Opening Sequences Homework

1) What is the purpose of an opening sequence?

The purpose of an opening sequence is to set the scene for the views so that we know where the film is being set. This also includes at what time the film is going to be set so that we know what the cultures of that day would be. The opening scene can also give away or give hints to what the genre of the film is going to be, we can see as the audience what the genre would be based off the conventions that the opening scene gives off. For example we can see that "Skyfall" has a good opening sequence to show us that it is an action. 

(Knifes show danger that indicate action) 

(Blood shows injury and coupled with the use of the target board we see that he has been shot)

In some films an opening sequence shows an establishing shot to tell the audience where the first few scene of the film is going to take place. For example a castle on a hill. This technique is often used in TV and Film opening sequences because it shows the audience exactly where the scene, and potentially the movie, will take place. It also gives the audience a clear view of where they are in the "film world" These sequences can give away very little details as to where the film is set, but can give us clue to the genre of the film.

2) What is the difference between an Opening Credits and a Title Sequence?

Opening Credits are different to Title Sequences in film and TV because opening credits show the key roles in the film and also the "A-list" actors that are staring in the film. By including these key roles and actors the audience can read them and see who is in the film and who made it and can immediately make a judgement based on these roles about whether or not the film is worth their time. The difference between an opening credits and a title sequence would be that a title sequence can almost tell a story, or show a past films recap to get the audience "all caught up" and can give hints to what is to come in the film. However an opening credits simply opens the films and informs the audience of the key roles and the "A-list" actors involved in the film. Sometimes, films and TV programmes break the conventions in order to create a bigger, more unique, and more elaborate abstract title sequence, this could include a montage, voice over, or flashback. 

 ^An Opening Credits^

^A Title Sequence^

3) What techniques can be employed in Opening Sequences?

Some techniques to show an opening sequence in a film or TV show would be an establishing wide shot to show the audience where the film is going to take place, this is a very popular technique. Another way to show an opening sequence is to merge a title sequence and use the elements of a story based opening and then couple it with the elements of an opening credits scene. This can show the audience a small story at the beginning of the film and also show them who made the film and who is staring. By merging the two we can get a unique way of starting a film and the audience can get exactly what they want. 

My two films for research are 

1) The Joker (2019)

2) Vertigo (1997) 

Joker Opening scene 

The opening scene to The Joker starts off with happy digetic sound in the form of a piano player in the streets of gotham. There are other sounds in this scene too as we can also hear car noises and people talking on the street. The Joker we see as a clown waving a sign around resembles happiness and joy. But as the scene progress we hear that people are telling insults to him and he is oblivious. We see a close up shot of a boy hitting the sign away from the joker and this starts a chase scene. As The Jokers chases the boys that now have his sign, the music fades away and we know that the tone has switched from joy to sadness. We see dangers of the cars on the street as the boy run through the open road and the joker follows them. We have tracking shots showing the joker running after the kids and the kids running away from the joker. As the joker catches up to the boys they ambush him and beat him to the ground and destroy his sign. The boys run off and we see a low angle tracking shot that slowly moves up to where the joker is, lying on the ground in pain and has his sign smashed to pieces around him. The sign shows that he is broken and can never be the same. The colours in this scene are very dark colours that make the joker pop out in his colourful clown costume. The bright yellow sign shows that it is of importance, and the boys and other extras have be given dark clothes to wear to resemble the reality of life. The editing is very fast paced when in the chase scene however slows down when the joker is lying on the floor. When we see that the joker is on the floor we have the big title of "The Joker" appear above him as he is in pain on the floor. The overall mixture of the dark tones, fast-paced editing, chase scene, violence and dangerous under tones all mix together to create a thriller mood and tone. 

Vertigo Opening scene

In the vertigo opening scene we see the use of close-ups in order to create a sense of the unknown as we cannot see what the character sees. The emphasis on the eyes mixed with the extreme close-ups not only hides what the character is seeing from the audience by also creates a sense of danger as the character's eyes widen and almost look shocked and frightened about what is she is seeing. The can give suspense as the audience cannot see what is there and therefore we can get scared by the unknown. The colour grade slowly changes when we see the girl and it changes from a standard grade to one that is red when her eyes widen. This can indicate to us that what she is seeing is something of danger as red is symbolic of blood and danger. A fade is introduced and we see a spiral is show emerging from the characters eye. This symbolises falling which is linked to the plot of the film.

The difference:

The difference between these two films would be the change in obviously, film quality, the difference in tone within the colours used, the music used fits into the scene and therefore creates a different mood and feel, the camera shots in "The Joker" are more elaborate than of the ones in Vertigo. The difference in symbolism between the eyes in "Vertigo" and yellow sign in "The Joker" is the same concept however used differently due to the difference in time.  The overall genre is the same however how it is portrayed is extremely different.