PREP To prepare for tomorrow's practical work of filming an opening sequence, please watch the following two title sequences which are filmed in in a similar 'table top' style.
- Delicatessen (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)
- To Kill A Mockingbird ( dir. Robert Mulligan,1962)
- Extension work: there are many other opening sequences on the website Art of the Title
The title of your prep blog post is FILM OPENING CONVENTIONS
Copy /paste the lines above and add the two images below :
- what titles and credits appear on screen?
- how is the film's genre conveyed?
- what use is made of sound?
- what hooks the audience and makes us want to carry on watching
The opening of Delicatessen is filmed in a "table top" style. The title and credits are written among a seemingly random array of objects. The camera pans and reveals more and more unusual objects as the credits are shown. The opening shots show us a man hiding in a bin and another man launching down on him with a big kitchen knife suggesting a horror genre. The use of music backs this up as it is a discordant accordion which is atmosphere but also implies there might be a slightly comic humour to the film. The audience is hooked by the introduction of the two men at the start and eerie and suspenseful credit sequence makes the audience wait to see what will unfold.
The credit sequence for To Kill a Mocking Bird follows a similar "table top" style. We see a young girl use a crayon to reveal the title. The credits then follow hidden among the unusual objects in the girl's box. The film's genre is conveyed through a slow but engaging credit sequence which suggests it could be a drama and the use of music supports this. We hear a young girl humming right at the beginning and at the end of the sequence we hear her giggling which creates an unnerving atmosphere. This is heightened by a ticking clock which comes in, to be taken over by full orchestration and then comes seeping back in again. An audience would want to continue to watch because we feel we are being drawn into the life of a young girl and we feel that the clock has some significance while the score hints that there are big emotions to come.
You write well on both title sequences.
ReplyDeleteDelicatessen is black comedy so the dark themes are handled in a comedic way with relish. The title sequence won awards for the ingenuity of how the credits were embedded in the images.
The second film is in fact a 'coming of age' film and isn't scary although it deals with some sadness. In the film, the child Scout gradually learns what her father means by saying 'It's a sin to kill a mockingbird...'