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Candidate Number - 5343

'The Last Secret' Final film opening

Filming for our film opening

Filming day 1 12/3/11

This was our first day that we began filming for our opening. On that day we did not actually film any footage for our piece but recorded the voice over for Ella. We did this by recording the voice of our young actress and will later put it onto our film to make it look like Ella is talking to her mum even though she is dead. We had her read out each line and had her do each one a couple of times over to make sure we got it and to make sure we had enough to choose from when we edited.

Filming day 2

On this day we began filming the final scene which is set in Paige’s bedroom. We decided to do this scene first and not in running order as we felt it would be a good idea to do a scene that we may need to come back to first as it was our longest scene and a range of different angles and shots. We found that filming this scene ran a lot smoother than expected and we did not face many difficulties. It was the longest scene to film but this is was we predicted and we made sure we gave ourselves enough time to do so. The only difficulties we faced were being able to position the camera in the correct place to get the lighting we wanted. We discovered that different parts of the room changed the lighting that was seen on camera which we later avoided when editing where we changed the brightness to make the shots look continuous.    

Filming Day 3

On the same day as filming the bedroom scene we found that we had enough time to film more. We did not want to waste any spare time that we had and moved onto filming the next scene to get it completed quicker and move onto editing. We decided on moving onto the birthday scene as all the props we needed were ready and felt that it would be a quick one to shoot. We set up the setting to how we wanted by adding balloons, banners, presents and a birthday cake to make the scenario seem realistic. As the birthday part scene was only a flashback there was no live dialogue but only a voice over which we added in when editing. Because of this it was easier to film compared to the bedroom scene as we only had to pan the room to show the environment before and after and also a long shot of Sarah standing with the birthday cake. Initially we wanted to spin the camera around to show the destruction of the party once Nick enters but found this would be too difficult to make look good given the equipment we had. Instead we felt we could achieve an equally effective transition into that shot by adding a transition to make it look as though the shots dissolve into one another.

Filming Day 4

When watching back some of the footage we captured we felt confident with the birthday scene but felt that the bedroom scene could be improved. We could have left it how it was but wanted to make it the best we could and to do that we knew we had to re-film some parts. Before we moved onto filming the park scene we wanted to re-do this one first to get it done with. We re-filmed some parts where Sarah is looking at photographs of Paige as we wanted to get a wider range of shots and also wanted more emotion. We achieved this once we finished filming and felt confident that we had enough choice of shots to choose form when we came to editing.

Filming Day 5

On this day we had to film the park scene which was the second scene in the running order of our film. We made sure the weather was correct for the mood we wanted to create and chose a day where it looked quite dull. It was compulsory that it wasn’t raining as we did not want the effect to be lost by the rain and those kinds of conditions for the cameras would not have been suitable. Instead we settled for a dull atmosphere that reflected how Nick was never there to share the memories with his family. This scene was filmed fairly quickly as all we needed to do was film parts of the park to get the feel as though it was somewhere Paige was playing in. We did this by filming a roundabout moving to make it look like she had just been on it without actually seeing her. By doing this it also gave it a quite eerie feel as by now the audience knows that Paige is no longer alive but her memory is.

Filming Day 5

This was our final day of filming and was also the quickest as we filming the beginning of our opening. Our film starts off showing home videos of Paige when she was younger so for this we filmed a television with home videos on it to get the effect that Sarah is watching back memories of her daughter. This scene we believe was a good way to open our film as the emotion combined with the happy memories is a perfect combination to set the mood for the rest of the film.  

Audition Process

For our film opening it was compulsory to hold auditions. This was to make the decision easier of who to choose to act in our piece but to also try out different people and experiment. Our group had already thought about who would star in our piece before the auditions began so this made it easier. Even though we had this idea we still had to audition others to see if we found anyone else more suited and to also see if the people we had In mind meted our expectations.

The two actors in our piece, Nick and Sarah are both adults. Because of this it would have been more effective to use adults in our opening. We still decided to audition people younger to see if it would still work but when we watched them back we did not feel the connection with someone young talking about their child.

Our final actors that we chose were Olly Young and Ellie Dodwell. Not only were they a similar age and both older than anyone else we auditioned but also had acting experience. We also auditioned people with little or no experience in acting to experiment with different types of abilities and people. We realised when we watched it back that have acting skills was vital for Sarah in particular as she has to be able to show the right amount of emotion when talking about her daughter and looking back on memories.

The decision to choose Ellie and Olly was quite simple as it was clear that they were the better two that we auditioned but also had the right image and age and were exactly what we were looking for the make our opening what we wanted it to be

Comparing our film with films of the same genre

My Sisters Keeper (2009)

The tragic drama film 'My Sisters Keeper' is a film our group frequently associate our film being similar to. We found that a lot of our ideas were similar and the use of certain characters and the ways they came across are sometimes alike.

One of the main similarities with this film and ours is the use of children that results in family conflict and issues. Even though the age of the children is different the impact they have on the storyline is very similar. Also the theme of death is something that links them but the difference is the death in our film is shown at the start whereas in 'My Sisters Keeper' it is kept until the end.

Our film focus's on the relationship between Nick and Sarah and we feel like even though 'My Sisters Keeper' does not use the mother and fathers relationship as a main point it is still something that is touched upon and something we felt was similar. This is shown through the way both marriages are put through difficulties and they both face times where they are close to breaking up and have arguments. The stress that is put on the couples relationships is both down to children but more different reasons as they only want what is best for their children as well as preserve their memory.

The theme of death is something that occurs quite frequently in drama films. Because we are creating a tragic drama we felt it was necessary to include this as other successful film like 'My Sisters Keeper' have used this to make the film altogether more emotional to be able to meet the expectations of a tragic drama.

'My Sisters Keeper' film opening sequence - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS55xHZWzEo

Film trailer-

Similar Screen Shots

These two screen shots from both 'My Sisters Keeper' and 'The Last Secret' are two shots from both film we feel are similar. They are both close up of a young child's face and both of these children are the ones that are the main focus in both films. They are also both home videos and the shot from 'My Sisters Keeper' is used at the beginning of the film which is also like our film as the close up of Paige is used in the first part.

The two screen shots of the mum's in both films is similar as they are positioned in similar positions but also the situation they are in at that point is very alike. They both play the part of a mother who is very emotional and is put through tough times which puts stress upon their marriages. They both try to hide their emotions and put on a brave face for their loved ones but neither can deny their worry and sadness over their children

G321 - Types of people that could star in our opening

Sarah Young

The type of actress that i could imagine playing the role of Sarah would have to be someone who is in their thirties who has a soft look about them and who usually plays quite motherly and loving roles. The character of Sarah is someone that is not threatening but she is very emotional so the actress would have to be someone who could pull of that emotion and be able to portray a stay at home, ordinary mum who is dedicated to her children

Actress 1 - Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts is an actress who would suit the role of Sarah perfectly as she is the correct age and also plays similar roles. She is well known for acting in many drama's and often plays a down to earth character with a kind nature. She has also played the part of a devoted mother in the film 'Erin Brockovich' (2000). Because of this she would easily be able to pull off being a loving mother and would be able to bring across the correct emotion.

Actress 2 - Keri Russell

Keri Russell is the kind of actress who would be able to pull of the character of Sarah perfectly. In most of her roles she plays a likable character who comes across as being caring and never the villain. In 'August Rush' (2007) she plays the role of a mother who is desperate to be with her son again. This is a very similar role to what we are aiming for as she portrays a loving mother well in this film so would be perfect as Sarah in our film. Also is 'Extraudinary Measures' (2010) she plays yet again another role of a typical mother who would do anything for her children. This is exactly how we want Sarah to come across. Her look also matches our expectations as she is the correct age and would pull off the look of a typical mum who is grieving over her daughter

Actress 3 - Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock portrays a caring mother in the film 'The blind side' (2009) which is the type of character we want Sarah to come across as. In this film she is not only a devoted mum she is very independent and strong. This is how we want Sarah to be but we want to show how without her daughter her life is beginning to crumble as her children are her life. Sandra Bullock is also her perfect age for Sarah and would be able to play her character well as she has experience in acting in drama's were emotion is involved.





Nick Young
The type of actor who would play the character of Nick would have to be someone very involved in their work and very professional. Hes not necessarily the villain but he holding back what he thinks and isn't being there for his wife like he knows he should be. It should be an actor who is not associated in playing romantic roles as in our opening he certainly isn't loving towards Sarah. He isn't aggressive towards her or a threat but he just isn't the typical role of a husband but as time has passed and the family falls apart the gap between them has got further apart without control. Because of this his characters would have to be quite serious but also the audience should be able to feel sympathy towards him in certain parts.

Actor 1 - Clive Owen

This actor is someone who could play the character of Nick well as he has played similar roles in other Drama's. He plays the kind of characters where he is likable yet can be serious when he wants to. 'The boys are back' (2009) shows Clive Owen playing the part of a single father. In our opening even though he does not feel as though he can show his emotions he is still a father and no matter what loves his children but just struggles to come to terms with finding out that Ella is not his. Clive Owen portrays the typical father who would do anything for his children and in other films often plays the typical business worker which is the kind of character we want Nick to be like.

Actor 2 - Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg is an actor who often plays roles that portray quite a tough character who is very strong minded. He has a good image and age that fits the role of Nick and has also played varies roles of father like in 'The Lovely Bones' (2009) and 'The happening' (2008). These roles show him as a naturally loving father but also concentrates on other matters. We want Nick to come across as though he is not bad and actually loves his children but is afraid to show his emotions and struggles to open up due to the discovery he has kept hidden from his wife. He plays characters who are usually lead independent roles which is exactly how we want Nick to be as he is now seen alone without the connection he used to have with his wife.

Paige Young
The type of actress that would play the part of Paige would have to be someone young and have the kind of image that we have created for her. Even though her character is only seen through flashbacks she is still the focus of our film making her an equally important part which would mean her actress would have to suit the role. She would have to have a sense of innocence about her and have a youthful look that shows her as a vunreble young female. It is vital that she has an innocent lok as we need the audiance to feel sympathy for her.

Actress 1 - Elle Fanning

This young actress is perfect for the part of Paige as she has the exact look we are looking for. Her blonde hair and striking features make her appear angelic and innocent which is what we are after. When researching  the films she has starred in she tends to play the type of child that provides the emotion as she is the one put through the stress or conflict. 'Phoebe in Wonderland' (2008) shows her as a young girl who faces mental health problems therefore is put through strain and provides the film with emotion as you follow her through her struggle in trying to cope but also acting obvlivious to her problems. Because of this her family also suffer. This is something similar to our film as the family in our film are also put through difficult situations because of thier greif over loosing thier daughter. 

G321 - My sisters keeper opening sequence titles timeline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS55xHZWzEo

0.01 - 0.03  - Nick Cassavetes (Director)
0.07 - 0.10 - Cameron Diaz (Main actress)
0.16 - 0.18 - Abigail Breslin (name appears once the speaking starts - actress to the narrative voice)
0.23 - 0.26 - My Sisters Keeper (Title of film)
0.32 - 0.35 - Alec Baldwin (Smaller characters appear after the title and after the two main roles)
0.37 - 0.39 - Jason Patric (Actor name)
0.40 - 0.43 - Sofia Vassilieva (one of the main actresses)
0.46 - 0.56 - Other names of minor actors and smaller roles
1.02 - 1.05 - Costume designer
1.09 - 1.11 - Names of who music is by
1.13 - 1.15 - Co-producers
(Carries of with names of executive producers)
1.51 - 1.53 - Based on the novel by Jodi Picoult
1.55 - 1.58 - (Produced by...)
2.00 - (Screenplay by...)
2.05 - Directed by Nick Cassavetes


The titles that appear in this opening sequence are in some ways different to what is usually seen in an opening. Typically in films the name of the director is something that appears last and in this opening it does but also is the first name that appears at the beginning. The title of the film  appears quite early on which is something that is seen frequently in opening so it is something to consider when editing our opening. Also the running order of actors and actresses is in order of which actors are the main ones and which are more minor roles. The main actor or actress will usually appear first followed by other other main roles and is then followed by the title of the film. This is shown in this opening and then carries on with stating the names of smaller characters in the film. I have also recognised that the names of the screenwriter and producer come after the names of the actors which is something that should also be considered.

Three film openings from our genre - Tragic Drama

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008)
After watching the opening to this film, i gathered it was a tragic drama which is similar to what our film opening will be like. The focus seems to be on the young dark haired boy and drama films that use children usually use them for an emotional focus point. This relates to our film as we are also using a young child to capture the emotion. When a film includes a child it becomes a lot more emotion filled as you feel sympathy for the innocent character.
It begins showing the small titles over the top of a red background that could connote death later in the film as it begins showing the deep colour that fills the screen. Once that passes you see the young boy with friends which makes you feel happy as you watch them playing. This then contrasts with what you see later on in the opening where you see women getting pushed around. The contrast between youthful happiness and suffering makes the genre of a tragic drama more apparent as you release that conflict is a major part of the film as it is based around WW2.
War based dramas usually revolve around tragedy as death and conflict is a part of how life was back then. You also see Nazi flags right at the start which suggest it is set in Germany which again confirms the theme of war. You then presume that the young boy is the main character as he seems to be the main focus in the opening suggesting he may face difficult situations later on which connect with the war.




Forrest Gump (1994)
The genre of this film is made clear when watching the opening through the way everything comes together making it appear emotional. This has a lot to do with the music as the soft piano soundtrack is something that represents sadness and reflection which are themes commonly used in drama's.
The fact that you can only see a feather falling from the ground at the start of the opening helps set the mood as you feel at ease as you watch something simple like a feather fall gracefully but begin to realise the meaning of it as the film goes on. A feather falling can sometimes symbolize death which is also a theme that becomes apparent making the narrative of this film clear from the start as you can expect emotion.
You are then later introduced to the main character who is the first character you see so you expect he is the main one as the feather drops at his feet. This foreshadows that the sadness and death may later be something he faces as this symbol of loss is something that lands on him.





Dear John (2010)
This film begins as a flashback as you see the main character back in a situation which makes him reflect on his life. This represents the genre as you immediately see him hurt and know that at some point in this film this part will be repeated. It is also clear that he is fighting in the war which explains his injury. It is easy to sense that later on in the film once you get to know the character that scene may become more emotional as you see him get hurt.
It then goes into him talking about when he was a child which is also something that is commonly used in drama's. Children are sometimes used  to get to know that character in more depth.
 It is all in slow motion which gives is a very sombre and slowed down mood which creates a certain atmosphere. Also the music in the background is something that sets the scene as it is something that is only slightly heard but still makes a melancholy impact.

Drama as a genre

The genre of our filming opening is a tragic drama. We chose this genre as we felt confident that we could create something original by using this genre and we felt it suited us as a group. We all felt a connection to films of this genre and have all said how we enjoy watching dramas. This helped as it meant we could come up with more ideas as we understood that drama is a broad genre. To it down we then decided to make it a tragic drama. We did this to make it more specific and to show how we were not touching other aspects that are associated with dramas. In dramas there are certain aspects of a film that you can expect to see. Because the genre is so broad there are many different types of dramas. This is why we wanted to make it into a tragic drama as we already had a vision of what we wanted the film to be like and we wanted it to have emotion and tragedy which is usually caused by a death. If we stuck to it being a drama then it could give the wrong kind of impression to the audience as they may not be sure to what may conclude in the film.

Something typical that happens in dramas is romance. We understood this and because ours is not based on romance, but romance that is lost, we did not want to give the wrong impression. Instead we wanted to show the tragedy of it and how love is no longer there due to the tragedies life has thrown at a married couple. As we are only creating an opening and in this opening there are only two characters shown a man and a woman we did not want it to seem as though after the opening, the film was going to be focused on romance because we wanted to highlight the space created between them.

Another type of drama is a period or historical drama. We knew from the start that we did not want to go into this as we felt it would be too difficult to re-create a period of time without loosing the effect. We also felt we did not know enough about this type of drama to base our film on it and stuck with tragedy as the end result would be more effective

Another type of drama is a melodrama. This is similar to the type of drama that we chose to do but more exaggerated. If we did this we could have made it come across as fake and may not have created the same emotion we intended to if we did a melodrama. Melodramas contain emotion and tragic elements but they take it to the extreme. They are usually performed in operas which is why we stuck to our original idea as it may not have worked in a modern day based film. We wanted to create something that audiences could relate to and feel sympathy for the characters involved. With tragedies we knew we had to incorporate a death but in an opening it is difficult to put that across. Because of this we instead decided to start from the young girl already passed away and base our film on the struggles that families face when having to death with death and how it breaks relationships and unravels hidden secrets.  

Film openings from different genres

28 weeks later (2007)

The genre of this clip comes across as being a zombie horror. This is shown through the way the opening is edited and the atmosphere that is created by the dark lighting which if the first thing you see which makes the film instantly seem eerie. Typical horror films are filmed in darkness and set during the night which puts the audience on edge as they don’t know what is to be expected. The only source of light was coming from the candles which are props that make the scene quite Gothic and because there is no electricity where they are it suggests they are in a place that is separate from anything else which also shows how they are in hiding from something on the outside. The sudden flash out light that comes from the outside shocks the audience as something creepy appears in daylight which is not typically done in horror films but this makes it seem more frightening as it seems as though there is never a time of day where it is safe.
At the beginning there is hardly any speech which makes a tense atmosphere as the characters are avoiding conversation which is shown by their silence. Towards the end the zombie appears and lets out a loud noise which is then followed by the woman screaming. This is a moment which makes the audience jump and that making the audience jump is something that most horror films aim to do. Also the emphasis on the knock on the door makes the genre more apparent. The knock on the door appears very loud which makes the audience expect something bad to be on the other side and the way they build up the reveal adds to the tension.
The editing once the knock on the door happens becomes very fast paced to show the panic in the scene which is scared with the audience. Fast paced editing is commonly used in action or horror sequences as it shows the moment of panic and the climax of horror of the scene.







Wall-E (2008)
The genre of this film opening come across as an animation/sci fi film that would be aimed for family audiences. The setting of the extract is in space which immediately shows how this would be a key setting that will later occur which them shows how it is a sci-fi. The fact that robots are used also shows how the film is sci-fi as it appears to be set in a futuristic time period and there are no use of humans or any speech.
At the beginning the titles appear which show that the institution is Pixar which is a famously known company that produces animated films. It is also a Walt Disney film which are usually done in animation. It then goes on to show different settings on earth and different environments which could suggest it is an adventure film and how they are settings that would be later used. The soft music sets a quite peaceful atmosphere which shows that it is a suitable family film and the slow paced editing shows that it will not be a film filled with action.



Candy (2006) 
From watching this opening sequence I gathered that this film is a romance. The way the cameras main focus is the man and the woman shows that they are the main characters and the way they are with each other suggests they are in love and are together.
 The atmosphere is very light and the music sets a mood which is quite sentimental as it shows two people romantically involved that are having a good time in an environment which creates happiness. The fact there is no speech makes the sequence seem quite emotion filled as all you can hear is the instrumental music. The theme of love is something that comes across quite strongly. Not only the love for the man and woman but also the man standing above them watching over them is someone that cares for them. Also the theme of joy that the children around them show which the couple also show by the way they are laughing and have a constant look of happiness.
The man and the woman that are shown are clearly the main focus of the film and the way they are with one another shows they will be together. The man standing above them seems like a caring figure as he looks down on them sharing their happiness. As the title appears ‘Candy’ it is apparent that that is the girl’s name. The children around them are a symbol of happiness but could also be forecasting the use of a child later on in the film that is used for the opposite effect. It also shows how the two main characters will be together and it will be a main point to the film.
 The only titles that are shown are the names of the actors which come first and the name of the film title which appears in larger font and takes place in the centre to show that the character Candy will be a main focus and that a lot that happens in the film will revolve around her.
The setting they are in is a quite childish environment that is associated with children and they stand out as the only adults among children on a ride which rotates in a circular motion giving it a blurred effect. This could also be to show the drugs theme that is later revealed in the film as it shows what they can see and shows it through their eyes.

Genre - Student films

We were shown three different clips of other students films to give us an idea of how to represent the genre clearly and we had to point out the strengths and weaknesses in each one.


Student film 1
I felt that this opening gave away too much. In films it is not common to have a death in the first minute but is instead supposed to give a slight indication of what is yet to come. Instead this opening seemed more of a closed narrative as you felt that after two minutes that you had already seen what the film is about. However i do think that the use of music was effective and helped show the genre as it was quite creepy and helped set a mood. Also their use of sound effects in the editing and the heartbeat sound was very effective and it fit in with the genre.



Student film 2
I felt after watching all three that this was the most interesting however technically it was more of a trailer rather than an opening as it was again not an open narrative as you felt that you had already seen everything the film had to offer. Also the title of the film appears at the beginning when usually in an opening it comes after the names of the actors. The editing on this opening was good as it showed a montage in a way that reflected the horror genre and it was frightening to see how she was being followed by someone.





Student film 3
Although this film appeared to lack interest it was the only one that was an open narrative compared to the other closed ones as you felt that the storyline was going to continue once it stopped with a phone call and not a definite ending. The music was effective as it set a mood for the piece which was quite mysterious and eerie. This films weaknesses were that at the beginning the production company name and logo did not fit in with the genre of the film as it seemed poorly made with an inappropriate name. Also the girl actress smiles at the beginning when she is supposed to be dead which took away the seriousness of the opening and it became less intriguing.





After watching these three openings it has made me more aware of the fact that it is easy to unintentionally make it more of a trailer than an opening but it is important to make sure you stick to these guidelines and create an opening that does not have an ending but leaves the narrative open to make our audience expect more. What i found in these clips is that too much was given away and in all of them someone had died but in typical horror films unless it is not in a linear order and starts from the end it does not contain a death within the first minute and instead the main focus is on the titles and the introduction to a character. However it is vital to make it interesting without giving away too much which could become difficult but has made me more aware that it is important to meet the criteria in order to make a successful opening

Lesson 1; film remakes

For this lesson we got into our groups and watched three different openings for three different genres. The genres we were given were comedy, horror and thriller. My group we decided on 50 first dates, The strangers and Vertigo. These were given to us to give us an idea of what genre we wanted to use for our final piece and to help us to make the choice easier by practising of different major genres. We decided on these three as we felt they would be both challenging and interesting to be able to film and come up with original ideas to make our opening as similar as we could. As there are three of us in our group we came up with a way that we felt was beneficial to split up the work evenly by focusing on creating the storyboard and shot list on a film each to make sure the work was spread out fairly. As there was not enough time in this lesson to begin filming we used our time productively and began planning ways of re-creating the opening and thought of where it was going to be filmed. We wanted to be imaginative but still make it look as much like the original as possible

25th January; Lesson 2

This was the first lesson where we were given the time to focus on filming our opening. We decided it would be best to focus on one film at a time and our first one we began filming was Vertigo. Our aim was to have that opening finished by the end of that lesson so that meant we could move on a concentrate on the others and work just as productively. We used the story board that was created by Paige to guide us through each shot and we used often referred back to it to re-cap on which shot we were using and the duration of the shot. For Vertigo we filmed it in the drama room as we wanted a room with black background to make it easier when editing as in the original there was nothing else in the background. To make our opening unique we made the spiral effect by using an illusion book and rotating it to make it look as though it was moving and drew another spiral on my eyelid which we felt would save time as well as look effective. We discovered that filming Vertigo was more difficult that we anticipated. It was difficult to keep the camera steady when you are try to make only slight movements as it becomes jolted and we found ourselves having to re-do certain parts to make sure we had enough usable film when it came to our editing. We finished filmed all of Vertigo in that lesson and we had already discussed that we wanted to began filming The Strangers next.


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To be able to finish our filming and concentrate on editing we decided to use one of our free lessons and dedicate it to filming The Strangers. For this opening as we were advised to film in the school we made the houses out of Lego. we set this opening outside and put the houses down in a line. The camera was on level with the houses and we used panning to show each of them where we would later used fade to black between each house. As there was not too much to filming this opening it only took us half an hour and we found it quite simple to do compared to vertigo. As we finished earlier than expected we decided to get started on 50 firsts dates and try and film as much of it as we could in the time we had left.
In the last half an hour we managed to film the first part where we sued an image of a beach and panned across to a pineapple which then lead to a conversation between myself and Paige. It made it easier getting as much as we could filmed as then we knew we wouldn't need much longer to finish it and were confident that by our next lesson we would have finished filming all three opening sequences.

Reservoir Dogs opening sequence

  Genre – What I gathered from watching the opening sequence of this film is that it is a gangster/crime genre. Although it does not give away much as to what the genre is it is clear that the men shown are in a gang which will be a subject that will run throughout the film.

Characters – The 8 men shown are in a suit which connotes importance and introduces them as being in a gang as they all walk together in a threatening way. As they are the first ones introduced it becomes obvious that they are the main characters shown. There is one character in a blue tracksuit which perhaps shows that he is different from the rest and is trying to be like them. They are wearing gold chains and sunglasses which is something that is associated with gangsters.

Atmosphere – The atmosphere of this scene comes across as quite threatening and intimidating as there is a group of tough looking men but also quite a cool edge to it shown in the way they are dressed and how they present themselves by walking in a certain arrogant way.  

Narrative – From this opening it is clear these characters are in a gang that looks as though they are going somewhere. Their body language suggests that they are an intimidating group that could be out to cause trouble  

Setting – The setting of this scene is based in an urban surrounding in the streets which also reflects on the gang genre as it is an environment that would be associated to them.  

Sound – The soundtrack played over the scene is incongruous as the upbeat song does not reflect what is happening in the scene and does not match with the atmosphere they create. Because of this the music is also juxtaposition as it creates an upbeat feeling in a scene involving gangsters. No speech is used in the opening so the music is what creates the first impression as well as their body language.  

Themes – Gangs, masculinity

Titles – The names of the actors are below the character they play to show who they are playing. The title of the film like in most opening comes after the names of the actors but in this sequence there are no mentions of producers or directors.

Catch me if you can opening sequence


Genre - Mystery, drama, crime, action. the mysterious music instantly sets the mood which makes the audience have a preconception of what the genre of the film in. the way it does not instantly use the actors but instead uses retro animations is a strange way to start a film which leaves the audience not being sure of what could be in the film which makes it more of a mystery genre


Narrative - (hints of the storyline) Images of planes suggests part of the plot is to do with airports. There also seems to be one running away from another person which indicates there will be a chase that is also given away by the title 'Catch me if you can'. It manages to tell you what’s going to happen by using animations as there is also someone dressed as a doctor and a lawyer and as that same character changes a lot it shows how there is going to be a issue with identity.


Atmosphere – It comes across quite mysterious, you get the impression that there is going to be a chase and that someone is running from something and secrets are involved


Themes – sneaky, secretive, imitation, loner, wealth, careers.


Setting – Retro animation showing possible setting that may come up in the film. For example airport, hospital, court which shows that they are going to have a big impact on the film. Yellow cabs suggest it is in America as the yellow cab chases another car containing the character being chased.


Sound – Music changes pace, it becomes faster on the chase parts and sets a mood that the film is going to be quite edgy and got slower on the parts that showed a more luxurious lifestyle in a big house having a party.


Titles – The names of the actors appeared early and had an arrow point towards a character to show that Leonardo DiCaprio was the one being chased and tom hanks was the chaser. Starts of with the company and is followed by the film title.  


Character – 2 male lead roles, the arrow pointing to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks suggest they are the main roles and immediately it shows you which one is the one that is being chased. There is one in disguise and changes outfits to different professions which shows what is going to happen throughout the film








Wishin and hopin opening sequence


Genre - romance, rom-com, chick flick. The song that talks about being in love suggests that the film will involve love and marriage as the women are in formal wedding and bridesmaid dresses.


Narrative - Weddings seems to be the main focus of the opening scene as forecasts a wedding that will happen during the film, the bridesmaids also play a big part as it shows friendship and also something could go wrong involving a man that is suggested by the song


Characters – Women are the only ones shown suggesting the lead role will be female but they speak about men. There is going to be a bride with bridesmaids and they have a friendship


Setting – set in a studio with a feminine pink background the studio represents how they are making fun of how cheesy the song is and show the stereotypical bride.


Sound – diegetic love song that they are singing which is cheesy as they talk about love and men suggesting romance. The song is a comic element aimed to be making a joke of it

Titles – the titles are written to make it look like they are handwritten like it’s a wedding invitation. Names of big actresses (Julia Roberts) to attract the audience as famous actresses and actors is what draws in audiences

Themes – Weddings, love, happiness, friendship, not modern, men.


Atmosphere – feminine, light hearted. The colours are all pastel and it has a mood about it that nothing else matters to them and that they are all happy which makes the atmosphere of this scene become more cheerful

Trailer compared to an opening sequence

Casino royale opening scene & trailer  

Trailer;

Genre – action. This is shown in the way there is fast paced editing and a lot of action that is put into the trailer that shows a lot of violence and fighting.

Narrative – It seems as though the main character is a spy who is on a mission 

Character – 1 main character who is Daniel Craig, the lead character is going to be the good one that will be a spy and involved with women

Atmosphere – serious, no comedy is shown and it all seems to be involved in violence and serious situations

Themes – chasing, violence, action, romance, fighting, poker

Setting – Casino, big houses, planes, foreign countries. The title suggests that the casino is going to be a main setting for the film and there are also a lot of exotic places shown which suggest he travels to different countries and that its not only in one place

Sound – Traditional James bond music to reflect on the past films that is a famous piece of music that is well recognised.

Titles - the titles at the end made into a shape of a gun which carry on a theme of violence and weapons that's are frequently used.





Opening;

Genre – action shown in the way there is rock music played which sets a mood that is very fast and action packed

Narrative – spy on a mission to do with poker as the background has images that are on poker cards which shows that casinos are going to be a main point of the film which is also suggested by the title

Character – first introduced character is the main character who is a spy. he is the only one that is introduced as usually the opening sequence only reveals the most important characters.

Atmosphere – action packed, adrenaline. the music sets the atmosphere as it starts off with a lot of adrenaline 

Themes – fighting, poker cards, guns, violence

Setting – casino, get the impression this is the main setting for the scenes due to the title and how it’s in the opening credits.

Sound – Faced paced rock music which reflects the atmosphere

Titles – poker cards used to show the opening titles which shows how its going to be a running theme. Also images of guns used over the titles which also shows how they will be later used. Casino board as the background. Main characters name shown first

Differences between a trailer and an opening

The difference between the opening and a trailer is in the trailer you get a wider insight of what is going to happen throughout the duration of the film and usually is ended with a climax. In the opening you are only introduced to one character in this case which does not give away too much but just sets the mood for the film and gives hints by using background images and music that sets the scene for scenes to come later on. Sometimes the trailer can give away too much whereas the opening just gives a brief insight as to what is about to come. The actors names in a trailer will usually be last whereas in the opening it is the first thing that is shown to show which actors are involved and who is the main character.