AS Media | Film Openings Analysis

For the research part of our task, we decided to look at previous film openings that have worked well and see which features we could incorporate into our own. We watched the following film openings and wrote down what we liked and disliked about them. Below are links to each of the films and what we thought about them:

Opening 1: Lord Of War (2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RgH5eDbCLU
What we liked:
Our opinions of this opening are that it is very unique. We like the idea of following the bullet from its point of view along its manufacturing process and then the credits coming up along the journey. We like the way that we start off with a crane establishing shot before being led to the bullet which leads us into the journey of the film. We could follow a similar process with the opening sequence to our film by starting with an establishing shot which then leads us along a journey into what the film is about.

What we disliked:
The process of the bullet being manufactured is slightly too long and people may lose interest. However, as we would only have 2 minutes for our film opening, if we were to do something similar, it would be cut down significantly.

Opening 2: North by Northwest (1959)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIlqatMQSgI
What we liked:
We like the way that the cartoon looking background suddenly transforms into a real life image and also the way the text is up against the building. The various shots that introduce the setting and give the sense of madness and rush within New York are effective in setting the scene. The dramatic music also helps to give this sense of rush.

What we didn't like:
No story line is introduced at the beginning and the only thing achieved is the scene is set. The length is also a bit too long and this could result in interest being lost.

Opening 3: Ghost Ship (2002)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbSjSIY0Zkk
What we liked:
The scene was set and a bit of background information to the film was given. We could instantly establish after the first minute that it was a horror; everything started off nice before disastrous events began to unfold. The slow motion effects used within the opening sequence were effective and provided a view point that there was something dark beneath the dancing scene on the boat. The music and sound effects were fantastic in creating a scary atmosphere both straight away at the start of the film and throughout the scene. After the scream, the shot of the ship in the distance before panning the camera down into darkness was really effective - somewhere where the title of the film could then be placed. The sound effects, music, slow motion techniques and the scream with the ending shot are all things which we shall consider incorporating into our film.

What we didn't like:
The fact that the title of the film wasn't placed at the end of this scene saying 'Ghost Ship' as this would've been an effective place to put it. However, the upload to this film opening on YouTube may have been cut before the text came on so in the actual film, the text may have came on at this point. One thing we noticed was that there were no credits on this opening sequence - although they would've been effective here, they may have came on at a later point.

Overall, Ghost Ship has been our favourite film opening so far. Out of the three, we could incorporate the following features into our opening sequence:

• Dramatic music and sound effects
• POV shots
• Crane establishing shots which slowly track in towards the action
• Quick cuts of shots which help to set the scene
• A cartoon looking image transforming into an actual image
• Slow motion effects (complete with a slowed down sound effect)
• Camera panning down into darkness
• Text alongside objects (not just standardly placed onto the image)
• A terrifying sceam
• An undertone of tense music

We have decided from analysing the film openings that we will be doing the opening sequence to a horror film as these can be made the most effective and dramatic.

Samantake Productions