Film Opening Analysis

Blade 2 

Voice Over/ Sound Effects 

The opening of this film is very mysterious this is connoted via the colours used throughout the whole film opening. The colours used are very dark and therefore promotes a mysterious and eerie atmosphere/mood, however the dark blue tones and black tones of the opening is interrupted frequently through the use of bold red titles which fade in quickly at intervals which could promote blood and gore within the film. The font style of the titles mimics those used within spy films/action films and therefore promotes that the film will include both these things. The music added to this film opening is also quite intense, it fades in at the beginning and quickly gets into a strong rhythm and voice over is then used from here until the end of the opening. The voice used again creates a mysterious effect due to the fact that the words are sharp and spoken clearly, with frequent long pauses to build tension, during these pauses and also when the voice over is going running the music still continues to play adding effect because it sets the pace of the film and also the sets of the clips. There are also sound effects (non digetic sound) added at convenient times, the sharpening of swords is an example of this – this is convenient as it relates to the name of the film ‘Blade’ and also the idea and events which are to take place within the film.

Characters  & Enigma 

Within this film opening the character is also introduced, we learn that Blade is the man talking within the voice over but do not yet see him as a person, but as a baby via flashbacks – This is made very effective because the shots are edited to be negative creating more of a surreal effect, this also makes this clip more exciting.  Despite Blade telling us about his character via the voice over a sense of enigma is still created due to the fact we do not see him until the very end of the film opening where we see the silhouette of blade practising with his sword – however this follows the trend of the rest of the film opening and is therefore very dark so features are not defined, we then see him in a reflection of his sunglasses so this is obviously not clear and the cut is very quick, the camera then is tilted close up to his head and shoulders from behind. A cut is then made and the title appears with the sword sound effect again, the music and voice cuts off sharply leaving the title ‘Blade’ on screen for a few seconds.  Another character is also introduced briefly – Whistler – however we see his face and this therefore makes blade seem more mysterious, it describes how whistler has been transformed into a vampire and from this blades mission.

Shots/Angles/cuts 

Within this opening there are a variety of shots, angles, movements and cuts which all help to add emphasis and mystery to the film. All the shots within this opening flow together well despite them being from different cut’s, and look like they are all being wiped across the screen, either by other clips or by just a plain black clips. However there are also some clips, which fade in over other clips. Some clips are super imposed due to the fact there are more than one clip on the screen at one time this gives the effect that he is remembering these times and show they all relate together. The majority of the clips show items and features of people close up leaving the rest of the screen black (highlights what the producer wants the audience to focus on) this also creates mystery because it does not allow you to see the whole image, this gets the audience thinking and asking questions, which will make them more likely to watch the film. However extreme close ups, two-shot’s and reverse and reaction shots are used.  Slow motion is also used within this opening at points, which are significant and important to blade and the film, when slow motion occurs negative is also turned on – further highlighting the importance of it to understanding the film. There are also a variety of angles within this film opening but it mainly consists of low angle shots.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/03/31/blade-ii/

Zombieland

Sound/Voiceovers 

The opening of Zombieland is very well designed due to the fact it gets the audience interested in the film strait away this is due to many reasons, firstly the music starts strait away this therefore gives the effect that zombie land is a very fast moving film with lots of action, despite the slow music at the beginning of the film opening. There is also a voice over throughout the film opening – the main character is talking and discusses what has happened to the United States of America, this is effective and also an important part of the film because it gives the target audience a brief incite into what has happened previously therefore meaning they can follow the film easily. As the film opening continues the voice over runs through and at certain points synchronises with the text on the screen – for example when he is stating his list of rules they are also stated in bold on screen, this is effective because it re-enforces how important he believes these rules are, and also sets the theme for the whole film due to the fact his rules are stated quite frequently through out. There are other sound features within these opening titles which make the opening sequence effective, there is a lot of digectic sound when the characters are getting killed – for example: screaming, mumbling of zombies, cars screeching, people crying and various other commotion in the streets. However there is also a lot of non-digectic sound too, such as gun shots and the sound of fire roaring, background noise may also have been added to create and emphasise more panic among the people who have not yet been turned into zombies. This background noise continues to play alongside the voice over and is made louder at points when he stops talking. Towards the end of the film opening the voice over stops, and the screen goes black, there is a slight pause, which builds up tension – however the pace of the sound (music) then picks up making the film seem more alive and exciting, at the end of the opening the sound cuts of suddenly to promote the end of that clip and the start of the film.

 Camera Shots/angles/transitions

In the opening of zombieland it starts with a subjective camera which is hand held and facing the sky, this gives the audience a view from the characters perspective, giving the impression that they have fallen over and is effective because it makes you feel as if you are part of the film. There are also many other effects involving camera angles, shots and movement within the opening titles of Zombieland. For example as the opening gets going there are a variety of close ups and tracking shots to show the movement of the character and promote the idea of them running. There is then a low angle shot of a zombie to promote the fact that the zombies are theoretically in control of the people within the city. There is also a pan of the landscape and then a zoom out on an establishing shot to give an idea of the chaos caused by the zombies. This shot is then zoomed in to another point on the world and a following shot takes place. From this point on there is synchronous voice over to the words which come onto screen – this is effective because it emphasises the characters rules he is stating and shows this is going to be a common feature within the film. There are also following shots within the opening to promote the fact that the zombies were constantly following people. There is also a variety of high and low angle shots which help to keep the audience interested. The majority of the shots within this opening are two-shots which tend to involve a person and a zombie! There are also many titl shots which are used to promote the peoples bodies and also the bodies lying among the floor. Reaction shots are used to show the reaction of people when they are attacked by zombies reverse shot reverse’s are used to promote both peoples reactions. Also there are a lot of extreme close ups on features to promote the emphasis on detail. Within this opening slow motion is also used a lot, especially towards the end, after one slow motion shot the screen goes black, when the footage returns after a short pause a low angle shot is used along with slow motion to promote the fact that people are falling/jumping from a building, the slow motion is then used from here to the end of the film opening, this is effective because it adds a comical effect to the opening and emphasises the music because it has picked up at this point. Two shots are used a lot here because it emphasises people running and the reasons why they are running. At this point the titles of the producers names appear frequently of screen, however when the characters run into them they break and disappear this is interesting and therefore effective. The transitions used are mainly cuts however some cross dissolves are used. The overall effect of this film opening shows the film can be quite comical, however gory! But this does not create much mystery due to it being filmed in daylight, many characters are shown and the main character is not actually introduced in the voice over so we do not know he is to be the main character.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2010/04/05/zombieland/

                                                                            

 Romeo and Juliet

Shots/Angles

Romeo and Juliet is a love drama, and the film opening is quite different to other film openings. It starts with a small TV screen within the middle of the screen, the TV screen at first shows interference and then the ‘news’ appears, the camera begins to zoom and the news reader starts talking – introducing the film and describing the love of Romeo and Juliet – this enables the audience to understand the film more easily. The zoom then speeds up and shows a close up of the TV screen this zooms in further to a clip of where the film is to be set, a strobe effect is then used to show Verona then quickly the text ‘in fair Verona’ these clips flicker about 4 times and the lady then stops talking. ‘In fair Verona’ is then frozen on the screen for a few seconds and opera music starts very loudly, there is then a close up of a statues face, which soon zooms out to be an establishing shot of Verona from a high angle. This shot is important because it introduces the 2 main families witih the film – the montagues and the capulets – these are stated at the top of two evenly high buildings. An establishing shot montaged is then flashed across the screen very quikly to show the audience the setting of the film, the music is synchronised well with this because at each strong beat a new building is shown and further establishing shots too.

Voice Overs/characters

A news paper article is then zoomed in on, which show the faces and titles of the montagues and capulets, this is important as it introduces the characters, there is then a zoom and a voice over starts. Fire then blazes over the screen and there is another emphasis on the setting because another high angle establishing shot is shown. At certain points the voice over is again synchronous to the footage as words from newspapers match what he is saying. As he is talking there is also background noise simulating helicopters which are used throughout the footage also to show the police – this is digectic sound. There is also music added as the parents of romeo and Juliet are introduced in a two shot medium close up, this is also a reaction shot as it shows there reactions to a situation.  The words continue to come up on screen in black and white as the voice over runs through, (however this is a differet voice and so keeps the audience interested to know who he is) the music picks up and the main characters are introduced, there is a zoom on their faces, then the footage stops and their name comes onto screen this introduces the characters well. The music then picks up again, and the run through of the synopsis is written on screen but flashes through quickly, emphasising the story again. Action shots, which are shown throughout the film, are then montaged and flashed through very quickly this is effective because it gets the audience in the mood for an action orientated film and the pace of the music fits well to the clips, this also makes increases tension!

Transitions

The transitions used are mainly just cuts, however there is a wipe at the end of the film opening where the title Romeo and Juliet appears on screen with a loud bang! This relases the tension and shows the start of the film, the cuts within the film opening are very blunt and quick this promotes that the film is going to be very action orientated and fast moving, it adds excitement to the film and presents to the audience the pace which it will move at. The shots used throughout this film opening are mainly establishing shots, the producers pay a lot of attention to where the film is set, in contrast to this there are also many close ups of character to emphasise there important within the film. Live footage is also added to make the film seem more realisic.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2009/03/23/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet/

Cityscape clip

Evaluation

To create this short clip of London’s cityscape I used adobe premiere pro, it was my first time in using this soft ware and therefore it took some getting used to meaning that although I am pleased with how this clip turned out I can also see what I could do better in the future to improve the quality and also quantity of this piece. I like how the pieces of footage within my piece all tie in together quite nicely relating back to the footage before and also after the current one. I like how I have used an establishing shot at the beginning of the clip to show where the setting is, I have then added titles which help to show and promote the different attractions within London – I think that I have done this well because they are in time to the correct slides. I am also pleased with how the beat of the music ties into the movement of each slide – at each strong beat and point of the music the footage changes via a range of transitions which I chose and from then placed in appropriate places within the footage, resizing and editing it if it was needed.  I mainly used dissolves within this footage and cross dissolves because I thought this looked very effective, as at points the footage looks superimposed.  My favourite part of the footage its the transition between the tower bridge and the red buses because of the cross over and the superimposition, I also like how it gives the effect that the buses are crossing the bridge I have just focussed upon. I also like how the bell within the music ties into the close up on Big Ben and then again on Big Ben from the low angle shot. I also like how I have edited the length of each piece of footage to tie into the music and how I used the razor tool to make cuts in parts of the footage such as at the beginning within the establishing shots to show only the footage I wanted to.

However if I was to do this task again, I would ensure that all transitions were well flowing due to the fact that one transition between the medium close up of the buses and then the extreme close up does not match the pace of the music as well as it could. I would also add more to this piece and add more titles to make it more apparent what things are and also so I could get more used to using premier pro. I may also use the razor tool to make more cuts in the footage to add effect, I would also slow the final piece of footage down or add another one to match the slowing of the music.  I may also include a larger variety of transitions and vary the lengths of the footage to make it more interesting. But overall I am very happy with my first attempt of using adobe premier pro.

Every Picture tells a story

This was the first media lesson we had, this lesson involved taking a series of 6 pictures to tell a story. My story consisted off a girl waiting to meet someone at the park, they didn't turn up, she eventually got bored of waiting and therefore she walked off. If i was to do this again I would have taken photos from a larger variety of angles and distances to give a larger variety of shots therefore making the 'story' much more exciting.

Trainspotting Video Clip

This is the opening clip of Trainspotting which my Moodboard realates to.

Trainspotting Moodboard

Trainspotting Moodboard

This is the moodboard I created for the film Trainspotting, here I have inserted many images which have associated meanings to the opening sequence that i watched of Trainspotting.  

I have chosen to incorporate these images within my mood board because all these pictures may not directly link to the film due to the fact the people within this are  not necessarily involved in the film, but the images all relate to the consequences of drugs and the issues addressed within Trainspotting.