I chose this opening sequence as one of my RMA's because it is a thriller movie and this is the genre that we're looking at doing for our own opening sequence.
The camera shots in this are mostly coming from what appears to be CCTV cameras, which could suggest that the rest of the film is filmed in this way and it also makes it appear to be more like real life events caught on camera and less like acted out scenes. The camera shots are usually long shots and almost establishing shots as the camera catches the events that are happening from quite far away. The establishing shot is a code and convention to an opening sequence as it shows the audience the setting that the film may be taking place in. This also emphasises the sense of realism as they look like real events caught on real life footage, and they're not filmed in a way that looks set up or scripted. It also sets up the feel for the rest of the movie and emphasises the genre as you wouldn't usually have these events happening in a romance or comedy film.
At the beginning of the opening sequence, the non-diegetic sound is quite simple and almost dark as the writing on screen appears. Then, quite surprisingly, a quite serene non-diegetic sound plays in the background as the rest of the film starts. This contrasts with the criminal events that are happening on screen as you would usually expect a dramatic piece of music to play along with the dramatic scenes. This keeps the opening sequence interesting and perhaps makes the events on screen not seem so shocking and vulgar, which does agree with the films storyline that criminal or illegal events are acceptable for one day. There is no dialogue either during the first 1:40 of the film, so we do not yet have an idea of who the main character/s are or what they look like, which generally goes against the usual codes and conventions of a film opening.
The editing in this extract is quite simple. At the beginning, a black screen appears then white writing appears on screen, giving the date of when the film takes place and an indication to what the films storyline may be. This is a good representation of codes and conventions as its setting the time period, which is information that the audience needs to know. There are fade to black transitions after each bit of writing comes on screen which gives quite a calm atmosphere to the start of the film. It also gives the audience a longer time to read the text. The last bit of writing on screen is the subsidiary 'Universal Pictures' and the production company 'Platinum Dune/Blumhouse/Why Not'. The text however does continue throughout the opening sequence when all the events caught on camera are being shown as the actors names appear on screen. This is done very subtly, suggesting that the producers wanted the audiences focus to be mainly on the events that are happening on screen and they didn't want their attention distracted by the writing that appears. These are also good examples of codes and conventions that are needed in the opening sequence to a film as they make the actors names and the prouction companies names known.
The mise en scene used also emphasises the genre of the film quite a bit. Throughout, weapons are used as props, such as guns, knives and what appears to be bits of metal that are used to beat people up. The setting that the film is captured in is mostly outside in dark alleys, parking lots or cornered off streets, which is where you would usually expect crimes to happen anyway. The costume that the actors are wearing is mostly baggy clothing, including hoody's or hats. However, some of the actors are simply wearing a shirt and trousers or just everyday clothes that you would go shopping in, and not what you would expect to wear when you're about to murder someone. This could suggest that the message that the directors are trying to portray is that anyone can be dangerous when they want to be, and anyone can commit a crime, hence why they created 'The Purge'. The lighting at times is almost sepia and fuzzy, as the scenes are shot on CCTV cameras, but also mostly dark as the events are filmed during the night.
I chose The Stepfather as my next example of a real media artefact as it is also a thriller film and I feel that it portrays some good examples of the codes and conventions needed in an opening sequence. (ONLY FOCUSING ON THE FIRST 2 MINUTES OF THIS CLIP).
The camera shot begins by panning over some shaving equiptment and within the first 15 seconds, the main character is shown on screen. As this happens, the film title, 'The Stepfather' is also shown. . This is then followed by the actor's names that appear on screen, and this happens throughout the whole two minutes. This is a good representation of codes and conventions needed in an opening sequence as it clearly states the film title and actors' names. The camera shots are quite simple; the duration of shots are generally quite long, focusing a lot on close ups of the antagonist, the 'stepfather', and on the things he's touching and doing, suggesting that they serve a big purpose and play a big part on revealing more about his character. There are also quite a few panning shots, which almost play as establishing shots that show the surroundings that he's in, which is a good code and convention as its showing the setting of the film in this scene. The use of long duration shots suggests that the genre of film is more of a mental or 'chiller' thriller than an action one.
The non diegetic sound used is also quite simple. With just one soundtrack playing in the background it creates more of a calm atmosphere and less of a sense of urgency that thriller films usually have. However, at 1:30, 'silent night' is subtly playing in the background, suggesting that the time the film has been shot in is Christmas. This is a good code and convention as it tells the audience the time period that the film is set in. This gives quite a homely and calm feel to the film as we don't yet expect anything terrible or unsuspected to happen. There is no dialogue either which doesn't give anything away about the film or the characters, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats and intrigued to know what the characters are like.
The editing also remains simple, with not any jump cuts or fade transitions so the audience wouldn't suspect that anything fast moving is about to happen. The only fade transitions that appear on the screen is the film credits that show the actors's names and the film title, which gives the audience more time to read it. This generally goes against the usual codes and conventions for a film opening as you would expect a key event to happen such as a car chase or a murder, and this to be represented by the use of jump cuts and short duration of shots. However, it is only the first 2 minutes of the film and this key event may come slowly after.
The mise en scene shows that at the beginning, the main character has a beard, longer hair, brown eyes and glasses. This changes when he shaves off his beard, colours his hair and changes his contact lenses so he has blue eyes. This could be seen as the key event in the opening of this film as he is shown to be changing his identity by completely changing the way he looks, which puts the following question into the audiences' heads: why? This is also a code and convention as the audience is learning more about the main character. However, he seems very calm and not very alert about something bad that he may have done as he has a shower, gets dressed and makes himself breakfast. It also doesn't give any hint as to why he's doing all these things to change the way he looks. We guess that the house that this is set in is his own as he seems to know where everything is and feels comfortable to shower etc. When he's shaving his beard off he cuts himself and blood starts dripping from his chin, which could be foreshadowing something that's to come in the rest of the film. As the main character goes downstairs, numerous pictures of him smiling with a family are shown on screen. The audience then wonders where the family is or whether it's his own family after all, and this reveals more about the storyline.
(ONLY FOCUSING UP TO 2:15)
Lastly, I chose to analyse The Prestige as an RMA because although it is mostly a mystery drama I thought we could use some of these techniques in our opening sequence.
The opening camera shot is a screen with the name of the production and distribution companies clearly stated: 'Touchstone Pictures' and 'Warner Bros. Pictures', which is then followed by the title of the film 'The Prestige' in bold white font in front of a forest filled with what appears to be black hats. This is a good representation of the codes and conventions needed in an opening film sequence as it is clearly stating the film title and the production companies. The camera shot then pans over the black hats and cuts to a shot of a bird in a cage and a man who we at this point guess to be an important character, reaches for the bird. The shot then cuts to another magic trick taking place at a different setting (a stage). All these different things happening at once captures the audiences' attention, almost warning them that if they look away then they may miss a key event in the storyline. The events happening are also magic tricks, which emphasises that the film is going to be acted around the use of magic. The camera mainly focus' on three men, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine, sometimes showing them at close ups or mid shots, who we know to be the main characters, representing good codes and conventions as we're already being presented to the main characters and learing a bit more about them. At 2:13, the camera shot changes to almost an establishing shot of the theatre where one of the magic tricks is taking place. This reveals more about Hugh Jackman's character as it hints that he is a well-known magician and that his tricks are successful as many people have bought tickets to watch him perform.
At the beginning, the text fades in and out as each text changes, giving the audience more time to read it. After the text has finished showing and the camera is focusing on the black hats, the shot cuts to black. This gives the audience the indication that the opening credits has finished and the film is about to start. The duration of shots are generally short throughout, especially after 1:10, which speeds up the events that are happening and gives a sense of urgency. Even though the camera cuts from one setting to another (between Caine performing the magic trick and the scene on stage) there is continuity editing as each shot starts off where the other one ended, ensuring that they don't miss anything out. Also, both tricks seem to be having simultaneously. For example, at 2:10, as the man disappears through the floor and into the tank of water, Caine makes the bird cage disappear. This is a good example of editing as the directors haven't confused the audience by linking the two in a clever way, also giving the audience the assumption that they're both important events that should be remembered later on.
The props used, such as the black hats at the beginning, are also important. The black hats could be interpreted as magic black hats from the well-known trick of the rabbit and the hat, and the fact that they're shown on screen when the film title appears links them in with the idea of magic even more. The bird and the cage is also quite a common trick and the bird is usually used by magicians to wow their audiences. Jackmans costume of a black tailored trench coat and white shirt are also stereotypical of what a magician usually wears during his trick. The top hats and women's petty coats that the audience in the theatre are wearing suggest that the film is set to take place in the70's/80's, when this fashion was popular. This also explains the magic black hats and the bird in the cage as these were traditional magic tricks and emphasises the time period to the audience. The flashing lights used during Jackman's trick creates an over-the-top sense about his trick and alert the audience that something big is about to happen.
There is quite a lot of sound used throughout. It starts off completely silent as the opening credits appear on screen, and then a non-diegetic sound comes on which is the voice of what we guess to be one of the characters. Then comes in the diegetic sound of birds tweeting as we see them come into the frame. This quickly ends and non-diegetic music starts, which sounds quite dark and slow. A lot of sound effects are used throughout, for example the sounds of the machine that Jackman performs his trick in, the sound of the flashing lights, the sound of the locks when Jackman falls into the tank of water and the sound of the water once he's in the tank. Dialogue is also used at times, coming from mostly the main characters. However, the most sound used is non-diegetic. This could have been so the audience focus completely on the events happening on stage.
