Analysing the opening sequence of Memento.

The Sixth Sense Analysing Shots.

This beginning shot shows the title, and the type of font that is being used which is serif writing, meaning bold capital writing with that edge to it. This beginning title sequence uses a blue/white colour showing it to be very mysterious and stand out, also it uses colours that could represent the colour of ghost as the film is about ghosts. However if the audience do not know that, they could think it to be very eery as well as the colours but consequently it uses a sting in the music, which makes it rememberable to the audience. Also, it gets the audience feel very uneasy as thats only the title, showing their is more to come..As an effect the director as used sped the pace and music up with this section, so the title comes very quickly and not as slow as the others, also finishing it by panning it out. That could evidently show it to be 'ghost-like' as its dissappearing quickly like a ghost.

This next image is very puzzling at first as you dont know what it is, however even if you dont know what it is, it looks very eery as its full of darkness and you dont know what this bright image is but however it does get the audience engaged as they try to figure out what it is. When i first saw this i didnt know what it was but it did make me feel very nervous. As the scene goes on you seem to see a light bulb reappearing, however its not really covered with for example a chandelier, its very isolated showing that where this is lighting up could be isolated as well. This shot at the beginning is a close up emphasising where this is light bulb is and that this room could be very important to the film, meaning showing what type of room it is to start off the movie.

This is shot straight after the unknown image at the start, showing therefore its a bright light bulb. This image of the light is very dusty and seems very old and desserted which shows the audience what type of room we are in. It also shows that this is the only light in the room, emphasising that this room is very dark, possibly underground. When this light is full to the max, you hear a diagetic sound of door opening but you dont know who it is, as its happening on this shot. This could make the audience uncomfortable as they are not sure whos walking into this room, whether it be a villain or good person, therefore creating tension in this beginning scene. Furthermore, the door is very creaky which is very typical in a horror film, so it therefore brings up the atmosphere in this scene.

This next image shows the person who has walked in. However, the camera is at a view from behind the wine cabinet, which could possibly show that someone is watching her or someone is in hiding but she cant see it however from her facial expressions she can feel someone there as she stops immidiatley. You can see from the cabinet and the wine in on each shelve that its very old and dusty showing the room to be very deserted, also which links to the colours around her as they are very dark colours, in contrast to her dress which is very bright colours. As this room is so desserted it shows the lighting to be a very low light, showing how old this room is. It gives a very cold atmosphere.

This image shows what type of character she is, meaning what shes wearing and how she looks. So for example shes wearing very bright colours on her dress, shes got her hair up, shes got makeup on and shes wearing heels therefore showing that shes going out, no one would really wear all of that to go to a wine cellar. This image would make the audience feel very uncomfortable as shes right at the end of the full length shot but looking into the opposite direction showing that someone or something should be in that shot on the other side, as it startles her. This could let the audience understand straight away the type of movie its going to be as its used very ghost like features within the film right from the beginning. Also the use of her shadow is effective as the light is on her side and on her, whereas opposite her where she is looking, there is nothing there. This emphasises the different types of light and colours the directors has used in contrast to each other.

This last image of the scene changes position from when the camera was at the wine cellar. It shows that this person or thing watching her has moved from where it was before, therefore showing that this thing has been watching her and has been moving around. From this shot you can see the whole of the wine cellar and see it to be very a dark and damp room, also very echoey as you can hear her footsteps as well as her shivering. At the side of the shot you can see her quickly running out of the room, showing that something has scared as she is leaving in such a hurried manor which makes the audience very uncomfortable watching it. From this specific shot it makes her vunerable as this thing or person thats been watching her has seen her and knows officially what she looks like, and the fact that she cant see it shows that from her hurried manor she doesnt know what to do. This whole beginning clip shows that shes really not meant to be here, it shows its not her repsonsibility to go down into an old wine cellar, where the room is very isolated and very echoey making it very nervous, so hes swapped over roles and responsibilities.

Brief

Our Foundation Portfolio

So for our foundation portfolio, we are going to make an opening sequence of a fiction film with any theme to it for example thriller, romance etc. Our opening sequence needs to consist of- Two company logos- one is a distributor logo & the other is a production company logo which can be a made up logo, titles, the sequence has to last of 2 minutes. All video and audio material must be original with exception of music ( or you could create it yourself ) or audio effects which can be from a copyright free source. I will be working with Demi and Charlie to create our 2 minute opening sequence.

Comparing a Trailer & An Opening Sequence

Example of Trailer:
A trailer is a video that encourages people to watch this new film coming out. However, a trailer only shows the most important scenes and the ones that seem more intriguing than others, which help get people to watch it at the cinemas. It also shows the whole plot of the story and what's going to happen throughout, so in this film Wild Child it shows all the characters and all their personalities for example Poppy Moore is shown to be a bit of a spoilt brat who gets everything whereas the head of the Boarding School (Natasha Richardson) is shown to be a kind but strict character and would not tolerate Poppy's attitude to her new school. I've noticed in this film trailer that you get told who the main character is but you don't get told the story therefore the director is getting you to figure out what the main plot of the film is and what you think is going to happen; however it does give you clues.
 Example of Opening Sequence:
 An opening sequence is the beginning of a film, and only the beginning. There is no footage of any of the other parts of the film, in an opening sequence. The music in it helps provide the atmosphere and tension in the first section, for example in The Dark Night the music is a very low pitch which allows the audience to understand the theme and atmosphere and action that's going to happen in the rest of the film. Also it shows only some of the characters, not all of them so in The Dark Night only the villains are shown at the beginning.  However, you notice in this opening sequence it has not introduced us to the main character Batman/Bruce Wayne which is interesting as you can understand that the director wants you to understand who the enemies are and what they look like, but as you can hear them talking right at the beginning you don't know who The Joker is, until the end part. These questions build up interest in the audience as they want to know who the joker is, why are they all wearing masks, and why he is robbing this bank?

Donnie darko.