Examining codes and conventions of film openings

Sound and tension tracker

In the last lesson, through watching film openings, I was able to make a sound and tension tracker, through looking at the level of drama and how it fluctuates. As a class we were presented with three different film openings. The films were as follows, Halloween, Amelie and Trainspotting. These sound and tension trackers were created as graphs depicting the intensity of drama and sound through out the clips that we were being shown.

Halloween

The first film opening that we watched was Halloween. A horror movie set in 1978. In the beginning of the film opening we are presented with a house, dimly lit, and we are put in the perspective as if we were the antagonist as it is filmed in a point of view shot. The antagonist is shown to be climbing the stairs. The lack of light in the beginning of the film gives the audience a mysterious feel and adds to the tension. From the beginning of the opening, there is a light use of strings that are used as the background music so that there is no silence. The point in which the antagonist is claiming the stairs, the use of the strings is built, the sound is increased and becomes more harsh building the tension.
The dark lighting that is used in the beginning of the film opening continues to be used through out the rest of the film opening right to the last minute of the film, as the low key lighting gives more of a dull and scary feel for the audiences which helps them to engage and feel they are one of the characters.
The music around three quarters of the way through begins to increase with not only pitch but volume as well building the tension for the audience to feel more in the mood and atmosphere that the victim would be living in.
The antagonist is clearly a victim and this is shown as the camera is from a POV (point of view) shot. this helps the public audience to feel that it is them. having this feelings they could relate to the character however due to the non diegetic sound of the music, the audience knows that something is going to happen but for the antagonist we feel bad because they are oblivious to the fact that something is going to happen.
The antagonist nearer the end of the film opening is stabbed. This is accompanied by loud and fast pace music which gives a very scary effect to the audience if it is made well. the scene then goes very dark almost black for the audience and we are left wondering what has happened.
At the end of the scene opening the music lowers to a deeper sound and becomes more relaxed and slow when there is the final reveal of two parents that look down to their some in a low shot and realise that their young son is the reason that the woman was stabbed as their last words are "Michael".

Amelie

The second film opening was called Amelie. Through out the beginning of the film opening their is a brief bit of narrative of the beginning of Amilies childhood and upbringing. The credits are shown along with the title and company of the production. In the beginning and the scene then changes to a french restaurant with calm french music in the background. A lot of diegetic music is used and the music begins to become layered. The camera is seen to be moving through a street  down the road as a lorry is driving. The lorry sound is layered over the top of the French music. the background music continues to play however the scene then changes to show a chromosome that then moves onto fertilisation and the production of Amelie. A young baby is then shown to show the moment that Amelie is born. To show the youth of Amelie activities that young children love to play with such as drawing comical pictures on their hands. Paper doll cut outs are shown along with coins being spun, hair being played with, dominoes being used, fingers moving to the beat of the music a rubber being used. All of these activities are layered with sounds, with additional sound effects such as twinkling music, a baby crying, dominoes falling, paper noises, a noise of glass and a slight music change. Nearer the end an additional piano piece is played as the man at the end is shown.

Trainspotting

In the film opening transporting the main character is seemed to be rushed and slightly angry. The use of swear words are constantly used through out the clip maybe defining either the area that he is from or the background that he has been brought up in order to respond or talk to people, including the cameras audience, in that way. A lot of the culture is shown in the way that the language is used with swearing, and fact there is a lot of smoking in multiple parts of the scene, not only from one character but a few and the use of their nick names being put up when they are introduced at the beginning in the freeze frames when each of the main characters are used. The character again, is shown to be rushed, as nearer the beginning of the film he is very nearly hit y a car as he does not slow down or look either way as if he was quickly needing to get somewhere. The next scene shows him and his friends at football. The freeze frames are used to slow down the camera and show clearly each of the different characters faces so that the audience is well introduced to them and can recognise them through the rest of the film. Bernie, Tommy, Spud are just a few of the name that the boys have been given from one another, showing that they are not their actual names but that they all have close relationships to call each other something other than their name.




Overall all three of the different film opening has similarities and differences between them. All three of them has a bit of narrative which, although you couldn't tell what the main storyline was about you were able to make out what was going on or going to happen nearer the beginning of the film. All three of the films had a different approach mainly because between them they had very different themes due to the different genres they had been produced in.