Film Opening Research 2

Twilight (2008) drama:

• How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
• The title of the producer (company) is first displayed at 2:02, and at 2:06 the title "twilight" is displayed. 
• What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
• the movie opens to a densely wooded forest, filled with thick shrubbery and fallen trees. An extreme close up of a deer's eye and zooming out to see the full deer by a pond gives the audience of the feeling that it is being watched. A point of view shot of a forest helps to give this effect. A follow shot of the small deer is displayed as if someone or something is running after it. 
• What connotations do the images carry?
• dark, anxious, and confused. Why is the deer running away frantically? Who or what is chasing it so quickly?
• How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
• The lighting switches between three point at the beginning to high key at the end of the shot. A non digetic voice over of Bella's (the main character) voice adds suspicion to the scene because the audience wants to understand what it is that she is "dying" or "sacrificing" herself for. The audience may wonder if she is supposed to be represented as the gentle, naive deer that gets captured by the thing that is chasing it? This could be a foreshadowing of her character. This sequence of events helps represent drama because drama often shows raw emotion. 
• Setting and mood are better displayed when the scene fades out to an establishing shot of mountains and a desert environment. This sets up the scene and gives the audience background knowledge about the main character, Bella. In her voice over, Bella explains that her mom and step dad want to travel the country and move from their home out west. Bella, on the other hand, wants to live a unadventurous life as she finishes up high school (as it seems). The mood changes to be more upbeat as a low angle shot of a plane taking off appears, showing that Bella is moving to Washington state to live with her dad is a small town called Forks. Non digetic music, positive and relatively upbeat music plays as she drives in a car with her dad as the opening scene ends. The final thought of the opening scene is the audience wonders what her death will be in Forks, and what events will lead to it as she innocently and blindly drives with her dad into a new town. 
• How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
• The enigma or mystery put in place from the opening scene is the wonder character's have about Bella's death. We do not know when or how she will die, (non disclosed by her voice over) so we have to pick up on clues and predict how it will happen. 
• What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
• upbeat music, a sense of suspense and mystery, and a pretty teenage girl all help appeal to the target audience. The cover of the movie also helps appeal because it looks like a dark and mysterious portrayal of a handsome young man and woman, drawing the teenage and young adult audience in. 
• How has technology been used effectively?  You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques.
• Flashing between follow shots and high angle shots as the deer is being chased by a mysterious entity creates tension and anxiety in the very beginning of the opening scene. A fade out to the next scene of a wide angle establishing shot of the desert brings about the initial setting. The voice over of Bella's voice helps establish character. Also, when they finally show Bella it helps put a voice to a face, so when the audience finally sees her they feel like they already know something about her. This familiarity helps people internally identify with Bella in that they, too, would die for someone they love. This effective usage of film and camera techniques helps display this emotion.