Serial killer with no pattern being hunted by the police after he has killed many people. The police are following a wild goose chase, main character is the detective who has been put on this case, any gender, with male captain helping out as it has been such an important case. There have been times where the detective has almost caught the serial killer. The final time the serial killer tries to kill the detective when he is sleeping, the detective was ready and was awake, so he catches him and unmasks him, turns out it is the captain of the precinct, hence why the detective and rest of the police team was not able to catch him because the captain was changing things. They fight it out but then the captain is caught through evidence and arrested, there is shots from the trial where he is convicted.
Serial killer with no pattern being hunted by the police after he has killed many people. The police are following a wild goose chase, main character is the detective who has been put on this case, any gender, with male captain helping out as it has been such an important case. There have been times where the detective has almost caught the serial killer. The final time the serial killer tries to kill the detective when he is sleeping, the detective was ready and was awake, so he catches him and unmasks him, turns out it is the captain of the precinct, hence why the detective and rest of the police team was not able to catch him because the captain was changing things. They fight it out but then the captain is caught through evidence and arrested, there is shots from the trial where he is convicted.
The sequence opens in a library in New York, possibly a student library for a university because inside there are many young looking people. There is a librarian walking around and goes into the basement where all the other books are kept. When she is down there putting books away, there are books flying from different bookshelves to other ones as she walks through. As the scene carries on there is more and more paranormal activity occurring, and the sequence ends with the librarian running away and screaming at a bright white light, and we are shown the title of the movie. This gives us the impression that the movie will be about ghosts and strange paranormal things and that there will need someone to come save the city, meaning the city will need "ghostbusters", which is also established by the title of the movie.
The target audience of this movie would most likely be adults, possibly late teenagers, as the paranormal activity could be frightening for children when watching it. This is further established not just because it is said to be a horror, but because of the fact the older librarian is scared, so it is shown from the beginning that this movie is going to be scary and not suitable for people who get anxious watching these movies and for children also as they could be influenced to be scared because of seeing the old woman scared also.
Jump scares are included within this sequence, as well as a slightly slow build up of unusual activity, which looks slightly creepy, which are aspects of a horror film. The camera also follows the librarian, meaning we are brought into the horror with her and feel the terror she feels. The final scare when she finally screams after running around the library adds a final jump scare and also leaves us wanting to know how these paranormal beings effect people in the movie and how they will be gotten rid of.
We only actually see one character in the opening sequence, the elderly librarian, however we are also indirectly introduced to the ghosts and paranormal beings that are haunting the library and most likely other parts of the city. We can guess that these ghosts will most likely be the antagonists of the film because they purposely scared the librarian. On top of this we are also introduced to the protagonists, of which we assume are ghostbusters, because there will need to be heroes in order to eradicate the ghosts and save the city. Again, the title of the film also implies ghostbusters will be the main characters, so we know they will be introduced soon.
The sequence opens with an establishing shop of a library in New York, and moves down and zooms in onto a close up shot angling upwards, of a lion statue in front of it, indicating that will probably be an important feature later on. We are then transported into the library by a mid shot of the librarian pushing the cart full of books, and then a wide shot of the room full of people as the librarian leaves so we focus on the librarian leaving the room. When she is in the basement of the library the camera follows her from behind as she is walking down the aisles. In one of the aisles the camera stops behind her so we can see the books float across the aisle, showing us that there is something unusual going on. The camera then follows behind the librarian slowly like there is something following her while drawers start to open behind her on their own, and there is a cut to in front of the librarian showing there is in fact nothing in front of her. This brings us with the librarian in the horror. As the librarian runs down one aisle, the camera cuts round the corner as she runs towards it, so there is a close up on her face when there is a bright white light on her face as she screams, which helps the audience be scared as well.
The start of the scene includes mystical, dramatic music when there is the shots from outside the library and inside the main library floor. This music fades out when the librarian is in the basement of the library, and stops once the books start moving through the air on their own. The use of silence helps adds suspense and forces us to focus on the strange paranormal activity, making the sequence more fearsome to watch.
Once the librarian screams, there is a red screen with her face cut out, and a picture of a cartoon ghost fades in and appears on the screen over her face, introducing the title of the movie. The different shots were slow paced to create suspense, except for when the librarian is running through the basement which is when the pace of the shots increase.
I find the opening sequence a bit silly, but that could possibly be because of the date it was filmed in and CGI was not as developed as it is today. However, as a horror opening sequence I think it was quite successful because there is a sense of creepiness and jump scares, and does include the aspects of a horror film, although I feel they could’ve dragged out the books moving for a bit longer to build more suspense and show more of the unusualness, making the audience wonder and build up the audience's heartbeat so when the pace increases it is more of a scare and surprise.
Saving Private Ryan - War
The opening sequence starts with an old man walking through a park, with his family walking behind him, probably following him along. There are shots of flags from different countries (America and France) along with shots of a cemetery that the family is walking to, indicating a possible battle or the countries those people who have died are from. The old man, presumably the family's grandad, walks through the cemetery looking around, and in front of one of the graves he collapses onto his knees and bursts into tears. His family all gather around him consoling him, and we get drawn into a flashback, most likely explaining what happened and who's grave they were at. There is then a cut to the beach with the date June 6th 1944, meaning it was the Normandy landings, indicating that the old man we are shown fought in the Normandy Landings.
If this film is a war genre, the film is probably most suitable for adults as there is violence and indications of death, as well as shootings and blood. It also probably wouldn't be suitable for older people who have possibly experienced the war as it could be distressing for them, however it could make them reminisce and remember times from the war and people who were lost in it. Certain scenes from the movie could also be good for students and the younger generation for educational purposes to show the students how traumatising and heartbreaking the war was.
The first character we see is the grandad, of whom is probably the protagonist as we mostly see him, and the flashback scene is zoomed in on him, therefore we assume the flashback will be about him or his life. We also meet his family, meaning he was able to live on after the war quite happily, and when at the grave we are indirectly introduced to the person or friend who died in the war, of whom we will probably meet later on in the movie or in the flashback.
There is an extreme closeup of the American flag waving in the wind, in front of the sun. The next shot is of a man's shoes and lower legs from behind, walking down a path. The camera moves upwards, so we see old man's hair and shoulders from behind also, so we don't see his face. There is a wide shot of his family walking behind him, and close ups of different members of the family, most likely his son and wife, and then there is a wide shot of the old man at the front while his family following behind, with a bit of a gap between them, until there is a mid-shot of the old man standing by the tree and his family catching up with him. The next following shot goes from a close up to a wide shot as he walks towards the graveyard and through the graves there, with graves crossing in front of the camera, with a crane shot going over the top, showing the amount of graves there are as well as another old man dressed in a war veteran outfit, establishing this was a graveyard remembering people who fought in the war. There is a close up on the old man as he collapses in front of one particular grave in tears, indicating that person was probably very important to him. As his family accompany him and comfort him the camera moves to a mid-shot of him and the camera zooms in on his face as he's crying until it reaches his eye, showing us that the next scene of the establishing shot of the beach is a flashback.
Heroic, almost memorial like music is playing from the beginning, done by the use of brass instruments. This adds the feel of war and music of which we associate with remembrance, and also makes us feel melancholy and tells us the atmosphere of this movie. The music is non-diegetic and there is no diegetic sound underneath, even tho we can see there would be some sound, for example the old man crying. This forces us to physically feel the man's pain when he breaks down and imagine what he sounds like, causing us to put ourselves into the scene.
All shots were equally slow-paced allowing us to take in the shots and what was happening in them, as well as the solemn music.
I think this opening title sequence was successful as it established the war aspects and was hard-hitting from the beginning by showing the graves, also making it heartbreaking as a war film would be. This emphasises how difficult and traumatising the war actually was for people, meaning this opening title sequence has been very effective.
Pulp Fiction - Action
We are shown with a couple kissing in a diner whilst eating what we assume is lunch, then suddenly they stand up and start shouting "everybody down on the ground, this is a robbery" with them pointing their guns at everyone else in the diner. This gives us the idea that they are bad people, perhaps could be gangsters, and that they could also possibly be the antagonists. It then cuts to the title of the film and the opening credits on a black screen. The first two names in the opening credits are not the names of the actors playing the two characters we see in the beginning, meaning we know those two are not the main characters and that our protagonists are either going to be fighting against them or be working with them. The couple look like this is not their first robbery as they did not act nervous and were also smiling knowing it would go their way and that they enjoyed it.
There is gun violence and swearing within the opening sequence, which gives an idea of what the rest of the movie will be like. An older audience would therefore be more suitable, possibly people in their twenties and above, maybe late teenagers such as 18 year olds. This movie could be more for people in America as guns are a lot more common there when used in criminal activity, as well as gangs.
There is the established life of crime from the very start, which is usually associated in action movies as you usually need a villain and a hero, and for more realistic action movies like Pulp Fiction, the villain is usually involved with something criminal and illegal. Action is also shown immediately from the surprise of the couple initiating with a robbery after having kissed and looked happy and like a normal couple, which created a surprise effect which happens regularly in an action movie to make it suspenseful, as well as created a plot twist which keeps the audience interested.
We are only shown 2 characters, the couple, which are a man and a woman looking in their late thirties and we know they are criminals, which we can see from their action and the fact they carry guns with them and loo experienced. We also know they are a couple because they kiss just before announcing the robbery and say to eachother "I love you," indicating they've also been together for quite a while, and have possibly be partners in crime for many years.
The sequence opens with an extreme close up of the couple kissing, so we only see their heads and not the rest of the table. There is then a wide shot of the couple sitting at a table in booth seats, showing us they're in a diner eating food. This makes us think they are a normal couple who are just in love and nothing more. The wide shot then moves with the couple as the man stands on the booth seat and the woman moves forward out of her seat towards the camera, which shows the contrast to their happiness and then their anger and determination, as well as makes that moment a bigger surprise for the audience. The image of the couple is then frozen as the name of the production company appears at the bottom of the screen over the frozen image, and it then cuts to a black screen, as the opening credits appear over it for the rest of the sequence.
There was pleonastic, diegetic noises of things happening in the diner, like cutlery on plates and plates being collected, and no soundtrack underneath. However once the sequence freezes on the couple shouting and pointing their guns, there is fast paced soundtrack, the kind that reminds you of motorcycles, which increases the urgency and sense of adrenaline. The music then changes to the song "jungle boogie" playing, which indicates the time the film is set in.
The opening credits looked like comic book fonts, which reminds you that pulp fiction is a type of action in comic books. The credits of the actors' names come up on the screen slowly moving backwards and fade away as the other names of the actors' appear. After the main characters' actors' names have been shown, the style of the presentation of the credits changes to the extras' actors' names rolling up the screen in a credit like fashion. The opening shots were slow paced.
I think this opening sequence was successful in establishing the action genre because it creates the element of surprise and induces adrenaline by including guns and the shouting. The sequence was explosive, as an action film should be, and the use of the music added to the inducing of adrenaline. The whole opening created excitement.
The silence of the lambs - Thriller
In the opening we are shown a girl running through the woods, dressed in a jumper and joggers with sweat patches, showing she is doing some type of exercise. We later see she is doing an obstacle course and is told she needs to see someone in their office, so she runs back to what looks like a police training facility. This character appears to be well known by the people in the facility. I expect that this character will be our protagonist and there will be a case she will have to solve, for example a murder. There could also be a lot of chasing as we are shown at the very beginning that she is very capable and is in good shape, emphasising adrenaline will be used within the movie.
The target audience is older audiences, for example teenagers and older, which we can see from the idea of the police being involved which could indicate violence. Also the music being used is very sinister, something children probably wouldn't like to hear, nor find enjoyable to watch. The very opening has a shot of the woods filled with fog/mist, which creates a mysterious aspect and so once again would possibly indicate something not suitable for children.
We can see the film is a thriller genre from the dark and bland atmosphere and colours, as it foreshadows something dark and sinister, and creates a sense of danger, especially as the main protagonist is running through this woods on her own. Despite these aspects, the sequence has quite a calm yet unsettling atmosphere, helping to start the build of suspense, of which is needed in a thriller.
The main protagonist in this sequence is a young woman, presumably in her 20s, who is an FBI trainee at the academy, as we know because she runs back into the academy and communicates with other students there. One separate character, a middle aged man, comes over to her with a cap on that says FBI on it, and on top of that the woman calls him "sir", indicating he is a teacher at the academy. The man mentions the name "Mr Crawford" who is also a teacher at the academy, which we know because we see his name on the back of the door the protagonist enters at the end of the sequence. We are also introduced to students in the academy, along with other members of staff just from seeing them walking around the academy whilst following the main protagonist.
An establishing shot from high in the woods of the forest opens the sequence. There is slow movement moving downwards to the top of ropes going up a hill, of which we see the protagonist running up from the bottom to the top so she is coming towards the camera. When she reaches the top the camera then follows her from behind as she runs through the woods, done by a track shot. We are then shown shots of her running through the woods from different angles, as well as a follow shot of her climbing another part of the obstacle course. Once she is down the camera stops as she carries on running to the next part, indicating she is going to be stopped at some point and the camera is waiting for her. As she runs back the camera shows shots of signs stuck to a tree saying "hurt", "pain", and "love it", which is unusual, possibly foreshadowing a slightly psychotic mindset of the antagonist. There is then a panning shot of the police academy as she runs towards it, with other groups of trainees running away from it in groups. As well as this there is an establishing shot of the police academy from outside and a zoom in so we can see her run through the building through the windows. The camera follows her through the corridor and into the lift, where she is the only one wearing sweats and everyone else is wearing a red shirt, of which the wide shot makes clear. The camera also follows her into the office and circles around her while she is facing away from the camera, until she turns around when the camera stops and she sees something behind the camera of which we dont see, and the camera moves towards her to a close up, so we can see her shocked reaction clearer.
There is slow paced, orchestral, contrapuntal music playing as a soundtrack that sounds mysterious and eerie, which creates and unsettling tone, slightly dramatic and we don't know what the music is building up too. There is diegetic animal noises, such as an eagle and crickets, showing she is alone in the woods and there is possible danger around, as well as pleonastic sound of her heavily breathing showing she has done a lot of exercise and running. As she is running to the academy there is the sound of other people running away and diegetic sound of a buzzer, as well as helicopters showing it is a police academy. The music stops when she goes into the academy and there is silence with pleonastic footsteps of other people there, giving the sense of safety, however it starts again when she is in the office and sees something that shocks her.
The titles and credits appear on the screen during the opening sequence until the protagonist enters the office. The titles/credits are black capital letters with a white outline, usually associated with darkness and uncertainty. The shots were fast paced when she was running through the woods as it showed adrenaline, however the rest were moderately paced, keeping the suspense.
I feel like this opening title sequence was affective as it created a sinister feel and made me feel quite unsettled when watching it. However, I think if the music didn't sound slightly eerie, I would've mistaken it for an action movie or a murder mystery. The music, for me, was definitely what made this opening title sequence sinister and suspenseful and what made it the opening for a thriller.
Dune (1984) - Sci-Fi
At the start of the sequence we are presented with a narration of a prologue for the movie by a woman who is dressed very proper and with an expensive look, making us assume she is someone in a position of royalty, which we later learn is correct as she tells us she is the daughter of the emperor. The use of the prologue helps us understand the movie better and also gives us a small introduction to the film. We are told about a planet she lives on, and the importance of the spice as it extends life and is vital for space travel, as well as a prophecy about a man, told to be the messiah, who will come to save the people known as the Framen, we can assume the movie will be about this man and that he will be the protagonist. After the prologue we are then shown the desert from the planet that the Framen live on and the sand blowing over the desert, with the titles being shown over the top.
People of age could probably watch this movie, however maybe not any younger than eight years old. People who enjoy pure, traditional Sci-fi movies would enjoy it more than those who enjoy more action Sci-fi, meaning the target audience would be for people who enjoy the traditional sci fi, as there are more movies that are more focused on the action in the storyline rather than the storyline itself.
The use of the outer space background behind the princess helps establish the fact it will be based on a different planet to earth, meaning it will be a space sci fi which is quite common, especially due to movies similar to Star Wars. The use of space travel and spice prolonging life helps also creates the setting for outer space and creates a type of apocalyptic feel, which is also usually a main part of Sci-Fi.
We only see one character, the princess, however she introduces us too many other characters in the movie. For example the emperor, who is her father her father, and the group of people protecting the spice, named the Famen. Because this was a prologue, we know all of this because we have been told by the princess that it is so. The final character we hear of is the Messiah coming to save the spice and the Famen from being controlled, who we assume is our protagonist as he is described as the hero of the story.
The sequence opens on a close up of the princess and doesn't change throughout the prologue being said. This occurs until the title of the film is presented on the screen, at that point we are shown an establishing for of the desert on the planet Iracus, and during the rest of the opening credits there are many different still, birds eye view shots of the desert, angling downwards so we can only see the sand with the dunes clearly.
During the prologue, there is non-diegetic sound of string orchestral music that I would describe as calm and serene that is playing as a soundtrack underneath, however there is also unearthly, alien-like possibly diegetic sounds that we can also hear underneath, giving it an idea of extraterrestrial life, helping emphasise the Sci-Fi genre. There is, however, a very sudden change of music from calm to dramatic and heroic, with the sudden sound of the crash of cymbals and the sudden increase in dynamics, all of this helping to create an interesting, dramatic effect.
The opening shot is one long shot for the prologue, however the image of the princess fades from clear to nothing quite a few times in the prologue, almost like a very slow heartbeat, and creates quite an unusual picture, emphasising Sci-Fi because it is the genre with the most unusual attributes. The font of the opening credits is known as "albertus", which looks very ancient an is gold in colour, almost Egyptian like, which blends well with the desert shots behind the credits. The font gives a strong bold edge to both the credits and the opening title sequence.
I think the prologue shouldn't have been dragged out for so long, however it did help establish the storyline and the genre of movie, therefore I think this opening title sequence was successful. The use of the star filled background and the unearthly, alien like noises underneath, both of which are key conventions of Sci-Fi films, helped establish the Sci-Fi genre even further.
All of these opening sequences were very successful in establishing the genre of the movie. They all created a sense of drama which made them interesting to watch. They were also all from very popular movies, which have very famous opening title sequences mainly for the reasons I have mentioned. Saving private Ryan however I feel was quite different from the others as it was very slow paced, but worked to create the mood and atmosphere of remembrance, therefore didn't need to be as dramatic as the others were. I think the most successful opening title sequence was Pulp Fiction because it created an element of excitement and introduced the action from the very beginning, as well as included most of the conventions that should be included in an action movie. The least successful, in my opinion, was the silence of the lambs, because it was a bit un clear as to whether it was a horror or a thriller because there wasn't anything keeping me on the edge of my seat during that opening title sequence, and the sequence was more eerie than thrilling.
The sequence opens in a library in New York, possibly a student library for a university because inside there are many young looking people. There is a librarian walking around and goes into the basement where all the other books are kept. When she is down there putting books away, there are books flying from different bookshelves to other ones as she walks through. As the scene carries on there is more and more paranormal activity occurring, and the sequence ends with the librarian running away and screaming at a bright white light, and we are shown the title of the movie. This gives us the impression that the movie will be about ghosts and strange paranormal things and that there will need someone to come save the city, meaning the city will need "ghostbusters", which is also established by the title of the movie.
The target audience of this movie would most likely be adults, possibly late teenagers, as the paranormal activity could be frightening for children when watching it. This is further established not just because it is said to be a horror, but because of the fact the older librarian is scared, so it is shown from the beginning that this movie is going to be scary and not suitable for people who get anxious watching these movies and for children also as they could be influenced to be scared because of seeing the old woman scared also.
Jump scares are included within this sequence, as well as a slightly slow build up of unusual activity, which looks slightly creepy, which are aspects of a horror film. The camera also follows the librarian, meaning we are brought into the horror with her and feel the terror she feels. The final scare when she finally screams after running around the library adds a final jump scare and also leaves us wanting to know how these paranormal beings effect people in the movie and how they will be gotten rid of.
We only actually see one character in the opening sequence, the elderly librarian, however we are also indirectly introduced to the ghosts and paranormal beings that are haunting the library and most likely other parts of the city. We can guess that these ghosts will most likely be the antagonists of the film because they purposely scared the librarian. On top of this we are also introduced to the protagonists, of which we assume are ghostbusters, because there will need to be heroes in order to eradicate the ghosts and save the city. Again, the title of the film also implies ghostbusters will be the main characters, so we know they will be introduced soon.
The sequence opens with an establishing shop of a library in New York, and moves down and zooms in onto a close up shot angling upwards, of a lion statue in front of it, indicating that will probably be an important feature later on. We are then transported into the library by a mid shot of the librarian pushing the cart full of books, and then a wide shot of the room full of people as the librarian leaves so we focus on the librarian leaving the room. When she is in the basement of the library the camera follows her from behind as she is walking down the aisles. In one of the aisles the camera stops behind her so we can see the books float across the aisle, showing us that there is something unusual going on. The camera then follows behind the librarian slowly like there is something following her while drawers start to open behind her on their own, and there is a cut to in front of the librarian showing there is in fact nothing in front of her. This brings us with the librarian in the horror. As the librarian runs down one aisle, the camera cuts round the corner as she runs towards it, so there is a close up on her face when there is a bright white light on her face as she screams, which helps the audience be scared as well.
The start of the scene includes mystical, dramatic music when there is the shots from outside the library and inside the main library floor. This music fades out when the librarian is in the basement of the library, and stops once the books start moving through the air on their own. The use of silence helps adds suspense and forces us to focus on the strange paranormal activity, making the sequence more fearsome to watch.
Once the librarian screams, there is a red screen with her face cut out, and a picture of a cartoon ghost fades in and appears on the screen over her face, introducing the title of the movie. The different shots were slow paced to create suspense, except for when the librarian is running through the basement which is when the pace of the shots increase.
I find the opening sequence a bit silly, but that could possibly be because of the date it was filmed in and CGI was not as developed as it is today. However, as a horror opening sequence I think it was quite successful because there is a sense of creepiness and jump scares, and does include the aspects of a horror film, although I feel they could’ve dragged out the books moving for a bit longer to build more suspense and show more of the unusualness, making the audience wonder and build up the audience's heartbeat so when the pace increases it is more of a scare and surprise.
Saving Private Ryan - War
The opening sequence starts with an old man walking through a park, with his family walking behind him, probably following him along. There are shots of flags from different countries (America and France) along with shots of a cemetery that the family is walking to, indicating a possible battle or the countries those people who have died are from. The old man, presumably the family's grandad, walks through the cemetery looking around, and in front of one of the graves he collapses onto his knees and bursts into tears. His family all gather around him consoling him, and we get drawn into a flashback, most likely explaining what happened and who's grave they were at. There is then a cut to the beach with the date June 6th 1944, meaning it was the Normandy landings, indicating that the old man we are shown fought in the Normandy Landings.
If this film is a war genre, the film is probably most suitable for adults as there is violence and indications of death, as well as shootings and blood. It also probably wouldn't be suitable for older people who have possibly experienced the war as it could be distressing for them, however it could make them reminisce and remember times from the war and people who were lost in it. Certain scenes from the movie could also be good for students and the younger generation for educational purposes to show the students how traumatising and heartbreaking the war was.
The first character we see is the grandad, of whom is probably the protagonist as we mostly see him, and the flashback scene is zoomed in on him, therefore we assume the flashback will be about him or his life. We also meet his family, meaning he was able to live on after the war quite happily, and when at the grave we are indirectly introduced to the person or friend who died in the war, of whom we will probably meet later on in the movie or in the flashback.
There is an extreme closeup of the American flag waving in the wind, in front of the sun. The next shot is of a man's shoes and lower legs from behind, walking down a path. The camera moves upwards, so we see old man's hair and shoulders from behind also, so we don't see his face. There is a wide shot of his family walking behind him, and close ups of different members of the family, most likely his son and wife, and then there is a wide shot of the old man at the front while his family following behind, with a bit of a gap between them, until there is a mid-shot of the old man standing by the tree and his family catching up with him. The next following shot goes from a close up to a wide shot as he walks towards the graveyard and through the graves there, with graves crossing in front of the camera, with a crane shot going over the top, showing the amount of graves there are as well as another old man dressed in a war veteran outfit, establishing this was a graveyard remembering people who fought in the war. There is a close up on the old man as he collapses in front of one particular grave in tears, indicating that person was probably very important to him. As his family accompany him and comfort him the camera moves to a mid-shot of him and the camera zooms in on his face as he's crying until it reaches his eye, showing us that the next scene of the establishing shot of the beach is a flashback.
Heroic, almost memorial like music is playing from the beginning, done by the use of brass instruments. This adds the feel of war and music of which we associate with remembrance, and also makes us feel melancholy and tells us the atmosphere of this movie. The music is non-diegetic and there is no diegetic sound underneath, even tho we can see there would be some sound, for example the old man crying. This forces us to physically feel the man's pain when he breaks down and imagine what he sounds like, causing us to put ourselves into the scene.
All shots were equally slow-paced allowing us to take in the shots and what was happening in them, as well as the solemn music.
I think this opening title sequence was successful as it established the war aspects and was hard-hitting from the beginning by showing the graves, also making it heartbreaking as a war film would be. This emphasises how difficult and traumatising the war actually was for people, meaning this opening title sequence has been very effective.
Pulp Fiction - Action
We are shown with a couple kissing in a diner whilst eating what we assume is lunch, then suddenly they stand up and start shouting "everybody down on the ground, this is a robbery" with them pointing their guns at everyone else in the diner. This gives us the idea that they are bad people, perhaps could be gangsters, and that they could also possibly be the antagonists. It then cuts to the title of the film and the opening credits on a black screen. The first two names in the opening credits are not the names of the actors playing the two characters we see in the beginning, meaning we know those two are not the main characters and that our protagonists are either going to be fighting against them or be working with them. The couple look like this is not their first robbery as they did not act nervous and were also smiling knowing it would go their way and that they enjoyed it.
There is gun violence and swearing within the opening sequence, which gives an idea of what the rest of the movie will be like. An older audience would therefore be more suitable, possibly people in their twenties and above, maybe late teenagers such as 18 year olds. This movie could be more for people in America as guns are a lot more common there when used in criminal activity, as well as gangs.
There is the established life of crime from the very start, which is usually associated in action movies as you usually need a villain and a hero, and for more realistic action movies like Pulp Fiction, the villain is usually involved with something criminal and illegal. Action is also shown immediately from the surprise of the couple initiating with a robbery after having kissed and looked happy and like a normal couple, which created a surprise effect which happens regularly in an action movie to make it suspenseful, as well as created a plot twist which keeps the audience interested.
We are only shown 2 characters, the couple, which are a man and a woman looking in their late thirties and we know they are criminals, which we can see from their action and the fact they carry guns with them and loo experienced. We also know they are a couple because they kiss just before announcing the robbery and say to eachother "I love you," indicating they've also been together for quite a while, and have possibly be partners in crime for many years.
The sequence opens with an extreme close up of the couple kissing, so we only see their heads and not the rest of the table. There is then a wide shot of the couple sitting at a table in booth seats, showing us they're in a diner eating food. This makes us think they are a normal couple who are just in love and nothing more. The wide shot then moves with the couple as the man stands on the booth seat and the woman moves forward out of her seat towards the camera, which shows the contrast to their happiness and then their anger and determination, as well as makes that moment a bigger surprise for the audience. The image of the couple is then frozen as the name of the production company appears at the bottom of the screen over the frozen image, and it then cuts to a black screen, as the opening credits appear over it for the rest of the sequence.
There was pleonastic, diegetic noises of things happening in the diner, like cutlery on plates and plates being collected, and no soundtrack underneath. However once the sequence freezes on the couple shouting and pointing their guns, there is fast paced soundtrack, the kind that reminds you of motorcycles, which increases the urgency and sense of adrenaline. The music then changes to the song "jungle boogie" playing, which indicates the time the film is set in.
The opening credits looked like comic book fonts, which reminds you that pulp fiction is a type of action in comic books. The credits of the actors' names come up on the screen slowly moving backwards and fade away as the other names of the actors' appear. After the main characters' actors' names have been shown, the style of the presentation of the credits changes to the extras' actors' names rolling up the screen in a credit like fashion. The opening shots were slow paced.
I think this opening sequence was successful in establishing the action genre because it creates the element of surprise and induces adrenaline by including guns and the shouting. The sequence was explosive, as an action film should be, and the use of the music added to the inducing of adrenaline. The whole opening created excitement.
The silence of the lambs - Thriller
In the opening we are shown a girl running through the woods, dressed in a jumper and joggers with sweat patches, showing she is doing some type of exercise. We later see she is doing an obstacle course and is told she needs to see someone in their office, so she runs back to what looks like a police training facility. This character appears to be well known by the people in the facility. I expect that this character will be our protagonist and there will be a case she will have to solve, for example a murder. There could also be a lot of chasing as we are shown at the very beginning that she is very capable and is in good shape, emphasising adrenaline will be used within the movie.
The target audience is older audiences, for example teenagers and older, which we can see from the idea of the police being involved which could indicate violence. Also the music being used is very sinister, something children probably wouldn't like to hear, nor find enjoyable to watch. The very opening has a shot of the woods filled with fog/mist, which creates a mysterious aspect and so once again would possibly indicate something not suitable for children.
We can see the film is a thriller genre from the dark and bland atmosphere and colours, as it foreshadows something dark and sinister, and creates a sense of danger, especially as the main protagonist is running through this woods on her own. Despite these aspects, the sequence has quite a calm yet unsettling atmosphere, helping to start the build of suspense, of which is needed in a thriller.
The main protagonist in this sequence is a young woman, presumably in her 20s, who is an FBI trainee at the academy, as we know because she runs back into the academy and communicates with other students there. One separate character, a middle aged man, comes over to her with a cap on that says FBI on it, and on top of that the woman calls him "sir", indicating he is a teacher at the academy. The man mentions the name "Mr Crawford" who is also a teacher at the academy, which we know because we see his name on the back of the door the protagonist enters at the end of the sequence. We are also introduced to students in the academy, along with other members of staff just from seeing them walking around the academy whilst following the main protagonist.
An establishing shot from high in the woods of the forest opens the sequence. There is slow movement moving downwards to the top of ropes going up a hill, of which we see the protagonist running up from the bottom to the top so she is coming towards the camera. When she reaches the top the camera then follows her from behind as she runs through the woods, done by a track shot. We are then shown shots of her running through the woods from different angles, as well as a follow shot of her climbing another part of the obstacle course. Once she is down the camera stops as she carries on running to the next part, indicating she is going to be stopped at some point and the camera is waiting for her. As she runs back the camera shows shots of signs stuck to a tree saying "hurt", "pain", and "love it", which is unusual, possibly foreshadowing a slightly psychotic mindset of the antagonist. There is then a panning shot of the police academy as she runs towards it, with other groups of trainees running away from it in groups. As well as this there is an establishing shot of the police academy from outside and a zoom in so we can see her run through the building through the windows. The camera follows her through the corridor and into the lift, where she is the only one wearing sweats and everyone else is wearing a red shirt, of which the wide shot makes clear. The camera also follows her into the office and circles around her while she is facing away from the camera, until she turns around when the camera stops and she sees something behind the camera of which we dont see, and the camera moves towards her to a close up, so we can see her shocked reaction clearer.
There is slow paced, orchestral, contrapuntal music playing as a soundtrack that sounds mysterious and eerie, which creates and unsettling tone, slightly dramatic and we don't know what the music is building up too. There is diegetic animal noises, such as an eagle and crickets, showing she is alone in the woods and there is possible danger around, as well as pleonastic sound of her heavily breathing showing she has done a lot of exercise and running. As she is running to the academy there is the sound of other people running away and diegetic sound of a buzzer, as well as helicopters showing it is a police academy. The music stops when she goes into the academy and there is silence with pleonastic footsteps of other people there, giving the sense of safety, however it starts again when she is in the office and sees something that shocks her.
The titles and credits appear on the screen during the opening sequence until the protagonist enters the office. The titles/credits are black capital letters with a white outline, usually associated with darkness and uncertainty. The shots were fast paced when she was running through the woods as it showed adrenaline, however the rest were moderately paced, keeping the suspense.
I feel like this opening title sequence was affective as it created a sinister feel and made me feel quite unsettled when watching it. However, I think if the music didn't sound slightly eerie, I would've mistaken it for an action movie or a murder mystery. The music, for me, was definitely what made this opening title sequence sinister and suspenseful and what made it the opening for a thriller.
Dune (1984) - Sci-Fi
At the start of the sequence we are presented with a narration of a prologue for the movie by a woman who is dressed very proper and with an expensive look, making us assume she is someone in a position of royalty, which we later learn is correct as she tells us she is the daughter of the emperor. The use of the prologue helps us understand the movie better and also gives us a small introduction to the film. We are told about a planet she lives on, and the importance of the spice as it extends life and is vital for space travel, as well as a prophecy about a man, told to be the messiah, who will come to save the people known as the Framen, we can assume the movie will be about this man and that he will be the protagonist. After the prologue we are then shown the desert from the planet that the Framen live on and the sand blowing over the desert, with the titles being shown over the top.
People of age could probably watch this movie, however maybe not any younger than eight years old. People who enjoy pure, traditional Sci-fi movies would enjoy it more than those who enjoy more action Sci-fi, meaning the target audience would be for people who enjoy the traditional sci fi, as there are more movies that are more focused on the action in the storyline rather than the storyline itself.
The use of the outer space background behind the princess helps establish the fact it will be based on a different planet to earth, meaning it will be a space sci fi which is quite common, especially due to movies similar to Star Wars. The use of space travel and spice prolonging life helps also creates the setting for outer space and creates a type of apocalyptic feel, which is also usually a main part of Sci-Fi.
We only see one character, the princess, however she introduces us too many other characters in the movie. For example the emperor, who is her father her father, and the group of people protecting the spice, named the Famen. Because this was a prologue, we know all of this because we have been told by the princess that it is so. The final character we hear of is the Messiah coming to save the spice and the Famen from being controlled, who we assume is our protagonist as he is described as the hero of the story.
The sequence opens on a close up of the princess and doesn't change throughout the prologue being said. This occurs until the title of the film is presented on the screen, at that point we are shown an establishing for of the desert on the planet Iracus, and during the rest of the opening credits there are many different still, birds eye view shots of the desert, angling downwards so we can only see the sand with the dunes clearly.
During the prologue, there is non-diegetic sound of string orchestral music that I would describe as calm and serene that is playing as a soundtrack underneath, however there is also unearthly, alien-like possibly diegetic sounds that we can also hear underneath, giving it an idea of extraterrestrial life, helping emphasise the Sci-Fi genre. There is, however, a very sudden change of music from calm to dramatic and heroic, with the sudden sound of the crash of cymbals and the sudden increase in dynamics, all of this helping to create an interesting, dramatic effect.
The opening shot is one long shot for the prologue, however the image of the princess fades from clear to nothing quite a few times in the prologue, almost like a very slow heartbeat, and creates quite an unusual picture, emphasising Sci-Fi because it is the genre with the most unusual attributes. The font of the opening credits is known as "albertus", which looks very ancient an is gold in colour, almost Egyptian like, which blends well with the desert shots behind the credits. The font gives a strong bold edge to both the credits and the opening title sequence.
I think the prologue shouldn't have been dragged out for so long, however it did help establish the storyline and the genre of movie, therefore I think this opening title sequence was successful. The use of the star filled background and the unearthly, alien like noises underneath, both of which are key conventions of Sci-Fi films, helped establish the Sci-Fi genre even further.
All of these opening sequences were very successful in establishing the genre of the movie. They all created a sense of drama which made them interesting to watch. They were also all from very popular movies, which have very famous opening title sequences mainly for the reasons I have mentioned. Saving private Ryan however I feel was quite different from the others as it was very slow paced, but worked to create the mood and atmosphere of remembrance, therefore didn't need to be as dramatic as the others were. I think the most successful opening title sequence was Pulp Fiction because it created an element of excitement and introduced the action from the very beginning, as well as included most of the conventions that should be included in an action movie. The least successful, in my opinion, was the silence of the lambs, because it was a bit un clear as to whether it was a horror or a thriller because there wasn't anything keeping me on the edge of my seat during that opening title sequence, and the sequence was more eerie than thrilling.
blue and red lights (police lights) on the face of a woman in her 40s with a suit on and bruised face, hand held extreme close up on her face and sat down on a bench outside in London. Another woman comes over and puts her hand on her shoulder, first woman looks up at her. Close up low angle looking up of other woman looking out with straight face, not looking at camera nor woman. First women looks away and also looks out in front of her, close up, lets out a sigh and closes her eyes sitting back, fade out to black with the title in white font, then fades out to the phrase "2 years earlier" as police sirens also fade out. Police sirens have been playing the whole time
Shot of woman walking towards camera late at night in Brighton with a few other people walking. POV shot from behind her walking at same pace as her. As she turns corner close up on person's shoes with the footsteps, then cut to close up of her face as she hears the footsteps, shot from behind her as she looks around, over the shoulder shot as she sees the man and close up on her face from front as she looks back to the front. Calm music is playing, however it is also sinister. Music then cuts out as she starts walking faster, close up of her feet walking with the blur of the man's feet behind her also walking faster with pleonastic sound of footsteps. Mid shot when she comes out into a pavement with cars driving past. Close up on her hands as she takes out her phone and presses record, then she stops and hand held POV shot when she turns around and says "why are you following me, who are you." Close up on his face, has a hoodie up, extreme close up on his mouth as he smiles and does a quiet laugh. Cut immediately to black screen.
- opening title sequence idea:
Older woman walking down a pavement outside at night time while it is raining. Shots from behind her while she is walking. Shots from the other side of the road as a car drives past her. Calm, melancholy music as the woman is walking on her own. Shot of the crossing light going to red as she gets there and she pressed the button, as more cars pass there are shots of her looking out in front of her while it is raining. The crossing light turns green so she steps out to the road as a car comes speeding through and hits her. There is then a shot of the old woman lying on the floor next to the car after having being hit, and from there we see shoes come out of the car and the car door slams shut, and we see the person move towards the body and stop just before it, standing over it. Close up on the person's face as they smile psychotically, and their smile has no teeth, with their hood soaked so water is dripping down off of it, and a shadow over the rest of their face.
blue and red lights (police lights) on the face of a woman in her 40s with a suit on and bruised face, hand held extreme close up on her face and sat down on a bench outside in London. Another woman comes over and puts her hand on her shoulder, first woman looks up at her. Close up low angle looking up of other woman looking out with straight face, not looking at camera nor woman. First women looks away and also looks out in front of her, close up, lets out a sigh and closes her eyes sitting back, fade out to black with the title in white font, then fades out to the phrase "2 years earlier" as police sirens also fade out. Police sirens have been playing the whole time
Shot of woman walking towards camera late at night in Brighton with a few other people walking. POV shot from behind her walking at same pace as her. As she turns corner close up on person's shoes with the footsteps, then cut to close up of her face as she hears the footsteps, shot from behind her as she looks around, over the shoulder shot as she sees the man and close up on her face from front as she looks back to the front. Calm music is playing, however it is also sinister. Music then cuts out as she starts walking faster, close up of her feet walking with the blur of the man's feet behind her also walking faster with pleonastic sound of footsteps. Mid shot when she comes out into a pavement with cars driving past. Close up on her hands as she takes out her phone and presses record, then she stops and hand held POV shot when she turns around and says "why are you following me, who are you." Close up on his face, has a hoodie up, extreme close up on his mouth as he smiles and does a quiet laugh. Cut immediately to black screen.
- opening title sequence idea:
Older woman walking down a pavement outside at night time while it is raining. Shots from behind her while she is walking. Shots from the other side of the road as a car drives past her. Calm, melancholy music as the woman is walking on her own. Shot of the crossing light going to red as she gets there and she pressed the button, as more cars pass there are shots of her looking out in front of her while it is raining. The crossing light turns green so she steps out to the road as a car comes speeding through and hits her. There is then a shot of the old woman lying on the floor next to the car after having being hit, and from there we see shoes come out of the car and the car door slams shut, and we see the person move towards the body and stop just before it, standing over it. Close up on the person's face as they smile psychotically, and their smile has no teeth, with their hood soaked so water is dripping down off of it, and a shadow over the rest of their face.
