Examining codes and conventions of film openings

Lesson-12.10.16

Sound and Tension tracker

During the last lesson we analysed the openings of the films: Amelie, Halloween and Trainspotting. Amelie (released in 2001) is a romantic comedy, Halloween (1978) is a horror and Trainspotting (1996) is a black comedy drama film. Therefore we analysed a small range of genres. To further myself I independently watched two more openings of films, the film openings I chose are: The Shining (1980) a psychological horror film, and A Clockwork Orange (1971) a dystopian crime film. 

Findings

Amelie (2001)

Amelie, a romantic comedy, had a very calm opening with little climax (sound or tension wise), however it was still entertaining. Features of Mis En Scene, such as clothing and background, make it very clear to the audience that the film is a romantic comedy. As well as this, features of cinematography also ensured that the genre was exposed to the audience. For example, the lighting was bright-this is common in a comedy. Also, there was a common red theme, inferring passion, therefore romance.

Halloween (1978)

Immediately,  it is obvious to the audience that Halloween is a horror film. The use of  eery music (non-diegetic  sound)  informs the audience that  some sort of key event is upcoming, this maintains the audiences attention. The lighting also makes it blatant that the film is a horror film, dim lighting is common within horror films as it represents vulnerability and the unknowing. The tension in Halloween was inconsistent, it was very high when key scenes were shown (e.g. the knife grab), but other times the tension was relatively average (e.g. long shot of house)

Trainspotting(1996)                                                    Trainspotting, a black comedy drama film

, started off with much higher tension than the other film openings. The initial scene is the main character frantically running down a road, this catches the audiences attention because the non-diegetic sound also starts off very loud and up beat. Also, it makes the audience enquire as to why the man is running, meaning that the audience want to watch more and find out.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The  opening of a Clockwork Orange may be deceived as strange in comparison to the regular film opening. It all seems mysterious and the storyline is not conveyed within the opening.  Tension levels were maintained throughout, as well as sound levels. This approach to a film opening is good, because it keeps the audience interested and intrigued, therefor wanting to watch on. Tension is created through the oddity of the opening, it makes the audience feel out of their comfort zone, and not knowing what to expect. 

The Shining 

The opening of the  Shining is a universal way to open a horror film. It begins with a crane tracking shot that is following a car through different locations. Whilst the car is being followed, the audience  does not see any other sign of human interaction , this is immediately eery as it infers that the character is alone and vulnerable. This creates tension because the audience feels uncomfortable for the character in the car. During the opening, showing the different locations allows the audience to understand to what extent the character is alone.