Se7en opening sequence

The opening credits of se7ven begin with all of the actions/images such as books turning, drawings and razors in a dull shade of colour. This is significant straight away because it's a plot give away of the film. The visuals connote the film as a dark, ominous and chilling thriller. The images used begin to introduce the idea of the genre and are provoking to the audience, for example the newspaper cut outs and the picture of the little boy’s eyes being blanked out. As the sequence goes on, the visuals become increasingly sinister; for example when we see a pair of dirty hands performing disturbing actions. The hands are likely to belong to a central character of the film, so the audience have already been introduced to perhaps a threatening character. The actions in the sequence also appear not to be shown in chronological order, and often 'double vision', they flicker across each other. As well as having this, there are flashing lights at erratic moments, often coinciding with the screen titles changing. This is an indication that the film is jumpy, and is likely to be unpredictable and scary. It also creates enigma for the audience. As the title credits begin to appear, they seem to be in a child-like handwriting, this is chilling because when the audience thinks of a child and their innocence they don’t think about grime actions that are being shown along with the credits. The music follows the action on screen, as it starts off quite slow, then when the hands seem to be creating a plan, the music picks up pace. The soundtrack also seems mismatched and this further connotes the fact that this film will be a thriller of some sort.

Halloween Opening sequence

 

 

The opening sequence of 'Halloween' starts off with a blank screen with the sound of children chanting a Halloween song. As this shot continues to be shown, the credits appear. They are in white writing which create a ghostly feel. All of these elements begin to conform to the idea that the film is a thriller.

A subjective point of view shot is used throughout the opening sequence of this film. The camera moves in POV around a house. This creates enigma in the audience because we are curious as to who is behind the shots. There is no sound at all except for crickets in the night time, this is significant because it creates a sense of mystery and leaves the audience feeling on edge. I've realised that the use of enigma is very significant in most opening sequences. I think this is because directors what to keep the audience's attention. This means the audience will be forced to watch and try to figure out what is happening. The use of POV is also so that the audience feel like they are behind the eyes of the 'killer'. It's also significant to show the journey of the character, we feel as though we are there with the characters. We see two teenagers in the house being looked at. The introduction of these characters is significant because we are introduced to the storyline. When the boy leaves, the audience's expectations are conformed. A young girl being preyed on, on Halloween means that there will definitely be a killing.

The camera moves into the house, this is where we see the 'killer' pick up a knife. He then starts walking up the stairs. The diegetic sound of the girl humming upstairs creates a tense atmosphere.

when a stranger calls opening sequence

The opening sequence of 'When a stranger calls' starts off with a blank screen. This creates a sense of mystery and also conforms to the genre of the film, thriller. We hear the diegetic sound of a phone conversation. It's between a man and a Teenage girl, we hear the voices but we can't see the characters. This is significant because it creates enigma. This makes the audience want to keep watching to find out what is going on. The man seems quite mysterious and dangerous. The audience expectation after seeing the first few shots is that there is going to be a chase to catch the 'killer' or the 'caller' and we expect for there to be a few killings.

Typically like any other opening sequence the credits appear to show case the industry. In this case it is ' A Davis entertainment production'. The colour of the font is white and it fades in and out of the shot. This is very ghostly and mirrors the tone of the film; it also indicates the genre very clearly.

There is an establishing shot of a house and the camera slowly pulls away to a fair ground nearby. Through the use of a montage we see various shots of families, children playing, lights and we hear laughing and people having a good time. Although this is taking place we still hear the sound of a teenager getting mysterious phone calls. This introduces the story line of what the film will probably be about. The montage is also probably used to speed up time here and also to frighten the audience. An example is when the camera shows a shot of some silver spoons dangling down and blowing in the wind, it quickly changes with the sound of someone screaming back to the fair ground.

There is a non-diegetic soundtrack that sounds very eerie as though something bad is about to happen. At one point the camera goes into a point of view shot of a character. This character appears to be the 'killer', he watches the woman carefully and we hear heavy breathing. This really mirrors the genre of a thriller. It’s generic to have a 'killer' spying on their victim before they kill them.

    

I Am Legend opening Sequence

I Am Legend is a Thriller and its opening sequence establishes this very well. At the beginning we are presented with a black screen and we hear a narrator (The Survivor). This creates enigma because the audience are curious and want to know what is going on. 

The non-diegetic soundtrack is parallel to the footage being played because it’s very slow and quite ominous. The diegetic sound during the first few shots is calm and can be seen as positive because we hear birds tweeting. However this may also represent death in this immense emptiness of this city. 

The introduction of Will Smith's character mirrors that the film will be a thriller or an action of some sorts. This is because he represents a typically fit, handsome protagonist. He is also shown with a gun. The gun is symbolic as it portrays the genre of this film and also may symbolise that there is a sense of danger, there is a threat after the people of New York. This idea is reinforced further when the camera moves to a broken down bill board that says ‘God still loves us’ this portrays something sinister, something bad is going to happen.     

 

Legally Blonde opening sequence

The opening of Legally Blonde is introduced to us through the use of a montage. A montage is different images assembled to build up an impression. In this case it’s used to compress time, so that we see events that would take place within a day in just a few minutes. An example of this is when we see 'Elle' getting ready; she's done within a few seconds. This is used to retain the audience's attention; we are shown enough to keep us interested. Another thing that grabs our attention is that we don’t see the main character’s face but only what she is doing. This creates enigma, leaving us curious as to who this 'homecoming queen' is. The use of the colour pink connotes the femininity of the main character (Reese Witherspoon) and the other girls at the campus. It also sets the genre of the film which is a romantic comedy. The credits are in a swirly girlish white writing which again reiterates the film as being a romcom. The non - diegetic soundtrack of the pop song 'Perfect day' suggests that 'Elle', perhaps has a 'perfect' life as there is various clues that she does. For example, the homecoming queen banner, the fact that she seems popular, because all the girls at the sorority are signing her birthday card. The track could also imply that everything is 'perfect' at that moment in time but there will be something that will come along to ruin the day.

The opening sequence of 'Legally Blonde' is very stereotypical. In the first few shots we assume that Elle is a 'typical dumb blonde'. She brushes her hair, paints her nails and shaves her legs. This portrays her as really feminine and as a stereotypical blonde. There is continuity editing which is invisible and you do not actually realise that the scenes are changing as it is so smooth.