The Shining opening sequence analysis

The shining (1980)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cb3ik6zP2I

The shining is an American film which was released in 1980, it is a psychological horror film which is about ghosts telling Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) to "correct his family" The film is directed by Stanley Kubrick who is a very famous director who has filmed A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket. The shining features three main characters which are Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny lloyd.

This film is a horror film which requires there to be gore and fright. The opening sequence establishes a sense of chill and remoteness which gives the impression that something horrible is going to happen. Also if you know Jack Nicholson he is very often associated in movies with craziness or more frequently used term; "the baddy".

The opening for this film starts with low, brass music, taking us across a lake in which there is a tiny island. The scene is magnificent and unconvential for a thriller film, what with the calm, clear lake, attractive surroundings, bright sky and beautiful mountain view. The camera sweeps across the lake, in a straight line, until it reaches the island, at what point it takes a quick change in direction. This could be symbolic in terms of the rest of the film; everything going well until something as small as the island sets it all off and causes everything to change. The soundtrack to this opening scene does not fit in with the beauty of the landscape which immediately suggests something in un certain and not right. 

As the car keeps on driving further and further into the mountains, the music begins to suggest that things will change for the people travelling inside the car, and not necessarily in a good and happy way. Due to the scary music.

The font used for the credits are an unusual choice due to their bright hue and sans serif font. They look like credits from a happy or comic movie such as Anchorman. The cyan tone certainly stands out over the various different backgrounds, but it is so bright that it makes the viewers question themselves as to why this specific choice was made. It is a startling colour and contrasts deeply to the scene it is played over. This could be understood as portraying a startling change which is likely to occur and that the unexpected will happen.

The shots include; an extreme long shot when the car finally arrives at it's destination, an isolated hotel in the middle of a harsh looking winter, manage to capture how truly alone and isolated the characters are.

Anchorman opening sequence analysis

ANCHORMAN THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY(2004)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6GolC7Mk0

Anchorman is an American film based on a news reporter team and how women were starting to gain respect and authority, it is a comic and was release on 9th of July 2004. It is directed by Adam Mckay who has filmed The Other Guys, Step Brothers (which are both with Will Ferrell) and it stars Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Christina Applegate e.t.c.

The film is a comic film which requires the film to be funny and entertaining. The opening sequence establishes genre of comedy this is because you can see Will Ferrell who you associate with comedy who is the biggest earning comic actor at the moment. The style of humour is farce. This therefore means that the audience is someone who likes comedies and Will Ferrell in general , has a sense of humour and can tolerate ridiculousness, this mainly is teenagers of the age 0f 14-18.

The film starts of with an establishing shot of a city. Soft non diegetic music is played in the background, as well as non diegetic sound of a narrator speaking. A helicopter appears in the scene. A high angle shot of the helicopter is shown; the helicopter has San Diego written across it. This tells the audience that the film is based in the city of San Diego. The narrator then says “This was an age when ugly men were allowed to read the news.” The following shot is a mid shot of the helicopter landing right in the middle of a busy road. This along with what the narrator said gives away the genre immediately; which is a comedy.

A close up of Ron Burgundy’s (Will Ferrell) foot coming out of the helicopter is shown, as soon as his foot touches the ground, the soft non diegetic music changes into more lively non diegetic music, the narrator is still continuing his speech. Natural lighting is used when they are filming on location.
The following several shots are filmed on set. Backlit lighting is used when filming on set.

A close up of Ron Burgundy’s wedding finger is shown , his wedding ring is a ring with a logo of his news channel on it. Whilst this shot is running the narrator says, “He was like a god walking amongst mere mortals.” The next shot is a close up of his belt, which looks like it’s made from diamond and stone. This tells the audience that Ron Burgundy is a strange character as normal people wouldn’t have wedding rings of the company they work for. As this shot is running the narrator says “He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr.” The following shot is an over the shoulder shot of Ron Burgundy putting his blazer on. The narrator says “And suits so fine, they made Sinatra look like a hobo.” The next shot is an over the shoulder shot/close up of Ron Burgundy combing his side burns. The narrator’s last words are “In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls.” The same shot is used but not in focus of his side burns, it’s a reflection of him in a mirror. He looks at himself in the mirror and says “Ummmm, 

I look good. I mean really good.” He then shouts “Hey everyone, come see good I look.”

Simple editing is used throughout the clip.

By looking at the first opening scene I can tell that most of the comedy will come from the use of innuendos and satire, some slapstick may be used as Ron Burgundy is a strange character.

Analysis of Preliminary task

Whilst editing my Preliminary Task I learnt that using i-movie which was too basic and when uploading it onto Youtube as quality wasn't very the best. To overcome this problem I downloaded Final Cut Pro for my opening sequence which is more professional and helpful and when uploading onto Youtube will give hd quality Another problem with i-movie was I couldn't advance technically and it didn't look as professional as others who used Final Cut Pro. I also learnt that I needed to have a more detailed story board so I knew exactly what shots to use for every frame.

Another thing I learnt from my Preliminary task were the skills that I picked up while filming and editing it. For example I learnt that when my character is walking I shouldn't let them walk off the frame as this makes the film disjointed I also learnt to get lots of different angles then when editing them together so that I have a huge variety of shots to make my preliminary task as good as possible. This keeps the pace moving and can include more interesting shots. I also learnt, while filming, that I always had to make sure that my actor, when filming the same scene again and again, should always walk or be on the same side and use the same movements so when I come to editing it doesn't confuse the viewer.They also had to speak and say exactly the same words so that the preliminary task can match. 

For my real Opening Sequence I should spend longer looking for better music that compliment what is happening better. I think this would add to the effectiveness of my video and trigger the correct emotion in the viewer. I would also use Final Cut Pro. This would give me more options when editing and looks more professional when I finish my task. Also on my Opening Sequence I will spend more time going through my music choices so it really fits with the piece and adds to it instead of taking away from it.

Social networking is a very useful way to get feedback on my preliminary task as people comment truthfully and you can learn what went well, what they liked or didm/t like and what they would recommend what you could change. All the comments could be used to make my opening sequence as good as it can be and not make the same mistakes that the viewers didn't like or do some of the same things that they did like.

Preliminary Task Video

Preliminary task storyboard

Before I start to film my preliminary task I decided to do a storyboard. This helped me as it gave me a visual idea of what my preliminary task would look like. It also helped me keep myself on the right track when filming. I created my story board on a websites called "storyboardthat"

Comments on preliminary task

I received some feed back for my preliminary task which looked very positive and promising.