Codes And Conventions Of Film Openings

Most Films have common codes and conventions that are used throughout its length. In class we have looked at film openings from a wide range of genre such as love actually to Halloween. Here are a few analysis's of these:

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven Spielberg

The Genre is Action/Adventure.Makes you feel for the character right from the start , you want him to win.
It portrays Indiana Jones as a dark mysterious stranger, he is displayed in silhouette, which makes you wonder who this guy is. He is calm and collected, almost seems invincible which gives the audience an almost immediate attraction to him.
You can tell that he is the leader because he is always at the front, he knows what hes doing and everyone follows him.
The tense music creates an atmosphere of danger and it makes the audience nervous because they know somethings going to happen but they are not sure what.
The hat and whip of Indiana Jones are Iconic and almost instantly recognisable when you see them.


Trainspotting (1996)

Director: Danny Boyle

The Genre is Comedy/Crime/Drama.

The opening makes the characters seem quite cool using a voice over which introduces them. Immediately attracts the audience to the Characters. The music used makes the overall atmosphere feel exciting. It starts before the pictures and

launches you into the film. This is a Sound bridge.

The opening starts with instant action/fast-paced which keeps the audience interested.

A lot of darker colours are used to show its down to earth and quite gritty.

It tells us about the characters lives with pictures.

Touch of Evil (1957)

Director: Orson Welles
Universal International Production/ Distribution Company.

Company Logos are shown at the beginning.

Tense music at the beginning to draw the audience in.

First few opening seconds are very important.

Setting bomb non-digetic ticking sound to over exaggerate its sound.

Narrative enigmas.

1st person in first few seconds is often the main character.

Person runs in and out of camera.

Crane is used for shot over car so the film has a reasonable budget.

Middle class because of clothes, stereotypical heterosexual couple.

The audience requires some narrative exposition near the beginning.

3 minutes 20 seconds of one continuous shot.

Leprechaun (1993)

Director: Mark Jones

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Horror

Trimark pictures

Horror movie because of dark/unnatural lighting.

Blue lighting

Connotations of fantasy because of sprinkly music.

Fantasy/Celtic style font - associated with Scottish, Irish, Welsh.

Dutch tilt - gives feeling of uneasiness.

Irish stereotypes - man drinking.

Lightning strike - signifier of horror.

Intertextual Homage - an example of post modernism.

Scream (1996)
Director: Wes Craven
Genre: Crime/Horror/Mystery/Thriller so Hybrid Genre Dimension Films
Non-Digetic music - creepy, long sustained note, tense
Black and white writing - Horror
Production company logo animated
Heartbeat fast paced, disrupts own, tense
Creaking door noise - old fashioned horror movie
Animated title - looks like an x-ray to start with, blue colour tint signifies coldness - 1978 Halloween blue tint has been used ever since
Sharp serif edge font - knives, sharp
Bang going with heartbeat flashing red over screen
Girly Scream - puts you on edge
Whit type turns red - signifies blood, violence
blond teenager - aimed at teenagers
Genre conventions tell us that the blond haired female will die
camera zooms in shakily - conveys a growing sense of a threat, impending violence
phone rings - camera zooms slightly
dutch tilt on second answering of phone signifies that something is not right
nighttime and blue tinted lighting on house
size of house signifies middle class/upper class
ABC 1 - upper class, upper middle class
Trees around house make it seem claustrophobic
Popcorn - Post Modern humor as many of the audience eating popcorn
Camera tracking character - signifies stalking or being watched
Set of knives intentionally displayed - slasher movie
Camera very Intentional slight wobble , unusual
Grabs knife, signifies violence in future?
When woman stabbed by man knife represents phallic - symbolic representation of penis so symbolic rape.
Popcorn cooking represents sexual tension building.
Inter textual reference to another of Wes Cravens movies (nightmare on elm street)
2 mins 28 seconds truly reveals horror movie
12 mins 23 seconds for mini narrative
Brown hair, white dress, teddy bear, doing homework so signifies pure and innocent
Quite big room so middle class/upper class family.
The mask of the killer in scream is also very iconic and instantly recognisable.

Bride of Chucky(1998)

Director: Ronny Yu

Genre: Comedy/Horror/Romance/Thriller

Non-Digetic music, long sustained note - makes tense

Creepy serif font, looks gooey like blood slightly

Heartbeat sound messes up your own and makes you feel uneasy

David Kirschner Production Company and Universal Studios

Thunder and Lightning

Blue Tint - Unnatural/Supernatural

American flag signifies that its set in America

Public Building, Police dept evidence depository with a dutch tilt shot - creates uneasy feeling

Lightning is the source of lighting

Mask inter textual reference to Friday the 13th and mask from Halloween(Mike Myers)

28 Days Later(2002)

Director: Danny Boyle

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi/Thriller
20th Century Fox Searchlight Pictures

Handheld camera makes it seem disoreintated, chaotic

Multiracial

News footage montage shows crisis and mass panic

Arial shot of panic, riots

Dutch tilt shows that something is not right

Blue tint creates a feeling of uneasiness

Cambridege primative research centre sets the scene

balaclava, smashes the security camera signifies that they are up to no good

Dutch tilt, flickering light - uneasiness, sinister

exaggerating taking photo almost pausing movie

Dark lighting, Sinister

Flash changes camera, visual bridge

Flashing red light signifies blood, violence

Handheld Camera, Jumpy signifies chaos, disoreintation, violence

Woman dies first, Binary opposition - brown hair girl dies first

High angle shot when lying on bed shows vulnerability

extreme close-up

Wires signifies scientific, blurry, confusion

Low angle shot shows hes in power as broken free from wires

close up, long shot

Light distorted - Eyes adjusting to it

Camera follows him - stalking, being watched

canted angle on man with phone, not right

Theme of trying to be contacted

Layer Cake(2004)

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Columbia Pictures, Marv Films, Matthew Vaughn Production

Budget: 4 Million Pounds

Won Empire Award

Daniel Craig, Michael Gambon= A-List Stars and both British Actors

Bright lights behind drugs and branding draws attention to them and also tells us what age the target audience of the film is

Genre: Mixed, Drama, Crime, Thriller

Kidulthood(2006)

Director: Menhadge Hudda
Stealth films,Cipher films, TMC Films,Revolver Entertainmenet, Hanway Films

Title - Graffiti, Knives through it

Non-Digetic music, Techno - Associated with young people

Fast blurred shots keep audience focused

Young people actors - so aimed at young audience

Budget= 80,000

Part of a trilogy

Written by Noel Clark

Multi Cultural, Denotes city life

Accents are form london so sets the scene as to where the movies is located

Dark Knight(2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller

Warner Bros Pictures, Legendary Pictures, DC Comics

Non-Digetic ticking makes it tense

Quick cuts no messing around

Guns show violence

Dramatic irony as audience knows something that the actors dont

Coach Carter(2005)

Director: Thomas Carter
Paramount, MTV Films

Filmed in California

Budget: $30 Million

Overall Gross: $67 Million

Shutters on shop signifies poor neighbourhood

Teenage Boys playing basketball shows focus of film

A Mixed race cast shows california ethnicity

Police Guard on School shows rough area

Anchorman(2004)

Director: Adam McKay
Dreamworks, Apatow Production

Written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay

Genre: Comedy

Filmed in California

Establishing Shot- Big city setting

Voiceover makes it seem like a documentary