RESEARCH: OPENING SEQUENCE OF 'AE FOND KISS'

At the beginning of the opening sequence of 'Ae Fond Kiss' there are 9 titles shown, one important title is Ken Loach's (the director) production company 'Sixteen' films, this provides the pedigree of the film.  This is followed by 'Multi-territory film British Italian German Spanish co-production' which shows that it is a multicultural film, it is typical in the film industry in smaller budget films as it shows the fundings.

The opening scene of the sequence is set in a night club in Glasgow where people of different ethnicities are dancing together, this shows the happy life of the young people. Bhangra music plays in the night club and across the opening sequence which blends to a wide birds eye shot of Glasgow, this suggests the unity between the many different ethnic backgrounds that live in Glasgow and also shows us the modern day Glasgow and what it is like now as a multi-cultural city. 

The images of the opening sequence portray and carry the happiness of the young people who happily get along together despite being from different cultures. A Bollywood movie is also played in the background of the night club which suggests the unity between the cultures, this also implies that the lovers will not fully be together as in Bollywood film there are never any intimate scenes. On the other hand, this is different to the other scenes shown of Tahara's Father at his shop, he is angry at the people for letting their dogs pee on his shop sign. The choice of a bulldog peeing on the sign is symbolic as bulldogs often represent as a symbol of Britain, this shows the encounter between someone who wasn't raised in Britain and stereotypical British.

The genre of the film is a romance, this is reinforced through the lyrics of the song which is sung by a girl towards the end of the opening sequence. The song is a famous poem 'Ae Fond Kiss' which is played while the scenes of Casim's family build a extension for him to live in when he is married, this suggests that his love will only ever be 'Ae Fond Kiss'. The film is also a coming of age film, this is shown when Tahara is making her speech in the school, she says 'I'm a dazzling mixture and I'm proud of it.

From the outset the film establishes an enigma through the love of the two characters. In the opening when Casim looks at the music teacher through the window of the door we see that he is intrigued by her, we then see his family planning their extension for him to live in, this creates a problem as we do not know how they could be together due to their backgrounds. 

Multiple strategies are used to ensure that the film appeals to its targeted audience, for example the film would appeal to younger people as it is a coming of age and romance film. It would also attract Glaswegians as the film is set in their home town and Pakistanis because the film incorporates Bhangra music and also some people might relate to Tahara's speech as they also could have similar experiences. 

Technology has been used effectively by using a variety of different camera angles, transitions between scenes and editing techniques. For example, the POV shot of Casim looking at the teacher thought the window of the music room is effective as it is more impactful as it allows us to see through his eyes. Another effective technique is the use if transitions, for example when the Bhangra music blends in and  continues to play as the birds-eye view of Glasgow is shown. An editing technique that is used is cross-cutting, this is used to put together the scenes of the nigh club and the scenes of Glasgow and the Father's shop. This works effectively as it shows that Glasgow is now a multicultural city.