As part of my research to help me when I create my own opening to a film I am going to deconstruct the start of existing film openings in order to see some of the conventions and to see what works effectively. I will look at the miss-en-scene, camerawork, sound and editing as these are all things I will need to consider when making my own.
The first film I am going to analyse is horror film called the conjuring.
The film starts by showing the two main companies involved with the making of the film. It shows there logo on a dark clouded sky background which is a convention of horror films. The idea of the background connoting the genre of the film is an idea that i like and would use in my own piece. We also hear spooky music playing at this point which again connotes the genre of the film.
The music then stops as we see a blank screen and a womans voice as she starts to explain the story she is about to tell.
The next shot we see is a cut to an extreme close up of the side of a dolls face as the woman continues to talk in the background. The background is quite dark making us focus on the dolls face. The doll has a broken eye and a red patch on her cheek with scratches on. There is also a dirty black layer on her face connoting that the doll is old and spooky, not your everyday doll that a young child would play with. The film then slowly zooms out to a close up shot allowing us to see more freaky aspects of the doll. The cut from a plain black screen to this very spooky looking doll is very effective as it reinforces the idea of the film being a chilling thriller, it gets right into the horror aspect of the film.
We then cut to a medium shot of 3 people sat on the sofa. This shot shows the rule of thirds as each person is sat in a different part of the screen connoting none of them are more important than the others. There is also rioting across the bottom telling us the year were in and what this scene is all about, the Annabelle case. They are sat on the sofa in there lounge, an ordinary place, and also wearing casual home clothing. However the lighting creates an atmosphere as there is a lot of shadowing and darkness on peoples faces connoting the mysteriousness of the case, all of hess effects are conventions of horrors.
The camera then slowly zooms to show the same shot but this time it is an over the shoulder shot. This allows us to see who they are having a conversation to.
As the girl explains about there being a girl living inside the doll we cut to a shot of the doll where the whole of her is seen. The doll looks scary as it stares forwards towards the camera. We again see its broken dirty face and this time the long dirty old fashioned dress is also seen. The style of the dress connotes the age of the doll.
We then cut to a flashback showing us the story the woman is explaining. In horrors flashbacks allow us to see the situation making it scare us more. In this shot we see the 2 girls opening there door laughing and smiling, connoting nothing bad has happened yet. Benhid them it is very light however the corridor there heading into is dark connoting mysteriousness and how something bad may happen inside.
We then cut to a close up shot of the woman picking up and holding a piece of paper with "miss me?" written on it in red pen. The red could connote blood which makes it a good colour to use in this horror film. As they read the note they stop laughing connoting there is no longer a happy atmosphere but a more scared and mysterious one as they wonder where this note has come from.
These next 2 shots show the girls looking down the dark spooky corridor towards the doll which is sat against a wall with light shining on her from a door opposite her. As the camera tracks them walking down the hall you know something bad is going to happen as its dark and quiet. Theres then a close up of the doll with red crayons placed near her hand connoting that is is the possessed doll that wrote the note they found. There is some scary non diagetic music quietly playing in the background.
Next we see a shot into one of the rooms in the apartment. It has been wrecked with red pen and everything is knocked over and out of place. The lamp has been knocked over and is therefore flickering leaving the lighting in these shots to change from dark to light meaning we can only see whats happening when the light flicks on. This effect works very well in the horror to create a tense and scary atmosphere. As the camera pans around the room we see the mess it is in.
There are then some close ups shown of specific objects in the room. The first things are pictures that have been scratched and ruined. As each picture is shown the music changes and a sharp note is played on the piano, there is editing on the beat. We also cut to a shot of the ceiling where the words "miss me?" are again written in large letters with the same red pen. The darkness of the shots and the red pen all connote horror and perhaps even death with the red signifying blood. The non diagetic music builds to build tension as we see these different shots.
This last shot shows a medium close up of the two girls looking in the direction of the camera and towards where the doll is. The medium close up allows us to clearly see the girls faces and understand there emotion and how there feeling. The shot is very dark and each girl is on a separate half of the screen with the broken mirror in the background. Both girls looked very scared and the idea of having two young scared girls in a horror is a convention as they are stereotyped as the people most likely to be scared whereas a male would perhaps be less scared by a doll in a situation like this. In this shot the music has stopped in order to make us concentrate more on how the girls are feeling. Also, after
the build up, as it goes silent it puts the audience in suspense as we wait to see what scary thing is about to happen.
The next film I'm going to analyse is a romantic comedy called The Proposal.
Once again the first shots we see are of the 2 major companies involved in the making of the film. We see there logo and the name of the company which is a major convention seen at the start of all films.
Next we cut to a scene in a wood. It is a moving shot as the camera follows along the pathway in the wood. As this is happening names of more companies are shown. at this point we also start to hear music as a song is being played and sung in he background. It is quite a happy upbeat song creating a happy atmosphere connoting the films romantic comedy genre.
The camera then zooms out of the wood and shows that it just on the tv. We see a woman on an exercise bike and the music carries on playing in the background. The first shot shows an over the shoulder shot and the next shows a medium close up. The names of actors and actresses now start showing on the screen. The setting is a normal looking house connoting the real life aspect of the film and representing how its not for example a dark horror house from a horror genre film.
We then cut to a long shot showing her sat looking at the time as she finishes her exercise. At this point the title of the film is also shows on the opposite side of the screen. The light is coming in through the window connoting that it is perhaps early morning.
We then cut to a darker shot showing a close up of a messy looking bedside table. The clock is flashing 12:00 connoting there has been a power cut. This close up shot of objects tells a story without actually saying the words, it gives hints leading us to believe certain things.
The camera then pans across to show a man in bed just peacefully waking up. Actors names continue to be shown at this point. The man looks happy sleeping but then soon realises that its light outside, looks at his watch then panics about being late. The man and woman are shown as being opposites as she wakes up in time to exercise whereas he oversleeps then has to rush to get ready.
The shots then keep cutting between the two characters showing us there morning routine. This connotes that this romantic comedy will be based around some kind of love story between them. This shot shows an over the shoulder shot of the woman staring at her reflection in a steamed up mirror as she takes her time to get ready. The idea of a business man dressed up in a suit running around creates a funny atmosphere for the audience.
We then cut back to the man and see him running down the street after oversleeping. We assume that he is extremely late to wherever he is meant to be and also that he has not had a lot of time to get ready that morning.
On the other hand the woman is taking her time at home making breakfast and getting ready. This shows how she not only woke up early but also her sense of no rushing suggests she doesn't have to quickly get anywhere on time but that it is her that people rush around for. The idea of cutting between each character is done very cleverly to show there differences in there lifestyle. Also the fact that we are only cutting between these 2 characters tells us that they are the 2 lead roles.
The next shot shows him rushing in to get 2 drinks. This leads us to believe that the second one is for his boss who he is rushing around after who is perhaps the woman with no rush. the fact that there all ready for him connotes this is a regular thing he does every morning. At this point the music quietens down so we can hear the dialogue as he is being served. A shot reverse shot is used as we cut between each character when they speak.
As he leaves the coffee shop and carries on rushing and running through the streets the music is once again louder to match the pace he's running and add more excitement to his rushing around. The ambient sound of cars beeping there horns as he runs infant of them can also be heard. He then finally makes it to this building and runs in connoting it is where he works. The music then stops as he gets into the lift representing how the rush is over and he has made it.
We then cut to show the woman finally making her way to work. She is slowly walking along the street at the same pace as everyone else whilst having a phone call. Her outfit is black making her look very smart and professional. The main sound we hear is her speaking on the phone however ambient noises such as people walking along with some very quiet background music.
As he thinks everything is sorted and he's finally on time he then spills coffee all over himself as he's not looking where he is going and walks into the mail man. Everyone just seems to be in his way. This exaggerates how stressful rushed and bad his morning has gone and this just tops it off.
These next two shots show how different it is for the woman. When she arrives everyone messages each other saying "It's Here!" which is shown by a close up of a computer screen. The fact they call her it connotes how she is not well liked. This then causes everyone to get on with there work and move out of the way to clear the corridor for her. she is seen stood in the middle 3rd of the screen making us focus our attention on her. She is represented as ruling over all of them and as someone very powerful who is perhaps a very strict boss. She walks in later than everyone conning that she can do whatever she wants. The way she walks into the office is the complete opposite of the man. The fact that she is not very much liked leads you to wonder why there is going to be some kind of proposal and love story between the man and woman. This will perhaps create the comedy aspect of the rom com.
This last shot finally shows the 2 main characters we have been following meeting up in her office. He has presented her with the coffee and is stood by her whereas she is more relaxed and sat down. He is twiddling his thumbs connoting he is maybe nervous or scared. They are still now seen as complete opposites leading us to wonder how the film is going to advance and how there characteristics may change in a funny way through this romantic comedy.
My next film is an action adventure film called The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It is the second film in the sequel.
The first thing you see once again is the two major companies involved in the making of the film. There is also some music played in the background.
Then the film begins with a shot of a forest. The camera pans over the forest and up then we see the sun rising from beneath it. I the background tense non diagetic music is heard helping set the scene of an action film. The forest also helps represent the genre as forests are often linked with adventure.
The film then cuts to a shot of a girls back as she kneels looking over the lake. She looks like a dark silhouette and the only light coloured things are the lake and sky. We see she has something over her back to carry around arrows which connotes that perhaps she is a hunter rather than someone trying to harm people. We then cut to a close up of her staring over the lake. She looks like she is in a deep thought in her peaceful surroundings. Here her face is quite well lit up helping us see her expression clearly. At this point the music is still playing in the background.
We then hear a diagetic sound of a brach snapping which startles the girl and causes her to quickly turn and get ready to shoot her arrow. We then cut to a shot of a boy approaching her saying "easy" and putting his hands up connoting he means no harm and is a friend. The fact that the girl, Katniss was so startled and scared represents how she is fearful of people creeping up on her without warning. At this stage the lighting is dark and tree shadows cover parts of the boy. The quietens when the branch is heard snapping ad we hear Katniss getting her arrow ready to shoot.
A shot reverse shot sequence is then seen as the two characters speak. It is mainly the boy speaking connoting how Katniss perhaps has something else on her mind. All shots are close ups to help us see facial expressions and the music is now even quieter making us focus more on what the characters are saying.
Then there is a close up of Katniss taking a rabbit out of a trap she had earlier set. This connotes how where she lives its up to you to trap and kill your own food. We are also led to believe shooting and hunting is something she is good at as she walks around with her arrows and has managed to trap a rabbit. This makes us think about the future story and where her hunting skills may come more in use in this action adventure film.
We then hear the diabetic ambient sound of water running as we track them both walking over the snowy rocks. We follow them making there way down the rocks and all of the lighting like the rest of the shots has quite a dark and grey look to it. This connotes that whats going to happen in the film isn't all fun and happy but quite dark and horrible.
There is then silence as the pair stop hidden behind some rocks and Katniss pulls back her arrow and aims towards some birds. She looks confident and concentrated. The focus is on the 2 characters and the arrow and all of the rocks are blurred.
Suddenly in Katniss' mind the birds change to a boy and she imagines she has shot a person, she starts to shout and panic and the boy has to speak to er and try to calm her down. We then cut back to where she shot and see how in reality she did actually only shoot some bids as they are seen walking and flying away. Katniss' mind is playing tricks on her making her think she is shooting people. She is represented as being scared of people creeping up on her and of killing people which we assume links back to a previous experience of hers. Even though its now all over her minds still not quite over it. Mind tricks are a very good part of film as they can sometimes make the audience unsure of what to believe in that second creating excitement.
Just before the pair leave they are seen hiding weapons in a tree stump. This represents how hunting and shooting I not allowed where they live and that thats the reason they have to go to this quiet secluded place. Music is once again heard at this point and is quite peaceful creating a once again nice atmosphere after the shooting scene we have just seen.
They are then seen escaping through a wire fece again representing how they were somewhere they shouldn't be, which is why it was so peaceful and perhaps why Katniss was so scared when she heard the branch snapping as she maybe thought she was in trouble. Then then walk down a snow covered grass field back towards where they live. Even though they are now out of the out of bounds place the lighting still stays very cold and grey looking and the music continues to be played.
Finally they are seen walking back through where they live with soldiers surrounding them each side walking in the opposite direction. They are seen in the middle of the screen making us mainly focus on them and representing how there the more important characters. The soldiers footsteps are very loud and the amount of them connotes that there is problems in the place where Katniss lives. The dark lighting also connotes this. The fact that Katniss is the main character leads us to believe the soldiers are in some way connected to her but we are sure why. They also show action in the film as soldiers are stereotyped as being in a lot of action and always shooting. The faces or the boy and girl remain straight and don't show a lot of expression.
Overall I have found out a lot about what the film opening should show. A convention is that it should start with showing the production company logo. Then the actual film should start, showing the main characters and introducing them and giving some hints and ideas about what the storyline could be. The colours and setting should help connote the genre as well as the music. Music should be used in places to create tension and a certain mood. Actors names and the film title are not always the first things to be shown however are often played along with the opening in places where they can be seen but aren't blocking anything important that is going on in the film. Taking all of this into consideration I am able to create a good film opening with the conventions of film and also making my own decisions on how to show credits and in what order.
