Opening Sequences

–What is the purpose of Opening Sequences?

      The purpose of an opening sequence is to set the mood/atmosphere of the movie that will play. The very basic purpose of the opening sequence is to play out/ give the necessary credits. In many opening sequences, the film makers add key information as part of the story line, perhaps backstory or setting the theme, giving some context for the film. This attracts the attention of the audience and gets them to be more curious about what that is shown may lead to. 

–What is the difference between Opening Credits and a Title Sequence?

       The opening credits are generally played out during the title sequence. The opening credits are showing the names of the directors, key cast members, producers and studios. The are usually played over a title sequence which is a series of shots generally with significant meaning in the film. These shots are used to help showcase the credits. Here the producers will really take advantage of the way sound and tone affects both the audience and the mood of the setting for the film initially.  

–What techniques can be employed in an opening sequence?

       A technique used in opening sequences is, movie poster inspired typography. This is where the titles rolling are flashed on screen in a font that is similar to what would be shown in a movie poster. The flashes of words captivates the audience and forces them to stay with their eyes on the screen as one missed second is causing a huge miss in what is said. Another. technique used during the opening sequence is CGI, many film companiees have CGI created motion pictures to grab the interest of the audience. The CGI created motion picture usually is an image or symbol of something that will be important to note in the film, for example a batman symbol, this is a very basic example and this being shown on screen instantly lets the audience know what to expect. 

–Research a modern Thriller and a Hitchcock film of your choice to use as examples.

      The modern thriller of choice is the film gone girl and the Hitchcock film i will be writing about is virtigo

–Demonstrate how both films achieve the purpose of the Opening Sequence, and contrast their techniques 

       In Gone girls opening sequence they open by showing their movie companys logo with their iconic soundtrack. The recognisability of the sound track of the 21 first century fox logo play out, is part of the reason why the opening scene is so important, people pay more attention to what they are familiar with and so this means people are more likely to be more emotionally involved in this film. The production companys title introduction for Vertigo is in black and white, this reflects the age of the film and the time it was made. The logo is still but fades in, there is no dramatic draw in for the audience, no intense CGI to keep it extravagant, just simply the logo alone. This is because around the time this film was made, there were not the right tools available to be able to create a title sequence like in the modern thriller. In the Hitchcock film, the camera is brought in for a close up shot of the characters face, this brings the audience in to the world of the film, bringing the audience into the personal space of the girl. Having this in the opening sequence is important as it is captivating and this technique of having a close up showcase the facial expressions of the character, increases the overall engagement as well. Gone girl opens up with a voice over playing out the voice in the husbands head, as her admires his wife, this brings the audience into the mind of the character, in contrast with Veritgo which brings us physically into the personal space of the character, both very intimate, in order to grasp the audiences attention. In 'gone girl' the intro is thought to be romantic, which is a play on plot considering the whole basis of their relationship comes into play later on in the movie, this also gives the audience a view of what their relationship looks like before all the chaos begins. Veritgo continues with graphics and hypnotic sort of motion pictures, whereas Gone girl focuses on showing the audience the setting, the environment the characters live in.