Main Task Post 1 - Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Our main task for our year 12 AS coursework is to produce an introduction to 1 short film (a maximum of 2 minutes long). All the footage, pictures etc... must be original and created by us, not download from websites; however we are allowed to use copyright - free music.

I will be working in the same group I did for the preliminary task which is myself, John Brooks and Hugo king-Irwin. This is because we worked well together and got on. I think we produced a good opening sequence with the time we have.

Before we start making our film, we watched some opening sequences from well known films such as “Goldfinger” as well as short British films funded by the UK Film Council. One short film that we analsed was titled 'Whore'.  The film opens with a male and a female sitting on a bench while the credits appear, the opening is simple but effective. There is no non-diagetic sound/soundtrack and little conversation, this is because the film focuses on the camera techniques and editing which it does very well because the shots do not last very long, each shot lasts about 3-4 seconds keeping the film at a relatively fast pace. The opening introduces us to the characters with effective master shots and establishing the setting, a school. The colours in the film are brighter but still have been manipulated a little when it has been edited. I like this opening scene it creates mood and tension and has simple opening credits showing the title and the production company. 

Goldfinger has a much more complex opening and many credits, a convention of the bigger budget movie. It is constructed of a montage were silhouettes of woman are dancing around with the main characters overlaid on top of them. On top of the montage is a 'big band' theme song which is used in a lot of James Bond films. This iconic music makes it obvious that you are watching a James Bond film. As the title of the film is called Goldfinger, the whole montage is designed with a gold colour scheme, this contrasts with the titles. There is also a few other silhouettes of all the conventions in the film such as guns, cars and explosions, all of which are revealed in the same way as the main part of the montage by overlaying them. At the end of the montage, there is a establishing shot of Miami that introduces the viewers into the opening of the film and the exotic location.