The Butterfy effect Analysis of the opening sequence

Analysis of the Student Made opening sequence to Gone Girl

The Prezi has the soundtrack to the film opening behind it. Please turn up the sound for the presentation.

Analysis of the openeing sequence to Gone Girl

Gone Girl Title Sequence from Faris Abass Jibril on Vimeo.

Shutter Island opening sequnce analysis

Shutter island analysis of the opening sequence from 12cbrannan

Analysis of Requim for a dream opening sequence.

The non diegetic soundtrack that runs throughout the opening sequence is  Lux Aeterna. This track is used as a leitmotif throughout the movie but is first introduced in the opening credits. This piece of classical music was composed by Clint Mansell specifically for the Requiem for a Dream movie, despite the track appearing in many other films such as The lord of the rings: the two towers. The track itself is a contrast from the image track that shows a TV set being pushed around the backstreets of a city. The contrast creates enigma for the audience as well as foreshadowing that the storyline will feature a strange perspective on reality. The discordant nature of the track helps to build up a tense atmosphere  from the quit beginning to he dominating sound towards the end of the scene,despite the audience being unaware of the meaning behind the dramatic build up of the music.

The sequence begins with a Shutter like sound and the title dropping into a black shot to accompany the sound effect . This create the idea that the characters are trapped or locked in to their situation, prior to knowing their storyline. the text then corrodes into a fade to black shot. Creating the idea for the audience that there are chemicals involved with the storyline which is later revelled to be heavy drug use. The dissolving text is also accompanied by an artificial sizzling sound, this also rejuvenates the idea about heavy drug use and also creates a visual image of burning for the audience which can be noted as foreshadowing the actions of the characters later in the film.

The screen then abruptly cuts to a close up of the first character introduced to the sequence. The lighting of the shot creates a dark and dingy atmosphere as the character speaks is a muffled tone complying with the compact surroundings. Light from outside the shot is reflecting onto the characters face in order to create the enigma for the audience as to why the character is confined in such a dark place, thus mirroring the storyline of the film. The camera then flips to create a shot reverse shot  of the conversation  between the two characters, the camera then pans over the bared window which is acting as the light source from the previous shot, this could be a metaphor for how trapped the characters are feeling- this would also explain the use of the shutter like title display. There is also enigma that is created as to the symbolism behind TV set, this prop is then pushed through the entire opening sequence, making the audience question its relevance, which in turn engages them into the movie.

The camera then  switches to a wide shot of middle aged women bathing on deck chairs, the bright lighting is a large contrast from the darker lighting off the previous shots. The brighter orange tint of the shots is a result of colour temperature change in order to make the shot look warmer. This warmer tone creates a great contrast to the movies storyline, which is a deliberate effect in order to keep the audience engaged. The camera then has a panning shot of each individual woman which is then crossed with the two characters and the moving TV, portraying the divide in social status  between the two types of character. The uniform dialogue from the women creates a sceptical atmosphere creating yet more enigma for the audience as well as the idea that all people are the same and can be effected by the same thing no matter of your social class, which again foreshadows the plot of the film. A wide shot of the women of the street is then used so that the audience can see the graffiti on the wall behind their sun trap. The message on the wall read 'shamed' which will only be subconsciously noticed y the audience however the message is referencing the plot line and how the characters are too ashamed to face up to their metal struggles.

The camera then changes from a wide shot of the women to a wide shot of a busy market street. The shot is half lit with sunlight and half in complete darkness. This lighting is a foreshadowing metaphor of the darkness that the characters choose to ignore, which effectively makes them worse off in the long run. This shot again creates enigma amongst the audience as to where the scene is going. The shot then fades to black to feature more credits in the same corroding typography as the title sequence. The text colour is white, which is usually connoted with innocence and purity however when the text dissolves it becomes clear to the audience that all of the innocence has been lost for the characters.

A black shot the reoccurs with  more credits. The theme of the text is the same as previous credit shots however the names that appear on the screen are enclosed in opposite corners. This deliberate spacing creates the idea of distance between the characters which again foreshadows the rest of the plotline for the audience.

There is then a tracking shot of the characters pushing the TV set across a fairground. The shot is low angled which highlights the characters fast pace movements by showing the audience a better view on their panicked expressions. Also the fairground as the mise en scène creates more enigma for the audience as it is a reoccurring theme in the background of the shots. This makes the audience question its relevance and wonder if there is  a link between the fairground rides and the characters actions.

This is followed by  a cut away shot of a rusting fire hydrant with the characters still pushing the TV set across the back of the scene. The corroding theme of the opening sequence is then reintroduced as the focus of the shot is on the rust of the fire hydrant, this theme is then reflected onto the characters with there movements in the back of the shot. The black shot of credits then abruptly interrupts the  shot again highlighting the chemically corroding theme.

The audience are then shown an extreme wide of shot of the sea front. The main focus of the shot is the light from the sun, although it is slightly blurred, the light source of the scene reflects onto the end of the walkway where the characters are heading. This could be a symbolism of there characters fate, often bright lights connote death. However this scene is left open to interpretation by the audience as they have not yet been introduced to the characters intentions.

An artificial scratching noise is then introduced to the Lux Aeterna track. The sound creates the imagery of a record player becoming stuck on a vinyl LP. This added repetitive scratching sound creates in idea of the characters being trapped or stuck in there own situation mirroring previous ideas of the characters isolated situation. The added sound also builds tension for the scene as well as creating a disturbing contrast between the image track and the sound track giving the audience the understanding that there is a darker layer to what seams like a fairly normal situation.

A central wide shot is then used of which the characters move across. This shot shows the struggle to move the TV set and how far they have travelled with it. This could resemble the journey that the characters are on and the struggle they will go through throughout the film. This shot then transfers to another black shot of corroding names.

Another low angle tracking shot is displayed with the characters expressions becoming more jovial despite the now much higher volume and more intense soundtrack, this again creates enigma for the audience as to what the meaning behind the contrast is.

After another black shot of credits, there is a cast away shot that is split on half by a metal bar. On one side of the shot there is an overgrown grassland with an abandoned roller-coaster in the background and the other half shows boarded up buildings. On both sides of the shot there is a sign of thing eroding such as the ding leaves on the left and the crumbling building on the right. The corrosion theme is evident on both sides of the shot however in personal opinion I believe that the two sides of the shot show the difference between reality and the mental state of the characters. With the wild grassland and abandoned fairground resembling the characters mental state of overgrown thoughts and abandoned hopes and the mental bars and uniformed buildings being the cadged reality that they are trapped in.

The credits of the producers and other non- character rolls are central to the black shot rather than being at the corners, this furtherly highlights the distance they are trying to resemble between the characters as well as promote the directors and producers of the film.

 A wide shot of roller coaster is similar to the wide shot of the previous central wide shot in that the camera angle doesn't move it is the characters that move across the screen, thus creating the symbolism for the journey of the characters. The shot then transitions to a cut away shot of two gas meters with the characters moving in the background. The shot also has the roller-coaster in the background again creating enigma for the audience as they begin to question the journey the characters are on.

The final shot of the opening sequence is the same as the first shot with the black shot falling from the top of the screen with the shutter sound. This just furtherly highlights the trapped situation of the characters to the audience. However the final shot doesn't have the title of the movie it has 'SUMMER' written across the screen in order to set the scene for the audience as the next scene begins.

There is ambient sound to the opening until half way through the sequence. Theses sounds such as the movement of the TV set and the footsteps of the characters add realism to the scene. however at half way through the soundtrack overpowers the ambient sound as well as all other diegetic sound. This not only builds tension to the piece but creates the idea for the audience that reality can be blocked out by a unstable metal state.

Sound analysis of Ex-Machina

Throughout the scene both diegetic and non diegetic sounds are used in order to enhance the audience emotion and understanding of the scene as well as create an intense atmosphere which reflects the
powerful image track.

The scene begins with the start of the non diegetic soundtrack which immediately starts to build a tense atmosphere for the audience due to the discordant nature of the music.
There is then the diegetic sound of the characters hand hitting another characters flesh, this is likely to be an artificial sound that's added in during the editing however the 'punching' sound adds realism to the scene as well as engaging the audiences attention with the impact of using the high frequency sound. This is then followed by another abrupt diegetic sound of a body hitting the floor which will also be artificially added in for the same reasons as the 'punching sound' for realism and engaging the audiences attention.

The soundtrack then becomes even more discordant creating a high level of enigma for the audience as they begin to question the actions of the characters and the logic behind them. This idea is cut shot by another short diegetic sound of the weights dropping to the floor. These continuously high frequency sounds to accompany the actions on the image track are not just for realism but to create the idea that the character at the start of the scene is powerful by creating a large amount of significant damage through no dialogue only actions and the sounds to accompany the actions.

A sound bridge then links the previous scene to the next scene as the now slightly smother non diegetic soundtrack follows through the entire of the next scene as well as the last. Not  only does this create a smooth transition but to foreshadow that the two scenes are directly links a few seconds before it becomes clear. The soundtrack is still quit blatantly the same tract however it has now taken a much more melodic nature which creates an almost creepy atmosphere to the audience particularly when the image track reveals a knife, this then confirms the negative connotations of something bad happening in the near future that the soundtrack had begun to create.Also there is a close up shot of a hand tapping in time with the soundtrack creating parallel sound for the audience to perceive as slightly strange in order to build up enigma as well as tension.

The sound of a door opening, footsteps then the door closing are then layer on top of the soundtrack. These sounds are known as ambient sounds which are only noticed by the audience subconsciously, however they are essential in adding realism and creating the dystopian world that is essential for the sci-fi film. in particular the door sound as it is clearly not the sound of a shutting door in the real world, it is much more computerised in order to fit with the movies genre.

Dialogue is then introduced to the scene with a slight echo to it. This creates an isolated atmosphere for the audience which directly links with the films genre of science fiction. The echoing dialogue is also accompanied by the subtle sound of wind to add to the other ambient sounds of the scene to create realism. the wind also reinforces the isolated, spacey atmosphere to the audience which directly links with the echoing behind the dialogue.

There is also a slight buzzing sound added to accompany the image track of when the robot character moved this is also an example of ambient sound that is often overlooked by the audiences, however this added realism to the movement of the character and without the sound the scene wouldn't create the dystopian atmosphere intended to accompany the films sci-fi genre.

The collection of diegetic and non diegetic sounds from the movement of the robot character and the dialogue of the male character to the build up of tension created by the soundtrack create a quick build up of tension that is parallel to the image track. This tension build up is then exuviated by the diegetic thud of the characters falling to the ground. The reason that the two types of sound are combined is to create a sudden shift in atmosphere for the audience as they comprehend the psychological reinfinments of the character on screen.

As the image track portrays a struggle on screen the non-diegetic sound becomes much quieter to allow the diegetic sounds of the struggling between the characters and the ambient sounds of the robots metal limbs creating a crashing noise against the floor. this is both to add more realism and to build up a suspense as the struggle can be clearly heard over the soundtrack making it more intense to view. When the fight scene becomes more intense the soundtrack becomes more discordant in order to enhance the tensions in the scene for the audience, the soundtrack slowly become louder as the characters begin to damage each other and when the soundtrack is accompanied by the sounds of the robot being dismantled its created a gripping atmosphere to draw the audiences attention into the scene and well as enforce the sci-fi genre onto the audience with the futuristic sound effects when puling the robot character apart.

When the knife is stabbed into the characters back the expected sound would be much louder and more intense than what is displayed. This is to enforce the metaphor that runs throughout the movie that the robots have much more power of the humans than expected and the smooth transition of the knife into the body is accompanied by a smooth build up from the soundtrack to show that at the weaker human who has been stabbed looses his power as the soundtrack drops to relive the high tension of the scene.

Sound research

Types of sound commonly found in opening sequences:

Diegesis - The world created by a film. For sound to be diegetic the characters have to hear the sound as well as the audience. The opposite would be non diegetic sound such as the soundtrack, unless the characters can hear the song if it were playing from a radio or jukebox etc.

Ambulant sound- Is the background noise to add realism. This is usually diegetic sound in shots although is usually artificially added in during editing. An example of ambulant sound could be footsteps or a dog bark etc.

Sound bridge- Any sound that continues from one shot to the next. Usually a smooth transition.

Parallel sound- Sound that compliments the image track.

Contrapuntal sound-  Sound that doesn't compliment or fit the image track. Usually for comedic or disjointed effect.

Melodic and Discordant sound- Melodic sound is usually a soft pleasing sound with positive connotations. Discordant sound is usually very sharp and erratic  bringing negative connotations to a scene.

Sound motif- Consistent piece of sound that used continuously through out the film to link pervious scenes and set a continuous tone throughout the narrative.

Evaluation of the editing of the preliminary task

Evaluation of the filming of the preliminary exercise

Preliminary Task- 'Mugged' Edited by Connie Brannan

Camera Angles

During shooting we tried out  a number of shots. We attempted to try out shot reverse shot as it was part of the preliminary task brief as well as using the 180-degree rule. this proved difficult to stay on the same line when shooting from different angles however we managed to keep to one side in order to abide by the filming rule. By doing this we could see what shot angles worked best for the scene, so we added POV shots and over the shoulder shots to add suspense and different shooting techniques to the scenes.

Filming shots

Close Up Shot

Match On Action Shot 1

Match On action Shot 2

POV Shot

Close Up Shot

Over the Shoulder Shot

Editing

Editing from 12cbrannan

Costume

For Molly's character we decided to keep the costume simple and casual in order to represent the fact that she is at home. however we kept the colour scheme of the costume very dark in order to foreshadow the disastrous future events.

For Harri's character we decided to keep the costume simple so that the focus was not taken away from the characters actions. The coat was originally black but we later decided to change the colour to khaki green so that the character could pass for a normal person despite the characters intentions. The camera angle was also focused oh Harri's shoes in many shots in order to create suspense and develop the storyline as the character moves through the scene. This is why the chosen footwear for the character is just simplistic trainers to create the idea for the audience that this character could be anybody, thus drawing the audience into the scene as they are interested in finishing out who the character is.

Music and Sound Effects

Music:
During editing I searched for some creepy/tense piano music to accompany the shots. Due to the fact that the scene is for the preliminary task I used a sound clip from YouTube. After importing the sound clip behind the scene I was pleasantly surprised at how well the music worked with the scene. I adjusted the volume of the track at different points of the short film so that the dialogue could be heard, however the transitions between the volumes were not as smooth as they could have been. Overall the music did work relatively well as it added a darker atmosphere to the piece which makes the audience become more involved in the scene.

Sound effects:
As well as the background music I also got the sound effect of the creaking door from YouTube. The added sound effect created a creepier effect for the audience and enhanced their understanding of the storyline. I also tried to add a sound effect of screams to the end of the piece however this effect didn't really work with the scene as it created an unrealistic atmosphere for the audience therefore i didn't leave the added scream sound effect on the finished preliminary task.

Problems faced whilst shooting:

During the shoot there were not too many problems other than the following:

• The tripod proved difficult to be used effectively therefore we had to improvise.

• The drop in temperature as the shot went on was noticeable after long periods of filming.

• Shooting outside became temperamental sue to the weather.

• The props proved difficult to set up although they did work eventually.

Storyboard for 'Mugged"

The story board was created to help to plan the filming the preliminary task. The board was useful as it had notes about what shot type to use to film each scene which made filming all the panning and camera movement shots a lot easier as filming from a various different angled wasn't necessary, this will also make the editing process easier as there will be less of the same scene to edit and delete. As well as this the storyboard shows where there are any diegetic and non diegetic sound and also a rough idea of how long each clip is going to to last which gives an idea of how long the entire scene will last. Also overall the story board helps the overall filming process run smoothly and more organised.

'Mugged' Screenplay

Screenplay from 12cbrannan

The screenplay for the preliminary task is entitled 'Mugged'. the tasks requirements were two people exchanging dialogue and shots are to be continuous and flow with fluency from different shots and camera angles. This preliminary task is about two character (one male and one female). the male character being a strange man who is stalking the female character from outside her house until he enters and grabs her by the neck. The scene is slightly enigmatic as to what is going to happen next and to the context behind the characters actions thus engaging the audience into the scene.