Opening credits

Below is a list of names that can potentially be featured during our opening sequence. The names reflect the roles that we played during the production phase of the film. 

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

Charlie Watts

DIRECTOR:

Samuel Blakemore-Philips

EDITOR:
Kaden Gardener 

WRITER:

Charlie Watts

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Ty Fakoya

MUSIC:
Sam Storm

STARRING:

Ty Fakoya

Kaden Gardener

'The Shining' opening anlysis

The Shining (1980) is a British-American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. 

The Shining opens with a non-diegetic heavy brass soundtrack (Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind's "Rocky Mountains"). The opening sequence extensively uses an aerial shot and establishing shots which orchestrate the tranquility of Glacier National Park (Montana); The Shining's setting (an aspect of mise-en-scéne.) Within the broad landscape, a tracking shot shows a remote car driving along the Rocky Mountains. The wideness of the shots in conjunction with the undersized car foreshadows the distinct theme of isolation; a prerequisite for Jack's downfall.

A close-up shows the back of the car. Then, the name "Jack Nicholson" scrolls upwards. This suggests to the audience that this is this actor/character driving the car. The opening credits are capitalsed and neon blue. The boldness of the opening credits diverts the audience's attention away from the prolonged establishing shots. 

The non-diegetic heavy brass soundtrack suggests that the film is a horror, a thriller sub-genre, because music is thriller films is conventionally high-tempo and fast-paced. The dramatic music is juxtaposed with the undramatic establishing and wide shots of a serene landscape. Therefore, the exciting music builds suspense and tension, creating a tone of horror and terror. 

The narration is restricted; no character is represented. The car is the focus of the opening. This suggests that the driver of the vehicle will become significant once the car comes to a halt. It is important to note that the colour of the Volkswagen is yellow. Yellow symbolises fear, which Jack experiences as he slowly slips into madness. 

'Trainspotting' opening analysis

Trainspotting (1996) is a British black comedy crime drama directed by Danny Boyle.

Trainspotting opens with a fast-paced non-diegetic soundtrack (Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”). The music is parallel to the scene of two shoplifters (Renton and Spud) sprinting down Princes Street. A Scottish voiceover narrates the opening sequence, stating: ‘choose life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a family, choose a f***ing big television’. The fact that the film opens on Princes Street, a major thoroughfare in central Edinburgh, and that the narration is of a Scottish working-class dialect, suggests that Trainspotting in set in Scotland.

A tracking shot follows the characters down a flight of stairs. Match-on action shows a character rolling over a car bonnet. A point-of-view shot from the perspective of the car driver shows the character regain his feet, uninjured. The opening sequence then briefly pauses and the actor looks directly into the camera lens, which makes the audience feel as if the character is laughing at them. The character’s name “Renton” is displayed across the frame, which suggests that he is the central protagonist of Trainspotting because the actor has top-billing.

A straight cut shows Renton in a different environment smoking a cigarette. A wide shot shows the bare and rundown apartment where the character is consuming drugs, which suggests that Renton is economically depressed (i.e. through unemployment).

As the narrator says the line “choose friends”, the scene wipe cuts to a group of five male characters preparing to play a football game. The scene cuts to “Sick Boy”, who denies tackling a player, “Begbie”, who feels a sense of schadenfreude from tackling another player, “Spud”, who's useless at football ,and “Tommy”, who takes on the whole team by himself. Therefore, this short clip in the opening sequence symbolises the main characters’ personality traits.

The opening sequence cuts back to Renton collapsing in the room where he has been smoking. Therefore, this represents the character as a recreational drug user. Furthermore, the character rhetorically asks: “who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?” This reinforces the image of Renton as a drug user, and suggests that Trainspotting will feature drugs as an essential theme.

In conclusion, the opening portrays a group of young, Scottish heroin addicts in the 1980s. From the fast-paced editing and music, it is suggested that Trainspotting will depict heroin addicts as lacking responsibility and reckless. 

'Clockers' opening analysis

Clockers (1995) is an American crime drama film directed by Spike Lee.

Clockers opens with a non-diegetic soundtrack (Marc Dorsey's "People in Search of a Life") which juxtaposes a graphic montage of genuine crime-of-scene photographs. The graphic images of the deceased suggests that the film is not for the faint-hearted, thus it attracts a mature audience. Also, the use of police tape as a prop during the montage suggests that crime is a sub-genre of the 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks production. In fact, the film is referred to as a 'Spike Lee Joint' during the titles, which suggests that the film will contain frequent marijuana use, which ties in with the film's crime sub-genre. 



When the montage is finished, the film fades-out, and then cuts to a close-up of a black character costumed in denim dungarees. This fashion accessory was popularised by urbanites during the 1990s, so perhaps this is the time period that the film is set in. A new, non-diegetic rap soundtrack about Brooklyn plays over the opening, which perhaps is a reference to the setting of the film. 



The opening cuts to a fancy black car. A two-shot shows that it is being ridden by two middle-aged white detectives wearing suits. The car, suit and race of the characters juxtaposes the surrounding run-down African-American neighbourhood. The characters' facial expressions show that they are patrolling the area, which suggests that the setting of the film is associated with criminality. 



An establishing shot then shows the car drive pass a park. A group shot shows that the park is occupied by a group of African-American adolescents, including the character costumed in denim dungarees. The characters are represented as stereotypical African-American youths who appreciate 'gangsta rap'. The characters dialogue contains slang words and profanity, which negatively represents the black young men. At times, the characters' diegetic dialogue is inaudible, which alienates the viewer by emphasising the distinctiveness of black subcultures in late 20th-Century America.



Ultimately, the opening uses mise-es-scéne, camerawork and sound to represent a stereotypical 1990s African-American community. Narration is restricted, however representation enables the audience to unravel the cultural context of Clockers.