Genre

Split opening title sequence

In the opening title sequence of Split there is little narrative given to us however, from the small parts we can understand the motive of some of the characters. In the small amounts of narrative we can understand that a girl has been taken against her will by a man and she has been put to sleep. She is being dragged in a wheelbarrow through a corridor and placed on a bed. In the rest of the film we expect the girl to wake up and realise she has been kidnapped. There will probably be a moment in the scene where the girl decides that she has to escape from the man and therefore strategiacally plans to run away. Most films containing a kidnap usually finish with the child being reunited with her family or the police and the kidnapper gets arrested.

From this title sequence we can see that the target audience of Split would probably be for 15+ years old as its an American psychological horror film. I think that the film would appeal to many teenagers as it features many famous actors such as James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. In the opening sequence only these two characters are featured and are recognisable to the audience. I also think that Split could also target a wide range of adult ages as it features James McAvoy and also is a very popular horror film. The opening sequence is tense and it makes the audience think more about what ig going on which could make more people want to watch it. 

The opening title sequence clearly presents the film genre as a horror film from its psychological tense music and shows scenes of a girl being kidnapped. The title sequences cuts from the titles and the action to create dramatic effect. Only small clips of action is presented however you can still work out what is going on. The lights in the scene are dimly lit to make everything seem more chilling and there is no natural light. The only lights also flicker which is implying that they are old and could break at anytime. The location looks like its in an underground bunker which makes the audience feel chlostrophobic as you can imagine that the girl will find it hard to escape. The titles are all in white writing with a black background and they also flicker like the lights. The titles split up the action which makes the audience have time to process what has been shown and who the characters are. The director has also done this to create dramatic pauses and make the audience feel vulnerable and weary if anything is going to jump out at them. 

In the sequence there are only two characters shown which implies that they are the protagonists. The two characters are a teenage girl and an young adult man which also in this case makes the girl seem more vulnerable. From what we have been shown in the action we can work out that the girl has somehow been passed out and the man; who has probably kidnapped her, is dragging her onto a bed. The man doesn't do anything violent to the girl however the director has wanted it to seem that he is capable of hurting the teenage girl. From the clips in the sequence we don't see many intensions of the man and we don't know why he is dragging her to a bed. The man is portrayed to be daunting to the audience and he also doesn't speak which makes us know less about him.

The first small clip of action shown is of a light. The camera is moving away from the light with a tracking shot. The camera is is a lower position to the light meaning that the audiences attention is focused on it. There are two small clips of the camera tracking away from the light which is implying that the corridor is very long and dimly lit. The next little action shot is of a girl lying down in a wheelbarrow and being dragged by a man down the corridor. The camera is filming down in line with the girls face so that the only thing you can see is the legs of the other person. The background of this shot is blurred which is focusing our attention on her. It also make the man seem more mysterious. The girl also seems to be waking up from being passed out. The next clip is still filmed from the same angle however now you can see the girl open her eyes are looking at the surroundings above her. The final clip of action is filmed from a POV shot. You can't see too much in this scene as the person only has their eyes partially open. From what you can see through the persons eyes is the man laying the girl down on a bed and from her body language she is still passed out. The effect form filming this part in a POV shot means that the man hasn't just kidnapped one girl its more than one. This adds to the tension.

sound:

The editing in Split is used to make the characters seem more mysterious and not let the audience find out too much information about them. The clips which focuses us on the corridor and the light are edited to have a yellow tint as makes everything seem enclosed underground. In the clip where you can see the passed out girl being dragged by the man down the corridor is edited to blur out everything apart from the girl so she gets the focus. The director has also done this to make the man seem anonymous and relate to what the girl feels as she probably doesn't know the man who kidnapped her. 

I thought that the opening title sequence of Split was effective as it didn't give too much away from the film. From the sequence we understood that the genre would be horror, the protagonists are a teenage girl and a man, and we also learnt that he has kidnapped more than one person. I think that this was successful as it made the audience intrigued to find out what will happen to the girl and what the mans intentions were for kidnapping her. The titles are also effective as the director has not put them on top of the action and therefore it gives the audience longer to read them. The titles also split up the action which creates tension as you anticipate what is going to endure in the next clip. 

Split opening title sequence

Baby Driver - action

The opening title sequence of Baby Driver shows us a young adult going to buy coffee for his work. In the coffee shop he sees a girl walking outside the window who he find attractive. At the end of the opening sequence he walks into an abandoned building with his coffee. From this opening we expect the man to be working for some illegal company as he enters an abandoned building. At the start of the scene he is driving in a car and he looks very skilled. I think that he might have a job in being a get away driver and is being used by the people he is imployed by. We don't get too much information if the man is good or bad however, he is portrayed to be a charismatic people by dancing on the streets.

From this title sequence we can see that the target audience for this film is probably intended for anybody over years old. The tho characters we see in the sequence are Lily James and Ansel Elgort who are very well known actors and are recognisable to anyone over the age of ten. The music in the scene is all 80s music. For instance, Harlem Shuffle was released in 1986 and this featured through out the opening scene. The location of the film is set in New York which makes the scene seem more appealing and exciting. The scene also travels around lots of different locations and cool street art which also makes everything seem more appealing. 

The opening title scene clearly presents the genre of the film to be action due to the way the man looks like he is going somewhere important. At the very beginning of the scene the man is driving a getaway car for 4 people. The other 4 people look like they have just committed a crime and are running to escape in the car. In the next part of the scene the man goes to the coffee shop and buys four cups of coffee. The director has done this so that the audience knows who the man named Baby is buying the coffee for. At the end of the scene Baby enters into an abandoned building in New York which is probably wear his group meet to plan illegal things. As he is entering the building he looks behind his shoulder and checks the police are following him as there are sirens in the background. The way he looks behind shows that he knows he is in trouble and could be caught any moment. The car that Baby drives at the beginning is very old which implys that it could be stolen or that Baby doesn't have any moment and that is the reason he has become a getaway driver. 

In the opening sequence we got introduced to five characters. The main ones were Baby; as he featured in it the most and looks like he will be the protagonist, and the girl played by Lily James as she looks like the love interest. At the beginning of the sequence four people enter a stolen car and they look like they have just committed a crime. Baby is the get away driver so hasn't committed the crimes. All of the people in the car are wearing different types of clothing. One of them is wearing a suit, one is wearing casual and the girl is wearing a formal dinning outfit. Their outfits implies that they don't want to be seem suspicious to the police. Baby is wearing headphones and sunglasses, this is possibly also because he doesn't want people to see his identity. The headphones probably gives him music to increase his adrenaline or block out any loud noises. 

At the beginning of the sequence the camera pans and follows the moving car, it is filmed in a mid shot and captures the car driving off into the distance. A tracking shot follows in front of Baby and tracks his movement when he crosses the road. A tracking shot is used throughout however, it captures Baby in a mid shot rather than infant of him. This shot also allows you to see the street art in the background which matches his movement. When Baby is in the coffee shop the camera pans around him and the waiter and does a full circle around them. The way this opening title sequence is filmed is meant to represent the fluidity of Baby's journey and also match the way Baby is listening to his music.

sound:

The sequence is edited to run very fluidly and not have any cuts. The whole opening sequence is filmed in one take and is all filmed on a tracking camera. The titles in this scene are on top of the action and edited on. The yellow font of the title matches to the street art as most of that feature yellow. The titles have also been edited to slowly zoom in to the screen, this also helps with the fluidity of the scene and is better than just having the titles stay still. Baby is alway in the centre of the composition which helps the audience establish that he is the protagonist. Baby's love interest walks from the right to the left of the screen which also subconsciously mean that she is going to a place she has already visited before. 

I think that the opening title sequence of Baby Driver is successful as it already gives you lots of information about the characters without actually telling you. Baby is potrayed to be a getaway driver for a group of people however, despite his work he is shown to be a fun and likeable character. In the sequence there is a potential love interest for Baby which can make the film more interesting. 

baby driver title sequence

 

Opening sequence idea

Wednesday 17th November 2022

Opening sequence idea

The opening scene will take place in a school where children, around the age of 8, are learning what marriage is and the commitments. A mid shot would be used for this and the camera will be placed in the back of the classroom facing the whiteboard. The shot will then cut into a mid shot of the classroom from the front so you can see everyones faces. The shot will then slowly move into one of the girls faces (who has raised her hand) and into a close up shot. The girl will then ask her teacher "What happens if you don't want to get married." The scene will then transition into a master shot of a church and have a 8 years later sign. A tracking shot will move in through the doors of the church and up to the alter. At the alter you will see an elder man standing there looking at this watch and the camera will pan round to show the guests at the wedding yawning and looking bored. All the guests will be saying things such as "where is she", "she must be late" and "maybe she's nervous". A lady then walks up to the man at the alter and says "she's disappeared, she's made a run for it". A birds eye view shot is now used which shows a girl running through a path in a field. She is wearing a wedding dress and looks distressed. To show the distress the girl looks behind her shoulder often to make sure that no one is following her. At the end of the sequence the scene will go blank and the title of the film. The music in this would be calm at the start and slowly progress into a fast pace music when the wedding guests realise she has ran away. Church bells would be played when the master shot is shown. 

Netflix documentary- Developing an idea 

I looked through Netflix and found a documentary called the secrets of the Saqqara Tomb. I thought this would be a good foundation to build a good idea for an opening sequence. I had an idea that the sequence would be set in Egypt and be about a man who uncovered a tomb but when he was inside the tomb the entrance of it collapsed. The opening title sequence would start off with a birds eye view shot of a man lying on the sandy floor digging. The shot would cut to a POV shot of the man looking down at his hands. The non diegetic sound track would be synchronous to the timing of him digging into the ground. A master shot of the pyramids would establish the location to the audience and also would show the audience that the weather is very hot. Also a close up shot of the man wiping the sweat off his forehead would establish this. The shot would transition back to a POV shot and the audience can tell that the hole in the ground has progressively got bigger. The sound track will increase in speed which will build up the tension as the man starts using his hands to dig when he realises he is found something. An Ariel shot will then rise from the ground and into a birds eye view shot of the man. To show that he is tired he will turn onto his back and lie there for a few seconds. He will scream to show his happiness of finding something in the ground but doesn't know its a tomb yet. The scene will then cut to the rest of the film.

A tomb being uncovered 

The location of the opening scene

Inside of a tomb and where the rest of the film 

will take place