Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

In this screenshot of the opening for the film Dead Man's shoes we can denote a very overexposed shot with a very grainy and old fashioned style video recording. It also denotes very old fashioned clothing and an old setting. This is good at creating enigma in the opening sequence of the film as it gets the audience asking questions like "Why is it showing their past?" as it relates to the the main character. It explains that there is some sort of close bond between two people but doesn't explain why this is relevant to the film. The visual effects are also good at helping to create this setting of the past in the shot by the use of over exposure in the video, as many old cameras did not have great white balance when recording. It also leaves the genre of the film quite open to interpretation as it doesn't develop many key themes other than family in the opening.

The institutional logos for this film are very different from the norm for a British Social Realist film, we can denote that it is a black solid with text graphics overlaid in the bottom left of the screen. The black and very plain graphics stands out as normally a video introduction will be played prior to the opening and so connotes that this film is different, it also connotes that the film is going to be quite dark and quite empty as there is practically nothing to show at this point and leaves a very ambiguous story as it could be about anything, It further creates a sense of mystery surrounding what happens in the film and gets us wondering what is so different about the main person in this film, it foreshadows that there is definitely something different about him, which there is, he ends up killing people.

In the opening of the film, we can denote very slow paced editing, as shown by the video preview instead of a screenshot. The very slow editing connotes that the story is very slow paced and that it is going to move at a slow pace however with a title such as Dead Man's shoes it makes the story more tense because we know that at any point the character in the film may snap and then the films mood and tone suddenly changes from a nice and calming manor to a very tense and extremely fast paced plot. As a result it throws the audience off track when trying to understand the story at the beginning and creates a question in the audiences head about what is wrong with the person.

In these two screenshots we can denote that the opening introduces us to the main character of the film, as it shows us two different scenes, one at the beginning of him as a child and then the other when he is grown up. From these two screenshots we can connote that the story is going to based upon this one character and what he does as he is the main focus of the opening. We can slo connote that one of the themes that it will explore is growing up and childhood through the contrast in his ages throughout the opening, he starts off very young and gets older as the opening progresses. This will allow the audience to connect to the story as this is relevant to most people having experiencing this. This also tells us that the story of the film is going to be based upon what has happened to the character in the past.



From the opening we can denote that there is a non linear order or a non chronological order. This order means that the events in the opening are not in a specific order and are random events from this characters past. This connotes that the plot to the story isn't very clear and connotes that the story is going to quite twisted and confusing to the audience. Furthermore this connotes enigma such as what we think will happen in the film and makes the story ambiguous as well as connoting that the main character  is as well in this film.

The second thing we can denote from this opening is the very calming and slow paced song used. We can further denote that there is no diegetic sound or any other sound in the opening other than the music. This connotes that the film is going to start off very relaxing to the audience and have a very slow sequence of events that will eventually lead into the main section of the play, it connotes a somewhat depressing tone to the film through the use of lyrics, which connote that the main character is out of control and this is a very controversial and negative image in society. Furthermore this is backed up by the use of colour correction, which uses very cold colours (blue) when it shows the present tense in contrast to the warmer colours (orange) for the past. This also connotes that the life of this character has gotten worse since his childhood and that we will find out why and what happens as a result during the film.

In this screenshot we can denote the setting that is introduced to be out in the countryside. This connotes of course the film will be set in the countryside, which we stereotype as a very positive place to be that is very relaxing and calming in comparison to the city. This further connotes that the story is going to be set in a positive and calm setting, which will make the actual plot of the story much more apparent and shocking as it is more suited towards what should happen in the cities and not the countryside. This acts as a bigger shock to the audience as people from the countryside are seen as much more friendly than those who aren't.

This screenshot denotes the producers of the film to be Wasp Films Production. This could connote that any other films they have made may be similar to this film in terms of the themes and the types of the films they make for example they may produce a lot of very negative and dark plot films and that would connote that this film may follow along the same pattern.

Finally the use of very long shots and a very still camera can be denoted in this clip from the opening, The camera is still and there is no movement unlike the rest of the other shots, which involve a very natural rough and shaky hand recorded footage. It also allows the two people to walk off into the distance in multiple shots. This connotes that the film will involve a long journey from start to the end, or hat they are walking away from their problems. This would likely involve a number of themes and one of them being sadness or depression of the main characters. It also creates a very ambiguous story surrounding the two people and why they are walking away from the camera, drawing the audience closer.