The purpose for the production and distribution companies to be introduced at the start of the movie is mainly for the promotion for the company. The name sis attached to the film, which means they gain credit for contributing to the film.
The start of the film titles are as follows:
- ColumbiaPictures
- A Hofflundapolone Production
- An Indelible Picture
Then into the actors names e.g. Jodie Foster.
The film title is placed in the middle of the title sequence. Film titles nearly always appear after a few big named stars, in the middle of the sequence. The font types are usually big, bold and clear in capital letters. The font size is bigger than all the other titles and it stands out. The colour is normally white or superimposed - black over image. The institutional information such as the production companies and distributors appear two or three times and the titles are 3-4 seconds each. Panic Room' has a conventional timeline, which includes - Identity - Famous Names - Film Title.
Intertextuality is a term to describe the visual referencing between films. Films 'borrow' from each other and as an audience we tend to recognise certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, sounds or methods of editing in some films that we have seen in others.
An example is the bathroom scene in Fatal Attraction that has been inspired by Psycho.
Many other films have adopted this scene, such as What Lies Beneath and The Stepfather.
Another example is the ice scene in Orphan and Skyfall. Both films have a villain and a 'hero' fighting on ice, they both fall in and in both films, the hero survives.
Parodies tend to use intertextuality. Scream is famous for the white mask and the phonecall scene and these both are in Scary Movie, the comical version of Scream.
There are 3 basic structures of film openings; narrative, discrete and stand alone.
Narrative: the first part of the film is seen with titles either superimposed or intercut.
Films such as Law Abiding Citizen and Panic Room use this type of opening. Titles are superimposed, there are series of shots linked to narrative and the title sequence leads directly into film.
Discrete: shots/images/scenes that stand apart from the film with titles. It may contain elements from the films that could suggest the plot or genre, nut they are not part of the narrative.
Films such as Enemy Of The State and Se7en use this type of opening. There are a series of shots that are not linked to narrative, titles are superimposed and there is some stylised editing and special effects.
Stand alone: the title sequence is on its own and leads directly into the film.
Films such as Donnie Darko and The 39 Steps use this type of opening. Titles are alone, not combined with shots/scenes. There is no indicator of the plot/genre and the titles lead directly into narrative.
Another structure of film openings is 'stylized editing'. This is a more complex style where there is a lot more editing in comparison to the other structures.
The Taking Of Pelham 123 uses this type of opening. The editing is fast paced and indicates the genre of the film. Titles are superimposed and leads straight into narrative. The titles are on the same beat as the music in the background. There is also an indication of the plot of the film.
Although Breaking Bad is not a film, I think it has a very good title sequence.
Breaking Bad is a drama series about a chemistry teacher who develops lung cancer and to raise money for his surgery and his family (in case he dies), he begins to manufacture crystal meth with an ex-student of his.
The title sequence shows the periodic table and then adapts the elements into the names of the actors, directors, etc.
This could be an idea for a narrative thriller opening.
Below is a video of the title sequence.
The Dark Knight is an action-thriller movie based on the
fictional character Batman who sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal
organizations that plague the city streets of Gotham. This movie follows the
codes and conventions of a thriller well.
At the beginning of the film, we are instantly met with
the first convention of a film – the production company’s logo. This is then
followed by introducing the audience to the first part of the film straight
away; a narrative opening structure is used here.
The story which instantly unfolds in the opening of ‘The
Dark Knight’ takes the audience by surprise, as they are met with a violent
bank robbery, right after hearing several conversations about an unidentified
man named ‘The Joker.’ At the end of the
bank robbery scene, the audience meets the villain – The Joker – who is behind
the mischievous and smartly planned daylight robbery, which he successfully gets
away with. The Joker is wearing a black suit and a mask which connotes that he
is a sophisticated and mysterious person. This leaves the audience in suspense
about what will happen later on in the movie; as well as leaving them asking “who
is The Joker?”
They are then introduced to the other main character –
the hero – Batman who also remains anonymous.
The mise-en-scene of the film follows the conventions of
a thriller. For example, dark lighting is used in the bank robbery scene. Clowns
are usually associated with fear as a fake smile is painted on so we cannot see
the truth – this associates with The Joker as he is feared by people and not
known.
However, this may seem not follow the conventions as the
hero is dressed in black whereas the villain is dressed in coloured clothes and
make-up – we would expect this to be the other way around.
The sound used in the film is amplified diegetic sounds
of the gun shots and people screaming whilst the bank is being robbed. There is
also tense music being played in the background. Quick cuts and various camera
angles are used in conjunction with this to help create the tension and
fast-paced atmosphere.
‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ is a thriller which follows the
conventions of a thriller film opening (could be classed in a sub-genre of
action-thriller). The film is about four men who hijack a train – Pelham 123 –
and want money.
A stylized title sequence is used for this film.
It starts off with the production and distribution company’s
logo – Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Pictures.
Camera
The film starts off with an establishing shot of New York’s skyline
city, with panning around the tallest buildings. It then moves to a high angle
looking down on different streets of New York, with taxis and crowds of people,
moving to a close up of the subway sign, showing the location of the movie.
A range of long, mid and close-up shots are used; especially
the use of sudden close-up shots of the men which shows their importance in the
film and making them stand out to us. Along with these shots, the opening has
made use of the fast-forward technique, and fast cuts, to highlight the fast
pace and energy of New York City; but a normal pace was used when zooming into
the men’s faces so the audience can establish that they are the main
characters. This is accompanied by fast paced and exciting music which helps
emphasise the life and energy of New York.
Sound
At the beginning there is only the sound of a train moving
and then a long beep. This then suddenly changes to ambient sound with quiet
train sounds in the background. When the film goes to the crowds of people the
soundtrack suddenly starts. It has heavy base sounds and fast tempo with some rapping;
there are still sounds of trains moving. The
use of train sound effects was effective because it reinforced the main theme
within the film.
Editing
The film uses a variety of editing techniques – mainly fast
cuts and fast forward in order to show the pace of the city and reflect how
fast the men need to work. The use of
many fast cuts helped increase the pace of the opening, establishing to the
audience that the film will be full of action. The scenes change quickly
with cut transactions, however when there is a close up on Ryder's face the
footage is slowed down, making our attention focus on him. When there is a change in location there is a
very fast montage of images that blur together before settling on the office.
All of this is in parallel editing. To end they have a simple black
screen with block white writing say the time '1.58 pm'
Lots of the editing is done to link or fit with trains, they do this to show
the importance of the trains and to show what the basis of the film in based
on.
Mise-en-scene
The setting and
costumes used in the opening all contrasted with one another which reinforce
the differences in characters and locations. The opening is set in the
busy city of New York and in an office. The costumes of the actors do stand out
from the crowd as they are dressed in black – how hijackers are typically
expected to dress. The lighting in the office is lighter with a blue tint to
it, making it seem calm and technical. The subway is dark, grey and slightly
dingy. This helps to show contrast between the two locations.
The technical use of camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene
all work effectively in order to set the scene and atmosphere of a busy and
catastrophic day/event which will take place.
