In depth analysis of film opening sequences in order to identify the key conventions and tools by which these conventions are established

In order for us as a group to establish the conventions of opening sequences, each of us had to analyse films from a range of genres. By doing this, we were able to establish that across all films there are common elements within the first few minutes of a film. I analysed five films from a couple of genres which were; Batman Begins, Forest Grump, Batman the Dark Knight Rises, American Gangster and Now You see Me. From my analysis, I found that the following conventions were filmed

Start with a big event e.g. in ‘Batman The Dark Knight’ when the Joker robs the bank

Establish the scene and settings Introduction of the main character in the opening minutes for example

in ‘American Gangster’ the main character is introduced in an alleyway torturing someone trying to get information out of him and ending up killing the man.

Soundtrack - This is the use of tone, volume, and tempo, which will generically start quiet and slow-paced but in some fims it starts energetic and encodes to the audience the mood.

Flashbacks - A scene where the narrative goes back in time, this is usually a key event for a couple of minutes that establishes key information.

However, in order for us to create our own effective opening sequence within a specific genre, we needed to analyse, look deeper and identify the specific genre conventions that exist but gain experience and have good understanding of the tools being used by the director to connote meaning and why he/she used these conventions. For our research, we chose to analyse four film openings within our specific genre, which was action-comedy. We chose this genre for a couple of reasons: frstly because it is common for director to establish the narrative and characters within a couple of a minutes instead of using the whole film which is an opproach in the romance genre. For our analysis, we chose to look at the opening credits and titles of the films Bad Boys, Hot Fuzz, 21 Jump Street and Men in Bock ll, which we then analysed and annotated. From our in depth analysis and group discussion we were able to establish the main conventions:

Introduce the main character(s) Establish the narrative Opening credits and titles are inked to the narrative Set the mood atmosphere Establish the genre

These conventions have been established in similar ways across the films within our genre: this is in order for the audience to establsh the narrative and genre in only 1-2 minutes. For example in ‘21 Jump Street’ the director established the narrative via the use of font which in the opening

In depth analysis of film opening sequences in order to identify the key conventions and tools by which these conventions are established

credits and titles. The red and blue colour scheme was the fink that connoted that the film is going to be about cops and authority but also the flashing effect in the background which reminded the audience of police siren. When I compared how the character(s) are introduced within different genres e.g. in ‘Forest Grump’ a romance-comedy film and '21 Jump Street' which is an action-comedy film. I found that in ‘21 Jump Street’ the introduction of the character(s) was simple as the director chose to start with a flashback showing what the characters were like before and after while in ‘Forest Grump’ the character was introduced by first showing a feather floating on the screen for about 20 seconds before land in front of him. Following what the director did it would then enable us to employ similar filming techniques and tools in order to establish our narrative.

This essay will explore how the key conventions of opening sequences within action-comedy are often established by giving evidence from across a range of films.

Character introduction

Within the genre action-comedy, we can broadly state that the introduction of a character is important because the director needs to establish the narrative quickly. This is done in a way that makes the main characters stand out the most. In ‘21 Jump Street’ this was done by the use of mise-en-scene in particular the choice of costume and colour scheme for the main characters. The director choose costumes with bright colours for all the actors in the scene. However, this was not case for the main character as he was wearing a white t-shirt, a chain, his trousers were sagging and his hair was dyed bright blond. This makes him stand out but also connotes that he is an outsider especially the way he is different to the other students, but also tells the audience what they can aspect from him throughout the film which is not doing what is expected from him. The effect this has on the mood is that the audience feel comfortable, relaxed and entertained. This is because the director chose to dress up the character like Eminem, the rapper and enables the audience to relate to this, as they are teenagers and young adults who might have gone through a period when they tried to look like one or their idols and in this case, Eminem is the idol of the character.

Next, I looked at ‘Hot Fuzz’ and how the director introduced the main character through showing the main character was introduced immediately: the audience knew he was the main character as the director created a line of vision in a form of a triangle leading to him with the titles in the bottom centre rows the character at the top. The effect this has on the audience is that they connote that he is someone important and at the top level as they need to wait for him to come to them and introduce himself through the triangle that was created.

In depth analysis of film opening sequences in order to identify the key conventions and tools by which these conventions are established

What learned from this is; that our opening should be exceptional because it should introduce the main characters very well within a matter of couple of minutes, but also grip the audience. Therefore, we should try to make our opening comic by exaggerating the action and have blatant parody as we are aiming for an action comedy, which does not need to be taken seriously.

Establishing narrative & genre

In 'Hot Fuzz' the convention of establishing the narrative was the same as for the films such as ‘21 Jump Street', 'Bad Boys' and 'Men in Black ll'. The director established the narrative quickly this was done by the use of different camera and editing techniques. The audience get the idea that the film is going to be about a top police officer, through the creation of a montage showing the character in different adventurous situations such as storming into a riot first and then being stabbed by a homeless Santa Claus. Being stabbed by a homeless Santa suggest to the audience that the film fits in the comedy genre, as the character has survived tougher situations but could not avoid this one.

Linked to the establishment of the narrative and genre are the opening credits and titles as the director uses them to reveal most of the narrative via the use of the font house style, colour movement etc. The most effective opening credits from the four films I analysed was that of ‘21 Jump Street' as the director used all the mentioned features of credits & titles very effectively. The font type used for the titles of this film is ‘autumn’ combined with uppercase letters which have a funky style. The uppercase used gives a touch of seriousness and the funky font style takes this feeling away making the audience feel the opposite. The use of uppercase has been used in many comedy movies because the director used this feature for this film to connote to the audience the genre from the opening. The colour scheme of the opening credits was effective to establish the narrative, as the colours of the titles are red and blue and from this, the audience decode that this film will be about cops and authority. The director also used these colours for the flashing lights in the background, which again link to the element of cops and authority, as the audience will associate this with police siren lights. The transitions of the opening credits with the soundtrack connotes the genre to the audience. The movement of the credits was as follows: the text came in flashing on the screen and stayed for a couple of seconds before moving on, the pace it came on the screen with was fast. This analysed together shows that the director used the movement of the credits and soundtrack by Eminem ‘The Real Slim Shady' to establish the genre to the audience. He achieved this by using a rap song which is generally chosen to be used in action-comedy films such as ‘Bad Boys’, when the audience hear the soundtrack the effect it has on them is that they will associate it with action-comedy genre.

In depth analysis of film opening sequences in order to identify the key conventions and tools by which these conventions are established

From this I learned that all directors in general use opening credits and titles in the opening minutes of a film to establish the narrative and genre as it is easier for the audience to decode the narrative without needing to watch half of the fim. This will help my group in the creation of our film as we now know how to establish the narrative and genre effectively.

Mood/atmosphere

This convention is created through mise-en-scene, lighting, setting, music etc. In the opening of ‘21 Jump Street' music played a big part in setting the mood and atmosphere, the director used non-degetic music very effective. The music started with a heavy rhythmical drum beat, this set the overall mood of being active and energetic as it added to the action and fast-pace editing. The music used has a connection with the main character as it mocks him for not being the ‘Real Slim Shady' and the director used the audience's knowledge to make him ook like a joke but to make the film appealing and let them know what they can expect. This creates a warm and light hearted mood from the beginning. The warm and light hearted mood has also been established through the use of a colour scheme, the colours are very bright, vibrant and warm such as the bright red, light blue, yellow etc. These colours have a psychological effect on the audience as it can create happiness or a joyful atmosphere which reveals the genre of the movie.

In addition the mood is created through editing techniques such as ‘freeze frame’ at a point to focus on an important or funny moment. This has been used both in ‘21 Jump Street’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’. However in ‘Hof Fuzz’ it was superior as the director applied this to scenes full of action but he also combined it with the use of a narrator who narrated the opening scene with a serious and deep voice. This created a good-humoured atmosphere as everything narrated was of activities that were over-the-top e.g. "Quickly to improve in advanced cycling". However ’Men in Black’ established the mood and atmosphere through the use of camera movements and the titles/credits. The mood through the opening scene is mysterious and suspicious, this has been achieved by the font style which is thin, stretched and abnormal which goes with the ‘Scooby Do' like music that creates an atmosphere of suspense. The director also created a funny comedy like atmosphere, by using a narrator expressing everything in a sarcastic way about the ‘Men in Black’ e.g. “One of their stories that ‘never happened’”. The audience decode this as funny and sarcastic because of the genre of the film which is Sci-Fi and comedy.

From this analysis I am able to conclude that during the opening of a comedy film the director established the mood, he achieves this through the use of mise-en-scene, lighting, setting, music and editing/camera techniques.

In depth analysis of film opening sequences in order to identify the key conventions and tools by which these conventions are established

Conclusion

From analysing the films in our chosen genre, I can conclude that I learned the following:

The director let the audience use their previous knowledge about films to establish the genre and narrative effectively and quickly. The use of soundtrack, opening credits and titles play a big part in the establishment of these.

The introduction of the character has to be simple, yet effective. The director uses mise-en-scene to create a stereo type, because this is the quickest way to introduce a character.

Establishment of mood is important as it gives the audience a glance of how the movie is going to be.