PREP To prepare for tomorrow's practical work of filming an opening sequence, please watch the following two title sequences which are filmed in in a similar 'table top' style.
- Delicatessen (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)
- To Kill A Mockingbird ( dir. Robert Mulligan,1962)
- Extension work: there are many other opening sequences on the website Art of the Title
- what titles and credits appear on screen?
- how is the film's genre conveyed?
- what use is made of sound?
- what hooks the audience and makes us want to carry on watching?
Delicastessen:
At the very beginning, it has a man, holding a clever, about to chop someone, or something, in a bucket. This conveys that the genre is most likely a thriller or horror movie. The credits are shown in a strange way, as instead of having the usual cut away, to very CGI credits, in this it is almost like the credits are part of the scene, as the camera moves up from a hand, onto a peice of paper, with the Production Company one it. All of the credits are part of the scene, as though a character could just walk up to them and touch them. All of the credits also have something to do with the object they are on. FOr example, the directing photographer is written on a camer, and the main composer is on an old record.
All of the music is quite quiet, and like old carnival music, which makes us quite uneasy, as lots of horror movies use old abandoned carnivals as their main sets. The music is also suprisingly upbeat, and the lighting is very warm, even though the camera is panning over ol, abandoned items, which makes the audience feel uneasy, as we dont know what the tone for the movie will be. This hooks the audience in as we want to find out what all the abandoned items are for
To Kill A Mockingbird
The music at the start is sang by a very young child, no older than 10 years old. It also has him opening a toy box, and getting out a crayon. The fact that it is silent, except from the child singing, makes the audience very uneasy, as music makes people relaxed, and therefore the lack of it does the opposite.
The child then uses the crayon to scribble over writing, leaving only the title remaining. The credits is just the camera going over lots of different objects, which we can assume are going to be important, because of Chekhov's gun. Slowly music starts fading in, however the boy is still singing over. This hooks the audience as they want to find out what the boy is doing
Good level of detailed observation in your comments. Discussing Delicatessen, you pick up on the combination of horror and near-jollity, as the shocking opening gives way to the ingenious credits. You also notice the warmth of the lighting, creating an old-fashioned sepia-tinted quality. In fact, the film genre is black comedy.
ReplyDeleteThe second film opening is quite adult, but not horror. It is in fact a 'coming of age' film and isn't scary although it deals with some sadness. In the film, the child Scout gradually learns what her father means by saying 'It's a sin to kill a mockingbird...'