Final Film Opening

Blade Runner - Opening Scene analysis -WIP-

Blade Runner (1982) Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Harrison Ford and Sean Young.

Starts with a wall of text scrolling up (used in a lot of movies, for example in star wars)
->used to explain the context of the story or what has happened before the start of the film (like a prologe) its useful because it gives the director and the writers an opportunity to explain to the viewers what is happening or what has happened without having to shoot the fragments or the scenes. the music is slowly accending in volume which creates tension. The sound uses swishing sounds and bells and that makes it seem eerie and futurisctic. The feel of the music matches what the text is saying and is not distracting so that the viewer can read.
After the text is finished  and srolled up out of the way, all the viewer can see is a black scereen, this could have been done to create tension as the viewer does not know what is about to come on next, also the music is now getting louder and this also contributes to the feeling of tension.
What comes on next tells us the location and date 'Los Angeles  November, 2019'. The film was made in 1982 and this does not match the date in the film, suggesting the film is set in the future.

Watchmen opening sequence analysis - WIP

Notes: 

-Sound bridge over the opening production companies logos -> Ascending low whistle of a kettle with a voiceover of what sounds like the news (The audience can guess its the news because the person is talking about politics, war, usual news stuff) the combination of the kettle and the TV suggests the sequence is set in someone’s house or apartment, possibly late at knight or early in the morning, because these actions (watching the news, making tea) are often done in the morning or before bed.

-While the sound bride is happening the audience can see a graphic match on the smiley face (key image in this film) that then transitions to a extreme close up of a smiley face badge, that is pinned on someone's clothes. The colours change and fade as the camera zooms out showing the person wearing the badge. The change in the colour immediately changes the mood of the film, no longer yellow and sunny but grayish, dull and dark (the colour sheme is very dark and conststing of colours like gray, dark green, dark blue and black) These colours are often used in thrillers, dramas and action films, because they create a dark serious atmosphere.


-While the camera zooms out the audience sees a person standing in a dimly lit kitchen in a modern looking apartment (looks like it was modern at the time where the film is set, which i think is in the 50s-60s/ so not modern as in 'the future') The character is wearing a bathrobe, making a drink and smoking a cigar, the over all appearance of the character and his apartment shows wealth and success, although the dark colours and the low keylighting create a sad and dejected atmosphere, and combined with the movements and gestures (walking slowly,when he sits down on the couch he slouches) of the character (plus the extreme close up of his face where only one side of it is lit) makes the viewer ask questions such as 'why is the character acting/looking like this?' or 'what happened to him to make him like this?' 'What secrets is he holding?' ----> Questions like these make the viewer want to continue watching the film.

The setting --> Looks like a men’s apartment because of the guns on walls, the technology (TV) the  'Hustler magazine' which can be seen later.  -->This also Suggests he is living alone, again this creates quesions in the viewers mind.

The character moves and sits down on a couch, he watches the tv, then changes the channes

The Dark Knight opening sequence analysis -WIP-

• The opening begins with the Warner Bros Pictrures and Legendary pictures logos, this shows that the film is a Blockbuster because it has the financial support from such big companies. 
•  The logos have also been altered in colour to match the gloomy and serious theme of the movie.
• We then see clouds of blue smoke/fire which transform into what is universally known to be the Batman symbol. There are no titles, such as the title of the movie, the Director et cetera, which signifies the importance of the movie. It is so important that it needs no introduction.
• The first actual shot of the film the audience see is an arieal helicopter shot of a modern looking city center. This type of opening shot is very common in movies because its very good at establishing the scene and location.
• The camera slowly moves towards the tallest glass building, signifying to the audience that that is where the action is taking place. Up until now the tempo of the movie has been slow and quiet.
• The audience is then jolted into the action by seeing one of the many glass windows shatter, this suddenly gives the movie an ominous feel because something is out of place, the director has done this to demonstrate that something exciting is about to happen. This also has the effect of changing the tone of the movie by making it dangerous and threatening.
• There is a mached cut between the window shattering and a person standing inside the building with a shotgun, this is to show the course of action and to make the scene flow smoothly, it also is the first time the audience sees a character.
• The tempo of the movie suddenly speeds up.
• Cross-cuting is then used to show that two events are taking place at the same time: one event is taking place inside the building and the other is taking place out in the streets. The audience knows that the events are interlinked because the characters costumes and apperance are similar.
• So far from the denotations the audience should start connecting the dots and seeing what is happening in the scene.
• The music gradually becomes louder and more prominent, almost giving the impression being a heart beat.
• the music is non-diegetic and consists mainly of heavy drum beats. This creates more tension and suspence within the scene.

Short analysis of Phantom of the Opera opening

 

The Phantom of the Opera

Beginning – gold, orange, browns, sepia,  warm colours , looks  classic, like an old fading picture; represents time

Then the colours fade to black and white , which again shows time and ‘the old days’ before we had colour photography, suggesting this is some sort of a flashback or memory.

The lighting outside is bright and well rounded to give the scene a more natural look and the feel of being outdoors in the daytime, when the camera moves inside the theatre the light changes from  well rounded to low key, this is to show that we are inside a building and that there is no light source apart from the windows  that are up above, its still quite natural.                                                                  The main light seems to be illuminating the auctioneer (backlight) , it falls just behind him and it  highlights his presence, to show the viewer that what he is doing or saying has a significant meaning and all the other characters are paying attention to him.

At about 3:55 minutes in there is a close up  on one of the characters faces , only one side of his face is lit and the other is in the shadows, this makes him seem mysterious and a little bit sinister  or maybe haunted / troubled.

The colours are still black and white when the auctioneer brings attention to the chandelier  (which is under a sheet) it is well lit from above and its almost as if its glowing, when the chandelier is revealed all the candles are already lit, and when its being pulled up it sets off a domino effect where all the colours in the room come alive, so we can see the black and white colours fading leaving only royal reds and rich golds, these colours are usually used in theatres and  operas because they are quite posh and in the olden days it was mostly the wealthy who visited them.