Research Into Similar Media Texts: Children Of Men

Children Of Men is a thriller film which is set in the future, 2027.

• The future is represented as being very dull as all of the colours are dark greys and black, the lighting is very dark. You can tell that it is set in London as you see the big red buses and the signs on the shops. It also represents the city as very polluted as the vehicles have thick grey smoke coming out of them. The city is very dirty with rubbish everywhere. Overall the city has been shown in a negative way.
• We firstly see the main protagonist, we understand this as he is the main focus of the whole opening scene. He is shown putting alcohol in his coffee so we are not sure if he is a is a hero or a villian. When the explosion goes off he is not shown to go and help anybody. His appearance is quite scruffy and dirty so the audience do not see him as a hero.
• The lighting is very natural and it gives a cold effect. It helps give a more realistic feel to the opening scene.
• The camera shots which have been used mainly being a high angle shot, then a low angle shot. Following this is a continuous shot following the main protagonist. The continuous shot allows the audience to view the setting of where it is set in one go instead of different shots. The shaky camera effect that has been included is making the sequence more realistic when the bomb goes off. Which also makes you think of someone running.
• The sound of the opening scene is the voice of a news reader's voice which is very serious. There is no music to start but music is gradually added, which is very touching music. This is done to match the mood of what is happening in the shot and to give the audience a feel of how people in the scene are feeling. As the camera moves out we start to hear the sound of the city, which is mostly cars and people talking.

Opening Sequence Analysis - Research into Similar Texts

I looked at the film 'Zombieland':

• Zombieland is a horror/comedy and it is similar to the film 'Shaun of the Dead (spoof of Dawn of the Dead)
• The first voice we hear is the narrator. You can straight away tell he is quite a young 'normal' boy. This straight away seems strange as in usual zombie films the protagonist is usually an older, more professional and experienced person. The way he explains the 'rules' of Zombieland sounds quite humorous but they help set the tone of the film and help us work out the genre which straight away you would think is horror but the audience may be changing their minds. The way the narrator is speaking seems very calm  which seems to the audience that he has been doing it for a long time. He doesn't hold back any information which seems strange as usually horror films hold back a lot of information from the audience to create suspense.  The lighting used is quite natural which makes the situation seem more real. 
• The use of handheld shots create a sense of panic. It also looks as if the character is filming what is around him which seems very realistic. The high angle shot from one of the 'humans' shows him to be vulnerable and shows that the zombie is the one with the power, which leads into the zombies ruling the world. The first title we see is 'Columbia pictures' in red, this is a connotation of danger, violence and blood. The style of the title also relates to it being a lively action film. The lighting used is quite natural which makes the situation seem more real.
• We straight away know the film is set in America as the first shot is of the American flag. The camera then zooms out and in the background we see The White House with smoke coming out of it. This indicates the film is set in Washington. You can immediately tell things aren't right as the smoke coming out of The White House, and the mess in all the roads. It is easy to tell which genre this film is almost straight away. The opening is very effective and I think that it interests the audience to want to carry on watching the film and find out more. 

Opening Sequence Analysis - Research into Similar Texts

I looked at the film 'Juno', this is a comedy drama film.

• The titles in the opening sequence are childlike and similar to a comic book. This is good as the titles should always relate in some way to the film, which they are doing as the film is presenting Juno (The character) to be a young girl. The titles also link to the season, as they are sort of blowing in the wind, just like how leaves fall of trees. Because the titles are so childish they show that the other characters may also be adolescents and that Juno still has an inner child in her and the idea of bringing another child into the world is slowly turning from a daydream to reality. This also shows her state of mind whilst she is walking, like she is completely daydreaming and not paying attention to anything else. 
• Straight away we can tell Juno is a teenager because of her costume. She is wearing a jumper, jeans and some trainers which makes her look very casually dressed. She doesn't look as if she's bothered much with how she looks. She is also dressed quite tomboyish so you wouldn't expect her to be pregnant. Her clothes are also quite baggy and unflattering which shows she doesn't need to show off all her skin or she isn't very vain which is quite different to some other teenagers who would care about what they look like or what they wear. 
• The first camera angle used is an establishing shot, this tells us exactly where the film is set and what sort of area Juno is living in. We see a long shot of Juno drinking juice from a bottle, this is quite informal and shows the audience that she doesn't mind what people really think of her
• The non diegetic music replaces all other sounds which also hints to being in a daydream. The music helps establish the genre and the type of atmosphere that the film creates. The film is a coming of age film and the music really reflects this. 

Opening Sequence Analysis - Research into Similar Texts

I looked at the film 'Legally Blonde':

• Legally blonde is a very girlie chick flick film, it is also a romantic comedy.
• Straight away the film starts up with very girlie upbeat music, this indicates exactly what the genre of the film is.
• The first shot is an extreme close up of blonde hair and pink credits which is in connotation to girlie things and teenage girls. This scene lets audience know the type of film. 
• Next you see a card labelled to 'Elle' this tells audience who the main character is and she is clearly important but you do not find out why at this point. We slowly get shown parts of the main character but not all of her at once. You can already imagine what she would look like in whole though as you are given clues and know what you think she would look like. 
• The music is very girlie, the lyrics 'Its a perfect day' makes the audience think everyday in this house that all these girls are in is 'perfect' and every day there is fun. The girls in the house all look very happy which suggests none of them have any troubles or worries. 
• The mis en scene has clearly been picked out cleverly, everything is pink, even the envelope which is being passed around. 
• At the end there is a tracking shot around the main characters room, showing more about her including photos and a homecoming queen sign (shows she is popular) this helps the audience find more about her past, then finally we are shown the main character looking exactly as the audience would have expected to look. 
• Straight away this film shows the audience what sort of film it is so they will be attracted to it straight away and know its exactly the sort of film they wanted to watch.