Anchorman film title sequence

Genre

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a 2004 comedy directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow and starring Will Ferrell. The film is a comedy take on the 1970s, particularly the new format of news programmes. It shows a TV station where Ferrell's character does not get on with his new female newsreader.

 
Narrative
Ron Burgundy has been extremely successful in his job as a journalist, but now his company have hired a new and beautiful female for the news team. Ron is driven mad by her success, and eventually loses his job. He has to find a way to get back to the top of his profession, and his rise back involves a story about a giant panda.

Setting
The film is set in San Diego in the 1970s.

Themes
The film explores the themes of women in the workplace, particularly in roles that have traditionally been for males. It explores how men react to those threats.

Character
Will Ferrel, who plays Ron Burgundy, is an award winning journalist for the Channel 4 News Team. He is confident, extremely well dressed, and very egotistical. He loves a good glass of Scotch and he loves his dog. A lot is made of his clothes and accessories. There are close up shots of his white shoes and his rings. He is shown having his suit brushed down. this all connotes power. he is a character who commands respect. He spends a lot of time looking in a mirror showing his vanity and self importance.

Atmosphere
The opening to the film Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy begins with an establishing shot of the city of San Diego. It is a longshot which gives an impressive view of the city and connotes glamour and power. Throughout the scenes the character of Ron Burgundy spends time preening himself which draws us in to the comedy of the piece.

Sound
The non-diegetic music playing at the opening of the scene creates a majestic feel to the city. The music then quickly picks up pace and becomes an upbeat rock and roll track. This helps to identify the character of Ron Burgundy who is a 'god walking amongst mere mortals'. When he is shown on the television screen, Ron creates a series of confusing and muddled diegetic sounds which allows the audience to identify the film genre: comedy.

Titles
As the character Ron Burgundy is introduced, the actor Will Ferrell is written next to the character in large bold letters. The letters are solid and white connoting power. This identifies that he is the main character in this film. This title is on screen for the longest time and connotes that he is above the other characters, connoting his power and authority.
As the title of the film is shown, it is placed in the centre of the screen amidst several screens of Ron preparing to present the news. We are the audience looking in on the television presenter.  The background to his television set has the writing Channel 4 all over it. He is sitting in the middle of the screen. This connotes that he IS Channel 4 - it is a showcase for his talents.
The rest of the titles are integrated into the opening sequence however they are not on screen for that long and are not shown with their characters. This connotes that they are not as important to the story.

Goldeneye title sequence

 

 

Genre

It is an action thriller film full of mystery, suspense, action, adventure and romance.

Narrative

Goldeneye is the 17^th in the film series of James Bond. Bond and his partner had performed a daring raid on a chemical weapons plant in the Soviet Union. Bond had managed to escape but his partner had not. Several years later, Bond had been tracking down and trying to destroy a criminal mastermind, only to discover it was his former partner 006.

Setting

The setting for the film changes from country to country as Bond chases the evil mastermind. It extends from the Soviet Union to London.

Themes

Themes include espionage, the triumph of good over evil

Character

Pierce Brosnan plays James Bond (007) and Sean Bean plays 006

Atmosphere

The opening sequence of Goldeneye begins with an image of a gun barrel. The audience feels that they have just been shot out of a gun barrel in a blazing ball of fire. The colours are dark apart from the bright orange centre which is the bullet being fired out of the gun. This connotes the importance of guns in the movie.

Throughout the sequence the soviet hammer and sickle is displayed with several statues of Stalin. This gives an indication to the time period the film is set in (the cold war era). This also helps to outline the type of action in the film.

The bullet is shot from the gun and travels on. The explosion which follows is bright red and yellow colours. This connotes a high action film and hints of guns.

Animated silhouettes of women dance provocatively. They are stereotypically attractive, aiming at a male audience. A silhouette of a man appears walking across the screen shooting a gun towards the woman’s face. Her face is lit by a fire and there are sound effects of a gun firing. The shot of the woman is a close up shot and she is blowing smoke through her mouth.

An eye appears in the background. This reminds the audience of the title of the film. It is orange which gives it a supernatural appearance. The eye blinks and connects with the audience, drawing them in. It also has the effect that its starring directly at the audience which causes the audience to feel more a part of the film.

The colour of the background changes to red denoting danger. Hooks appear and the silhouettes walk over them. The fact that they are silhouettes connotes that the characters have no identity and are not intrinsically important in the film.

There is a close up shot of a blonde woman’s face and in a shock action a gun comes from her mouth. This shows the importance of guns in the film.  The close up shot of a stiletto heel is stereotypical of female gender. The purple background denotes mystery.

The golden eye appears but fades away into the barrel of the gun which was seen at the beginning, creating a looping effect.

Sound

The theme song for Goldeneye is sung by Tina Turner

Titles

The text is in gold. This links into the title of the film and connotes wealth and status. The music is initially slow and dramatic to draw the audience in.

Pierce Brosnan’s name comes on the screen in gold which connotes his importance. The background is still dark. The name Goldeneye comes up again in gold capitals– this is a continuing theme.

 

Analysis of Lord Of War

Analysis of opening scene from Lord of War

The opening scene from Lord of War tells of a bullet’s journey from a factory to an African war zone and to the forehead of a child soldier. It shows with real intensity the message of the whole film.

It takes the form of a first person narrative where the I is a bullet. It takes us through his life and death from his viewpoint.

Genre

The genre of this film is a crime war film.

Narrative

The opening scenes take us through the life of a 7.62 x 39mm bullet from construction in a Soviet Union weapons factory , to being shipped across the world to an African warzone, loaded into the magazine of an AK-47 and fired into the head of a child soldier.

Setting

The initial establishing shot shows a sea of bullets in the bullet factory. It shows us straight away that the bullet is the important object in the film. Immediately there are connotations of death, emphasised by the smoke in the background, which suggests a war torn country. There is a close up shot of a man, Nicholas Cage, who talks directly to the audience. He is casually smoking, talking in a casual way connoting he cares nothing for war or death but only cares about the profit he can make. The shot raises up to face level, the music stops and straight away the whole tone of the setting is lighter. We can see a blue sky and we can hear chirping birds. Nicholas Cage smiles.

The setting moves into the ammunitions factory, and then follows the bullet on his journey in a crate to Africa.

Themes

The theme of the film is to give us an insight into the dark world of arms trading and the illegal export of small weapons to the African continent. It looks at the gun violence in Africa.

Character

When we first meet the main actor he appears with the background of the bullets. He is dressed in black giving connotations of death again, carrying a briefcase to show he is a businessman, and he has a red tie giving connotations of blood. He is a cold, hard businessman showing no emotion.

Atmosphere

The scene turns to the ammunitions factory. Here the colours are cold, stark, just a sea of monochrome, and the lighting is dim showing it is business. The low lighting also connotes misery. There is a wide shot as the bullet is looking down a conveyor belt at the workers. This connotes a long journey ahead for the bullet. The people inspecting the bullets have a calm uninterested attitude towards the bullets.

The bullet is transported in crates. There are a vast number of crates connoting the scale of the arms business. The bullet is transported by lorry and boat. At one stage the bullet is picked up by a finger and thumb and inspected.

There is a real change in colour and ambience as the bullet arrives in Africa. There is a lot of colour – bright tropical sunshine and clear blue seas. The bullet is gold – flashing in the sunshine. There are sound effects of gunfire in the background connoting war and danger. This shows us the bullet has arrived in the war zone.

There is a shot taken as a view down the barrel of the gun. This clearly enables the audience to imagine they are the bullet shooting through the barrel. There is a close up shot of the child, his eyes wide connoting youth and innocence. Behind him is a building riddled with bullet holes connoting an area torn apart by war.  As the bullet hits the child’s forehead , there is a burst of blood amidst the silence which is powerful and effective. It connotes the quick end of the bullet.

Sound

The opening begins with a strange eerie sound which becomes louder as the opening extends.

When Nicholas Cage first appears amidst the bullets, he turns to face the audience and says :

“There are over 550million firearms in world-wide circulation. That’s one firearm for every 12 people on the planet. The only question is.…how do we arm the other 11?”

This immediately sets the scene for the questions that will be asked in the film.

The non-diegetic music is Stop Children, What’s That Sound? From Buffalo Springfield, and this starts to play as we enter the ammunitions factory. It is a calm, relaxed song and the pace of the song matches the course of the bullet.

When the bullet is being transported there is a lot of diegetic sound coming from the crowds and the cars and trucks. There are the sound effects of jostling sounds of transport and people’s voices. There is a sense of great action and movement.

As the bullet fires out of the gun, we hear the sound of the bullet whizzing through the air. This gives a real sense of realism to the shot and the audience can feel the speed of the bullet.  As the bullet hits the child’s forehead,  the music cuts for effect.  The silence makes us feel shock and horror at the sight.

Titles

The names of the actors come up in stark white letters at different stages of the bullet’s creation throughout the opening scene as the screen goes black each time. The title – Lord of War – is shown in capitals showing its importance.

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.  
 

Children Of Men

The opening scene is in a London Café in 2027. There is a group of all middle aged, dazed viewers looking up at a television monitor which is breaking the news of the death of the world’s youngest person, Baby Diego, who is 18 years old. The lighting is dim and low key which establishes the mood of the film. It is unsettling and melancholic, full of dark clothing. It is full of mourning and depression. The opening shot is a medium close up shot which shows the crowd from the shoulders up. We can clearly see the reactions of the people. It is a low angle shot so we are looking up at the screen like the characters so we can relate to them. The opening represents life throughout the world. Immediately we are introduced to the idea that the world is collapsing through infertility, and aggressive actions. There is a totally negative feel- there is no hope. The silence of the crowd throughout shows the importance of the report.

The weather is overcast which foreshadowed events.

The use of long takes allows the audience to see how events closely follow each other.

We are introduced to the main character and the camera follows him. Theo goes through the crowd, gets a coffee and then walks outside. He has no interest to the news in contrast to all the rest of the characters. This connotes his strength – possibly a hero.  He walks down the street fiddling with the lid of a coffee. Then a bomb blows up the café he has just left. Someone stumbles out of the café, screaming, badly injured.

There is a very detailed mise -en -scene. The scene is a ruin, full of bleak scenes and urban chaos.

There is a wide range of camera shots which keeps the audience’s interest.

Text is edited over the action. This gives us the date so we know the film is set in the future, and other necessary information.

Throughout the editing is smooth and continuous – there are no cuts or pauses.

Throughout the opening scene there is ambient sound – there is traffic noise, people crying, which gives atmosphere and realism.

There are many stereotypical shots of London – red London buses and skyscrapers. These are interspersed with non- stereotypical shots of a Tuk Tuk. This suggests a change in the future. There is a great deal of sophisticated technology which also suggest the future.

Analysis of my Best Friends Wedding

Analysis of the opening scene of My Best Friend’s wedding

Genre

The genre is a romantic comedy

Narrative

 

The plot of the film centres around a woman’s long term friend who tells her he is engaged. She realises at that moment that she loves him and she sets out to get him, with only days before the wedding.

Setting

The whole scene has a Hollywood feel – exuding glamour, love and romance. It has a slightly old fashioned feel –maybe a feel of the 1950s or 1960s. It creates a fantasy church wedding which every woman would love to experience.

Themes

The themes are love and marriage

Character

We initially feel sympathy for the character of Julia Roberts but we lose this as she becomes rather devious as the film progresses. The character of Cameron Diaz is warm and loving.

Atmosphere

The opening scene is pink – a stereotypical colour associated with girls. The camera tilts down to show three women dressed in white – the traditional colour for purity and weddings. A fourth woman enters, dressed in a white wedding gown. She is to the fore of the scene and is shown very much as the main character in the scene . This connotes her importance over the other characters. She is the personification of happiness, goodness and warmth. The entire scene gives a very traditional, conservative view of gender. It shows women as believing tha weddings and marriages are their big goal, desiring marriage above all else.

The mise-en-scene is bare apart from the pink background and the four women. This focuses attention on the characters and denotes their importance. The costumes all point to the theme of weddings.

The whole scene has a Hollywood feel – exuding glamour, love and romance. It has a slightly old fashioned feel –maybe a feel of the 1950s or 1960s. The dance routine is highly choreographed. There is an element of comedy in the sequence. It is full of a posing bride and bridesmaids and is full of exaggerated movements and gestures. This foretells the genre of the film – a romantic comedy.

The camera angles are in the main long shots although there are some cuts to show their individual facial actions to fit in with the song. The women are performing – they look like they are on a stage. At several instances, the women pose directly for the camera. There is a lot of use of props associated with weddings such as diamond rings, bouquets and lacy garters.

When the bride throws the bouquet she is standing on a chair. This signifies she is married and above the others in importance. When she throws the bouquet she catches it herself. This is a break from what we expect to happen and perhaps foretells a twist in the plot of the film.

The overhead shot shows the woman lying on the ground with their heads together. It is almost reminiscent of a synchronised swimming sequence.

The bridesmaids give the bride their bouquet. They kneel in front of her. They are admiring her. She has achieved a higher status through marriage. The camera zooms in to show her face in an almost heavenly light shining on her. There is a real religious feeling connoting a real success. However the scene is rather unreal and false. It holds a sense of irony and the audience knows perhaps it is not real.

Sound

The women begin to sing “Wishin and Hopin”, a track originally recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1964. It tells how to get and marry your man, and fits in with the mise-en-scene focusing on weddings.

Titles

The credits that start to play are written in a hand written style of font. This connotes intimacy and family. Julia Roberts is the first name on the credits and we realise she is going to be a big star of the film.

The non-diegetic sound of the gospel singer adds to the religious feel.

Catch Me If You Can film opening

Genre

Catch Me If You Can is a comedy drama thriller directed by Steven Spielberg.

Narrative

Frank Abagnale has seen his family torn apart and destroyed by a child abductor. Throughout the narrative of this film, he strives to put his family back together. He is a confidence trickster and enters into lots of high spirited drama throughout the film.

Setting

The opening scene is a very memorable animation of Lowrey type figures who run through different environments which symbolise key elements of the film.

The different settings include an airport and a hospital which gives us a taste of the environments that the main character will trick his way into and the lifestyle that he will follow.

The opening shot is an establishing shot of an airport. This connects to the storyline of the film as Leonardo Di Caprio plays a con man who tricks his way into becoming a pilot. It is a long shot which shows there is a distance between the character and the airport. The airport connotes travel and distance. The two are not intrinsically connected. The character has his hand in his pocket and is adopting a very casual stance. A bright yellow arrow shows us the character. We know he is going to be an important figure in the play.

Themes

The theme of broken homes runs through the film. Throughout the film we see how a very troubled childhood can affect the rest of your life. Frank's parents divorced when he was 14 years old, and he decided to stay with his dad. Because of his broken family, he started to act in ways that demanded attention. He began to steal from local shops and hung around the wrong people, and so began his life as a con man.

Frank does not enjoy living on his own when he is on the run and he struggles with pretending to be different people all the time. The film explores the question of identity.

During his life on the run Frank becomes addicted to money and beautiful women, and addiction is another theme of the play.

Character

Leonardo Di Caprio was introduced in the opening scene as he hides between the strokes of the letters. Tom Hanks is introduced with an arrow. His body language connotes an air of importance and authority. He chases Leonardo Di Caprio and gives further hints of the storyline. The idea of chase is present throughout the sequence.
 The characters are silhouetted against a really colourful background giving a light-hearted feel. The costumes of the characters add to the 1960s feel of the sequence.

Throughout the scene, Leonardo Di Caprio takes on many different roles denoted by the change of costumes. There are lots of females which could indicate romance.

Atmosphere

Saul Bass is the graphic designer responsible for the animation. It was made by cutting out hundreds of paper body parts for the characters and then scanning them onto a computer generated backdrop.  The film does not take itself too seriously and this opening scene sets the mood for the story and encourages the viewer to engage in the story of the film before it starts. The whole scene is actually an animated reproduction of the whole movie.

 

Sound

The opening scene is played out to the  non- diegetic music from John Willows which is floaty, jazzy music. It has a 1960s feel about it. It links the subject and style of the film and creates the mood and creates a sense of suspense. The finger snaps link with the jazz style of the music and introduce a new credit or scene.

Titles

The writing is in long black lines which extend up and down from the letters. These lines cleverly create part of the scene, and the character can hide behind them, connoting a devious and cunning character. He is not quite what he seems. As the character changes, the audience is given a hint of the story to come.