RESEARCH POSTS-9 FRAME FILM ANALYSIS

For the second research posts for our research and planning tasks which will help us with our film opening we decided to analyse three film openings that are of different genres which will help us get a better idea of the film opening we want to do and the genre we want to work with. We decided to do two film analysis based on the genre that we are thinking and planning on doing: psychological thriller, and one in a completely different genre, just to spice it up a bit, and also to compare the similarities and differences within these. We worked together, with a different team member taking the lead on each one.

The first analysis is from the opening of the movie 'Split' (2017).

• In the film opening to Split there are multiple conventions that are all put together and presented in the form of a montage film opening. It starts off with a close shot of the main character interacting with the camera and then it cuts to a black screen with the name of the production company. After that it continues with three different types of images that go from a sequence of the movie to a black screen with conventions such as the name of the editor and the music used and then to an edit of the next sequence, each on-screen credit sliced up, segmented into a 24-frame grid and layered.

• The way the whole thing is edited gives you the impression that the movie you are about to watch is a thriller and the selected sequences give you a hint of what the movie is about, having a dark theme.

• The sound changes between low growls and far-off, bleary screeches, that give you the impression of nightmares on the edge of reality.

• This movie was made to attract a more mature audience, rated PG-13, because the disturbing images make it not suitable for children. People who like mystery and thriller movies would find this film very intriguing because it shows us the behavior of an individual with multiple personality disorder.

We then analyzed a completely different kind of opening, from the movie 'Madhouse' (1990)

• The film opening starts off with a clip of a starry sky, the camera is slowly zooming out, bringing focus to a constellation of stars that is brighter than the rest. The constellation starts spinning and explodes, creating the logo of the production company, in a very dramatic way. The name is Orion, which we thought was so cool how they incorporated the constellation “Orion” into the opening itself. This seems like it is to ensure that the viewers see, and remember the name of the company and their logo.

• After we see the logo, the opening continues with a montage of animated clips, with the main subjects being little animated creatures and animals, dancing around and presenting the opening titles. This gives a very lighthearted feel, and each clip is unique and creative. These creatures are seen to be running throughout a house causing mayhem and there is a little story in each clip. The colors used throughout this opening are very bright and engaging, making it very interesting and nice to look at.

• Throughout the entire opening there is a very cheery song playing, and we can also hear some sound effects from the characters themselves. The music chosen goes really well with the scenes as it is very upbeat and cheerful. Later on in the song we hear a vocalist come in, singing about dancing and love, setting the theme for the movie. The genre of music is a sort of pop/rock, setting a cheerful and lively mood for the viewer.

• The audience for this film opening seems to be families. This can be deducted from the child friendly animation that goes on throughout the opening. The genre of this film is comedy/family, and we can see this from the amusing actions that the animated characters are taking part in. In our own film opening, we will probably incorporate some kind of music as well, however it definitely won't be as cheery and upbeat as the music found in this one. We’re also going to include a title sequence, and our logo.

Lastly, we analyzed the opening from the series 'Dark' (2017)

• Dark mainly uses a montage opening of sorts to present the tone and some related scenes to the series. It starts off with a fade-in to a short clip of a seemingly distressed boy taking a deep breath as if to calm himself or finish catching his breath - perhaps both. He is rather disheveled and is clearly very tired - his hair sweaty, face red and damp. This suggests to the viewer that he has just been running or engaging in some strenuous activity. As the boy closes his eyes and breathes out, the screen goes black for a second and the main opening begins.

• As stated, this opening follows a montage convention. Short clips timed to the changing beats of the mysterious and almost serene music switch across the screen. Each clip is edited so that they are reflected across symmetry lines, for example an invisible line down the middle of the screen mirroring a hand reaching out. Each of these short mirrored scenes are unique in their own sense, perhaps with more/less lines of symmetry, or with only a certain part of the screen mirrored, or with the direction in which it is mirrored. This mirroring effect gives the viewer a sense of the unknown and misunderstanding - the scenes portrayed are given a much more “alien” feel as opposed to how they would look without this certain editing.

• The music paired along with these scenes becomes more emotional and heavy at certain points in the opening, most likely to show the vibe of scenes that will later be revealed and explained in the actual series itself. Upon first watching this, the viewer will be more confused and entranced by how everything is portrayed, rather than focusing on each individual scene and analyzing its meaning. Only later, once they continue with the series, watching each episode and learning something new, I believe these scenes will slowly piece together into an understanding. The opening credits are small and plastered to different parts of the screen, using a font that doesn’t distract the viewer and originally bright but now less contrasted colours.

• The colours are consistently dark and lowly saturated - a singular, more contrasted colour being a reddish/orange and a teal blue that catches the viewer’s attention in certain parts of the opening. The reddish/orange gives a slight feeling of danger and/or exploration, pairing together for an uncertainty of what is to happen. When this teal blue makes an appearance, it is in scenes that are more medical seeming - a person’s bloodied hands, someone's legs visible while they lay motionless on a prison bed and an opening curtain to a metal platter.

• We are reeled in from the beginning to a very mysterious and captivating montage of scenes. The target audience appears to be for audiences 15/16 and up. Judging from what is shown, you are able to tell that this series will hold some heavy moments along with scenes of violence or gore. Along with this, the show is likely to be more intellectual - the genre seems to be that of a psychological thriller almost, and the editing definitely gives you something to think about.

Throughout the process of analysing different film openings, I feel like we learned a lot about their construction, conventions and other aspects such as mise en scene, background music and sound etc. This definitely helped us in gaining more knowledge based on different genres and helped us improve when it comes to analysing film openings which will definitely benefit us throughout the process of choosing our film opening.