OpeningEG3: 300

300 

(Zack Snyder , 2006)

PRODUCED BY: Warner Bros. Pictures ,  Legendary Pictures ,  Virtual Studios

DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Bros. Pictures

BUDGET: $65m

BOX OFFICE: $210.6m 

IMDb RATING: 7.7

 The opening sequence starts with non-diegetic sound making an audio bridge from the titles with the transition fade in from black and fade out from black revealing the title of the film.



Then the first scene starts by the transition fading from black to an extreme close up of the skulls this is all still building up narrative enigma as no character has been revealed yet, also this scene is making the audience feel uneasy with the extreme close up on skulls and it still being really dark with the audio bridge of dark sound going from the titles to this scene.

 In the next scene this over the shoulder shot is used to reveal the baby character and gives the audience the sense that this might be the main character, especially when in the next scene there's a close-up shot of the baby's face, another thing to notice is this continuity of shot types in this opening sequence.

 This scene could be seen as an establishing shot and showing the audience the setting, also it's a low angle shot giving the impression that these characters have power, and in a way power over the audience to make them feel vulnerable.

After this there's then an elepsis where a transition is made and it shows this baby has grown into a young man and the story then goes from here, also another thing to notice is that the non-deigetic sound is still in the background so the audio bridge has been used throughout this opening sequence.



OpeningEG2: Dead Man's Shoes

Dead Man's Shoes
(Shane Meadows, 2004)
PRODUCED BY: Warp Films ,  Big Arty Productions ,  EM Media
DISTRIBUTED BY: Optimum Releasing
BUDGET: £750k
BOX OFFICE: £600k

Length of opening: 4 minutes 15 seconds.




Music & Sound:

The music in the opening is non-diegetic as it continues across the different scenes and shots being shown in the opening sequence this is called an audio bridge. This creates a link between the scenes especially as the start of the film it shows old footage so it creates a link between the characters shown in the old footage and them in current time. This is a big jump between childhood and the current day.

Titles:

The directer is shown as 'A Shane Meadows film' this implies that he had a lot of input and people who have seen his work in the past know that this is a recognisable thing and expect what to see from his films, and people who haven't seen any of his work presume he is of some importance, this is a good marketing technique, it's also reflecting the auteur theory.

There is a cross fade into the bleak landscape. Dry stone walls, very rural and country side. The credits for the lead actors start here appearing at different sides of the screen. There has still been no dialogue and nothing is being given away about the characters at the moment. This is a good example of narrative enigma. Also by doing this they are not giving away any accents or indication of where the film is set. We are also unsure of the year at this point, very little information about the film is given away in this opening. The screen then fades to black and then out of black and that is the end of the opening sequence.

MY FAVOURITE FILM

My Favourite Film , 300
  (Zack Snyder, 2006)

Budget: $65,000,000

Gross: $456,068,181

King Leonidas and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

It's my favourite film because of the time period it's set in and the history behind it , also my favourite genre is action and the action scenes in this are some of the best i've seen.

Official trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIbxk7idYA

Opening scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJk01emsV8

THE BRIEF

Preliminary exercise:
Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.


 Main task:
 the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.This is an excellent opportunity to pick up new skills - plus of course provide an outlet for your imagination. There is a substantial degree of written work to accompany these texts, to reflect your grasp of theory and to set out your reasons for the creative choices you make . You record progress as you go in an individual mutlimedia blog, which is how the exam board assess your research , analysis and productions.