Film Openings

The purpose of this task was to watch a film opening from different Genre's and write down the purpose of the opening sequence and how the purpose was achieved through the media language.

1. Children of men- The Genre of this film is science fiction, we know it is science fiction because it is set in the future we know this because the year it is, is mentioned and very modern technology is used, the computers look more high tech than the computers we have present day, there are also moving animated adverts on the sides of buses which shows us that the film is set in the near future. The purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience the base of what the story is going to be about, it tells us what is happening around the time which is that humans are now infertile and the youngest person on earth has just died, we can see that everyone is upset over this because he at 18 years old was the youngest person and had just died, all the news was about him. The purpose is also to show us that it is in the future. It also gives us a clue to what is going to happen in the film and it shows who are main character is, it shows us that he is not so bothered about the boy's death which can tell us alot about him, he doesnt care too much about what is happening around or he is hiding his emotion. Most of the women are weeping and are very upset over the death and the men dont show any of that at all. Another purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience where it is set, it is London it shows well known buildings and some new, the red double decker buses also hint that it is London. On the news it says that Britain soldiers on while the world around them has fallen apart, this tells the audience that Britain is a strong country in the world at the moment. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by setting the scene and location, The camera gives us a view of the surroundings so we know where it is set. A handheld camera is used to follow our main character (hero) to show the audience a sense of action and we are meant to be following him in the story. Sound effects are used to emphasise the explosion in the street, after the explosion there is a ringing in your ears like you have just been stunned by the explosion. Editing is used to show the title after the explosion which works well together and it looks good. The use of lighting is used to show London is a dark place which tells us that there is problems and misery. Non-Digetic sound is used on a black screen to show us the voice over on the news, it tells the audience this is very important information we need to listen to.


2. Notting Hill- The Genre in Notting Hill is romantic comedy, we can tell that it is a romantic comedy because our main male character, Hugh Grant starts by making afew jokes with the audience when he talks about where he lives. We also know it is a romantic comedy because when we see our main female character (Julia Roberts) romantic music plays in the background and she is shown in slow motion like she is in the spotlight and we are meant to be watching this character. The purpose of the opening sequence is to show the audience and viewers the main characters in the story, It gives the audience a rough idea of what is going to happen in the story, we find out that Julia Roberts is a well known actress and Hugh Grant is a normal guy who lives in Notting Hill, it also shows us the contrast in there lives. We can tell that it is modern day by the setting and how all the characters look, also we can tell by some of the jokes and what is shown in the opening minutes eg. An everyday market selling normal everyday things. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through media language by using a romantic song to set the mood of the film. Hugh Grant one of the main characters narrates the story non-digetic sound is used as we see him walking through his town. We follow him down the street from a high angle/Birds eye view shot, so we can see the the town Notting Hill. When we are looking at Julia Roberts there are lots of close ups used and slow transitions like it flows, she is positioned in the center of the screen like she is the main focus.


3. Definitely, Maybe- The genre of this film is another romantic comedy, we can tell this because this film also starts with our main character (Ryan Reynolds) starting with afew jokes and he talks about happily ever after which tells us its about romance. It is very lighthearted and uses funny images in a monatge style. The purpose of the opening sequence is to tell the audience about his life who he is and what he does, he explains to the audience what is happeing in his life and who is in his life, we find out that he is having divorce and he has a daughter. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by using the montage images to show the setting and location, the location is New York, we can tell it is New York because there are yellow taxi's and buldings from New York, we can also tell that he is a normal man because he is walking through the park to get his daughter from school and there are normal things happening like dog walking, kids playing and busy roads. We see all the images from different angles to give us a view of everything. We also see things from his point of view. The happy music tells the audience that it is a happy upbeat film.


4. Goodfella's- The Genre of this film is Gangster/Action film, we can tell this from the opening sequence because one of our characters in the film says "i always wanted to be a gangster". We can also tell by the driving, they dont care about the rules and dont care if they are swerving on the roads, the car they are in is black which hints to the audience to symbol they are not good people. In the opening few minutes there is fighting, blood and swearing which tells the audience it is going to be a Gangster film. The purpose of the opening tells the audience the setting because it tells us it is New York and in the past. It also shows us the characters and who are main is going to be, the driver. In the background there are two other characters who are important but not our main. We see violence when one man stabs a man in the boot afew times without even caring which tells the audience not to sympathise with these characters. The two characters who are not our main shoot and stab the man in the boot and are the ones doing the violence which shows the audience maybe to sympathise with the main character. It is night time and is dark and the characters seem to be in the middle of no where. The purpose of the opening sequence is achieved through the media language by showing that it is very dark and not a happy film. The red light that shines on the characters floods them with it and looks like it symbolises blood. The sounds of them swearing and the shooting/stabbing emphasise the badness of these people.