Film Opening Research 1

Film opening Research

Wild Things (1998) Mystery:
  • How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
    • There is one main title displayed before the cast names. "Wild Things" was the title. However, the entirety of the opening scene is a listing of the actors and actresses names. 
  • What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
    • Images of nature and wildlife, namely the Everglades
  • What connotations do the images carry?
    • Rather than carrying peaceful messages of nature and all of its beauty, the director aims in capturing the wild side of the animals. For example, when the title is displayed, an alligator, the Everglade's ecosystem's apex predator, is shown in the background. This may foreshadow that there is an apex predator within the movie. After this, a large flock of birds is seen scattering everywhere and digetic sounds of the birds can be heard over the wild nondigetic music. This may be attempting to indicate nature is unruly. 
  • How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
    • The music is both technical and symbolic in that it aims to display emotion and add emphasis of the wildness of the opening scene. 
    • The lighting is a technical code. The opening scene takes place during dusk (low light)  in the wetlands, and soft shades of pink and purple reflect on the water. despite the abiotic factors of the ecosystem being peaceful, calm,  and innocent, the animals disrupt this peacefulness with a contrast-- movement. 
    • when the title is displayed, the close up shot of the alligator's snout shows that dangerous creatures can be found anywhere, even within a calm atmosphere. This is symbolic because it can suggest that during the movie there might be conflict which disrupts a normally calm environment. 
    • At the end, a wide angle, establishing shot of a school is shown, giving setting and mood. The teens down below are playing sports, walking briskly along the sidewalks, and talking. the fact that this is all going on at once makes the viewer understand why they would choose to show animals during the opening credits, because like animals, teens are wild and unruly!
  • How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
    • The film establishes an enigma from the outset by the viewers are drawn into the mystery of the animals. since the title is "wild things", it makes sense that the movie is beginning with shots of wild animals. however, the audience is left to predict until the end of the opening scene if the humans will also be acting as wild things within the movie, which is left unanswered within just the opening.
  • What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
    • The target audience is teens. This is a teenage mystery movie. The producers draw people in by choosing a mysterious movie cover photo of two girls peaking their heads out of the water, a symbolic reference to the alligator in the opening scene. This, along with the upbeat music draws people in emotionally because they want to see teenagers acting wild like the animals are. 
  • How has technology been used effectively?  You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.
    • A zooming shot towards the setting sun helps display the time of day in that "wild things" happen/ come out at night, especially in swampy ecosystems. An extreme long shot shows an aerial view of the marshy ground below, over an expanse of miles. The frenzy of the birds helps develop the theme of "wild things" in that they are contributing random motion and wild energy to the opening scene. Switching to an aerial shot of the town, it causes a shift in mood in that now viewers can feel that something wild will happen here, too. much like the everglades, where wild things live, the audience can predict wild things or wild people will be in this town, created by the fading transition of everglades to city. 

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