gunshots) within the opening, however there is a non-deiegetic beaty, up-tempo dramatic song overlayed on the animation for impact. Lyrically, the song hints towards the genre and storyline of the film; giving clues, as well as the impact it creates as the song gradually builds up to an epic melodic conclusion. The ear-piercing screech at the beginning of the opening has connotations of fear - sounding scream-like.
I think this film opening is brilliant. I love the clever intertwining of the animations throughout it. I especially think that the part at the beginning - where there are different twisted trails - is particularly interesting as they are suggesting the many possible trails Bond can follow in order to get what and where he wants; whether he takes the right path to get there, only he can figure out; it is like a maze and he needs to find the clues - linking back to the action genre, suggesting possible deductive/undercover/spy themes. I also thinks this opening conveys a strong message: that gambling and money can be unhealthy.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (Crime/Drama/Mystery)Opening Analysis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is another Columbia Pictures production. It is of crime/drama/mystery genre where mystery is conveyed extremely well to the audience in this film opening. There is no storyline, from what we see, at this stage and the plot hasn't been given away. The use of the colour black and shadows also connote, not only mystery, but horror and death. However, the storyline still remains unknown and guarded. The fast-paced cross-cutting of extreme close-ups helps to intrigue the audience but also confuses them; connoting the essence of mystery as they cannot follow the discontinuous editing of the seemingly unrelated and irrelevent clips, apart from the fact that they are all dark in colour and context.
The audience can gather that the narrative might be one surrounding technology due to the computer keyboard and cables, however there are no other hints as to what the film is to be about - apart from the ongoing dark undertones throughout the opening - the colour black, use of fire, insects, clenched fist and violence, connoting the crime element of the film.
There are no characters introduced to the audience in the opening. We do not know who the main characters are and what their personalities are like, however we can assume some are to be evil, very dark-natured villains.
The opening creates a very haunting atmosphere. This is due to the fact the audience cannot fully follow - or understand - what is going on, but they know it is something out of the ordinary and so is, naturally, transcribed by their instincts into a possible threat or danger. The use of a crow in the opening has conntoations to death and horror, as crows are reknowned for negatively symbolising the death and the after-life and are considered as creatures of vermin. The fact the crow is surrounded by fire creates an image of the mythical bird, Phoenix, who is also considered to symbolise the after-life and spirits, however it is seen in a good light - oppositely of the crow - connoting freedom and peace. This could suggest there are two conflicting sides being portrayed in the film and what humans believe are 'good' and 'bad' sides, like Heaven and Hell, for example. The two opposite intensities of light - the cold, shadowed, introverted darkness and the bright, warm flourishing fire - also convey this sense of opposition and confliction. Personally, the opening makes me question mortality and what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'. Morally, human's have lots of opinions on what is 'right' and what is not, but one person's beliefs can differ from another's and who knows what is the 'right' opinion. The mythical images in this opening help to convey this sense of not-knowing.
It seems that, in the shots, everything has had the colour taken out of it, connoting death. A destructive theme is also ongoing throughout the opening and increases towards the end; the fire creating a bomb-like explosion. The titling is very discrete and doesn't distract away from the clips, being only slightly lighter than the black backgrounds they are upon.
The high-pitched, non-diegetic, scream-like music overlay has connotations, to the audience, of the horror genre as screams are a notifier of terror. The music is very fast-paced and increases in substance (where different layers of sound plastered on top of one another increases) also, which builds tension as it creates an atmosphere of doom; where the music connotes a heavy-beated death march.
I think this opening is very effective - it draws the viewer in - but it is very vague. It does not set a comprehensible scene or introduce us to any characters or storyline, however this works well because of the mystery genre of this film; intriguing the audience as to how, and if, the opening will become comprehensible through watching the film.
To increase my knowledge of film openings, and to gain an understanding of what order the titles appear in, I analysed and created timelines for some film openings. Firstly, I analysed the opening of 'Forrest Gump' and identified what order the titles came in. It begins with the production company (or companies') logos with no music playing, only the company logo's theme music. The film title of Forrest Gump, and many other films, is not the first title, but the sixth title and appears not right at the beginning, as you would unknowledgably expect, but 30 seconds into the opening. Many title placings, like where the film title is placed, surprised me once I had learnt how far in to the opening it was. Until I had created this timeline, like many other people, without even thinking about it I would have expected the film title to be the first thing that appeared. I was also surprised at the sheer amount of titles there were in a fairly short amount of time, and how this short (but important and necessary) time space can be cleverly used to hook and engage the audience.
Juno also starts with the production company logo right at the beginning of the opening. The title, similarly to Forrest Gump, appears 29 seconds into the opening, after introducing the producers and director, and always seems to be in a slightly different font, or made bigger and bolder, than the rest of the titles to ensure it stands out and the audience knows this is the film's title. The openings always end with the director's name before the film plays on. From the clips I have analysed this usually happens roughly 2 minutes into the openings. There isn't a designated time space for music overlay however, and this can begin from the very start over the production companies, or at any point throughout the opening. There may be a complete withdrawal of sound altogether (as seen in The Fall). I have also learnt that there can be more than one name on the screen at one time, but the names have to remain in the order as shown on the timelines.
I noticed, after attempting to analyse these four film openings that, strangely, these higher-grossing, mainstream films with top actors, didn't include any titles other than the production companies; the majority of them didn't even include the film title - with Twilight being the exception. I also found this was the case in the Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkahban opening that I analysed. One arguement for this suggests that films of this sort want to fully submerge their audiences in the film, and by adding opening titles this detracts away from the realism of the film. The Dark Knight also uses this method of minimal titles - it is only at the end of the whole film that the title appears as well as the cast list.