Oceans 11 (1960)

Genre

Oceans  11 is a crime drama.  I am making a crime drama and so I am looking at this opening sequence for ideas for my film. This film was later remade using a real life opening sequence showing the characters of the story and the setting in Las Vegas, but I am looking at the animated version as I very much enjoy this style of work.

Narrative

The sequence is full of bright lights put together to form numbers and patterns. Although in themselves they do not tell a story, they give many clues and hints as to the content of the film. They tell of the bright lights of Las Vegas, gambling both with cards and fruit machines, and there is the suggestion of a love interest. We get the feeling there will be intrigue throughout the film.

Sound

The soundtrack is a big band score, very lively and jazzy, building in momentum throughout the opening. It is loud and fun and very much characterises the lifestyle in Vegas.

Setting

The opening sequence is not set directly in any location, but it has many connotations of casinos and life in Las Vegas.

The sequence opens with a series of numbers up to 11 for the title number. They are made of small square dots which fit together to form shapes. They  represent flashing lights and take us to the bright lights of Las Vegas. The names of the actors are set inside the numbers to show their importance in the film. The numbers are almost like a scoreboard, with one being the most important.

After the numbers comes a freestyle section of a series of intricate pictures also framed with the colourful dots. There is a queen and king of playing cards, showing that there might be a love interest in the film. This is further emphasised with the picture in the moving fruit machine of a couple cuddling, and the drawing down of a blind to hide them. This maybe suggests forbidden romance.

There are dice rolling across the scene which takes us directly into the casinos, and we realise this is where the action will take place.

The opening is very high tech and elaborate and we feel the plot is going to be equally elaborate and complicated.

Titles

The titles are white which stand out against the brightly coloured numbers. They are in a clear bold font.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is of bright lights and it is full of life. It takes us directly to the bright lights and casinos of Las Vegas. We feel the film is going to be action packed and fun to watch.

Character

Although none of the characters of the film are introduced as real people, we are shown a man and a woman cuddling and we realise they will feature in the film.