'The Edge' Student title sequence

Genre

The scene passes to the outside and we see two men in black suits with sunglasses. Their dress is identical and stereotypical of gangster genre films.

Narrative

The scene opens with an establishing long shot of the car park. This sets the scene and we realise that this building is to play an important part in the scene. Integrated titles are used throughout the scene. The first appears on the top of the car park.  In the next scene the boy appears inside. He presses the lift button. There is a long pause as the tension continues to build. He enters into a black lift which possibly connotes that he is walking into danger and again there is a fade to black as time passes.

Character

A teenage boy appears in the long shot on roller blades and quickly skates through the scene. This is stereotypical teenage behaviour. His costume of jeans and hoodie is also stereotypical of teenage dress. The audience is able to empathise with this boy. The colours throughout the scene are bleak and grey which gives a sense of foreboding. It is very quiet all around which adds to this sense.

The scene ends with a fade to black transition which connotes time passing.

In the lift we see a close up shot of the boy's hands as he holds some electrical device and looks intently at it. This connotes that there is some importance to this object.

Titles

Again there is good use of graphics. The Edge title is cleverly designed using an interesting font. The actors’ names are clearly next to the characters enabling easy identification. The titles end with an image of a gun pointed toward the teenager. Tension has built to a crescendo and the audience is left wondering what will happen next. They are drawn into the rest of the film.This is a clever use of the background to incorporate the text - it appears as if the writing is actually part of the building.

Camera

The boy reaches the top of the car park. The shot length is long here to connote a long wait. This helps to build tension. Again the length of time passing is reinforced by him constantly looking at his watch. A close up of his face shows fear and stress.

Sound

The two men in suits come in and there is a fast chase. The music picks up pace considerably to reinforce the fury of the chase. There is a high angle shot of the stairs taken looking down the stairs and we see the two men's legs as they run down. The speed of the action gives us a sense of danger. A close up shot of their faces show a total lack of emotion - they have a job to do. Point of view shots give character perspective. The camera shots are shaky connoting a realistic atmosphere. Slow motion shots are used as the man tries to grab the teenager.