RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 'TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD'

In the opening sequence of To Kill A Mockingbird, the company logo of ‘Universal International’ is shown as well as the name of the person in charge of production, followed by the name Gregory Peck; this would support the audience’s choice in seeing the film as well as reaching out to the targeted audience and encouraging people to watch it. The title of the film is then shown in a very creative and unique way, where the child rubs a crayon onto paper to reveal the film name; this creates a visual appeal to the audience. The font choice is a key element in creating visual appeal to the audience; in the opening of To Kill a Mockingbird the font is simple and plain, however this works effectively as it is clear and does not distract the audience from what is going on.

From the opening sequence we do not know much about the genre of the film as we do not see any faces of the characters and we do not learn much about the narrative instead the opening sequence relies on the props to tell the story, however this works effectively as it creates mystery and establishes enigma as it is unknown what we are going to see in the film. We do not get to see much of the setting in the opening sequence as all of the shots are close ups of the objects, however from the images seen we can guess that the child is sitting at home with all of these objects while drawing a picture of a bird. The lighting and colour reinforces this mysteriousness as the film has been purposely put into black and white as it reinforces the idea in which the time period of the film is set, as well as this it takes the audience back to what it would have been like when the film was set to give them a realistic experience. The choice of no colour also makes the film more serious and draws the audience’s attention towards the important information and action in the film and prevents them from getting distracted by the bright colours; although this effective it also may disinterest certain viewers as it is less captivating to them.

The soundtrack is an important part of the opening because it entices the audience into continuing to watch the film. Before we see the first scene music starts to play, it sounds like a child playing random notes on a piano. This idea is reinforced as the music disappears that it is a child in the opening, as well as this we hear the child humming which suggest to the audience that the child is one of the main characters as well as them representing the innocence to the audience. The humming also intrigues the audience as it is slightly eerie and it establishes an enigma. The main part of the soundtrack begins when two marble hit each other and the child says “ding”, the music sounds magical and enchanting which could relate to the child’s mind that anything is possible.

In the opening, technology has been used effectively using different camera angles and transitions. The camera angle in the first scene is a birds eye view of all the objects which are in the box, these objects are then individually shown throughout the opening sequence. Most of the camera angles are close up shots of a variety of objects and different items which works well as it limits what the audience are able to see which maintains enigma and mystery. The camera mainly pans across as it shows the objects, in addition the camera occasionally changes focus to suttley move the viewer’s focus point onto the next object, for example the focus changes form a marble to a whistle which is effective as it leads the audience and is more continuous. The different shots (as well as the credits) are combined together, as the second shot is fading in the first shot is fading out. The moving objects also help with the smooth transitions between scenes as when each one moves it leads onto the next without multiple pauses, this makes the opening more enjoyable for the audience as there is less of a wait between scenes.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE 'SHERLOCK HOLMES'

In the opening of Sherlock Holmes the action starts straight away by showing the well known cast in small clips of the film, this is because it provides the pedigree of the film and supports the audience’s choice and encourages viewers to watch the film as they want to see the famous actors that they like. The name of the director (Guy Ritchie) appears twice during the opening sequence, ones at the begging and again at the very end; this because it supports the audience decision in watching the film as it is made a well known director. 

Font choices are important elements of the visual appeal and contribute to graphical cohesion, the swirly calligraphy font in Sherlock Holmes is effective as it fits the time period in which the film is set. The font is dark which stands out from the background which is a tea stained/ vintage looking paper. The actors are shown by freeze-framing certain scenes that their character is in and then the tea stained colour background covers them, followed by the name of the actor appearing by their picture. 

The film opening of Sherlock Holmes signals the genre of the film which seems to be a mystery. It does this in a number of ways, such as throughout the opening line “Case reopened” which implies there is a mystery to solve. The genre is also signalled through the soundtrack, such as the music which is dramatic and fast paced. In the film opening of Sherlock Holmes the soundtrack establishes the mood of the story as well as creating suspense and establishing enigma, it also fits the time of 1890 in which is the year that the film is set in. The overall setting, lighting and colour of the film is dark and mysterious to engage the audience and to also imply the genre of the film and give them a sense of what kind of film it is going to be. 

A lot of film openings introduce the main narrative elements to launch the film but do not give away too much in order to retain enigma. In the opening of Sherlock Holmes hardly any of the narrative is set up apart from the fact that a case has been reopened. However, this works effectively as the dramatic effects of the soundtrack and scenes of the characters is enough to intrigue the audience as well as retaining the enigma.

RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE ‘GONE GIRL’

The opening sequence of Gone Girl starts with production company logos for ‘Twentieth Century Fox and Regency Enterprises’ which provides the pedigree for the film. The names of the director, the cast and other creatives also appear, which may support the audience’s choice of seeing the film.

Font choices are an important elements of the visual appeal and contribute to the graphical cohesion. In this film opening the font is simple but clear; the text is white and is against the dark background of the videos, this is effective as it makes the text obvious and stand out to the viewer. 

The film opening of Gone Girl signals the film genre which seems to be a drama thriller. It does this in a number of ways, such as through the establishing shot which shows the protagonist, a close up shot of the back of a woman’s head which leaves the audience in suspense until we see her face a few moments later. The genre is also signalled through the soundtrack, such as music, which is soothing but yet mysterious. The use of the voice-over at the begging sets up the scene and genre of the film, the man’s voice is calm and smoothing to the viewer, however the words he is saying, such as “cracking her lovely skull” are dark, frightful and gruesome in comparison to his voice and the music.

Setting, lighting, colour, costumes and props can also be key factors in engaging the audience. For example the lighting and colour is dark and dreary which gives the audience a sense of what kind of movie it is going to be. The setting shows a town that is empty which portrays the loneliness and the genre of the film. In the film a low angled camera angle is used to emphasise the run down building and sign, following this a variety of establishing shots are used to focus on multiple old and worn out signs and shop fronts around the town.

Most film openings introduce the main narrative elements to launch the film but do not give away too much in order to retain the enigma. The start of Gone Girl does not go straight into the narrative, it starts by showing multiple places within the town to build up suspense. Finally, towards the end of the opening sequence we see the main character, he first appears in the centre of a wide shot which establishes that he is a significant character. 

What really impressed me about this film opening was the use of multiple key elements, such as the soundtrack and opening scenes of the town, to portray the genre and theme of the film.