2. The Lord Of War
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lord-of-war/
• The opening sequence starts off with a panning long shot of a
factory, so that the audience knows where they are.
• The music stays the same through the sequence, it is a very
casual song it is suggesting that the things that happen in the
opening sequence happen all of the time and it’s “just another
day at the office”
• An interesting aspect of this opening sequence is that it is in
the perspective of a bullet being made in a factory and then
being sold on the market.
• There are a couple of different angles in this sequence and
some camera trickery to make the sequence go more
smoothly. Eg: when the bullet is being transported the camera
keeps looking down so that you can’t see anything; after a
couple of seconds it will be jolted back up again and be in a
different location (this has been done purely to make the
sequence go more smoothly), another interesting angle is from
inside the gun you can see down the barrel and who the
person firing the gun is aiming at so it makes the audience
wonder who he is going to fire at.
• Eventually the bullet gets fired in a gang battle and goes
through the head of a young child soldier it then cuts to black
and the music stops to represent his death. This is used to
discomfort the audience and is preparing them for the violence
that will occur in the film
3. The Incredible Hulk
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-incredible-hulk/
• The sequence starts off with a lot of close ups of x-
rays and cat scans which is obviously referring to
the medical side of the hulk and how it is physically
possible for someone to be able to turn into the
hulk.
• There is only one colour that is primarily used in
the sequence which is obviously green as this is the
colour that the hulk turns into when he is mad and
transforms.
• The music for the opening sequence is quite
intense and is supposed to keep you in suspense
when he is in the machine getting blasted with
gamma radiation
• When the camera is in the perspective of the hulk
there is some yellow distortion around the edge of
the screen suggesting that the hulk only focuses on
what is directly in front of him. It also suggests that
he is not actually in control of himself.
• Only mid shots are really used in this sequence this
is because it is quite an action packed opening it
also creates a claustrophobic atmosphere as this is
what hulk will feel as he is very large compared to
the room and if long shots were used the audience
would feel as if they were out of the action and not
feel as involved.
4. Reservoir Dogs
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/Reservoir-dogs/
• The Opening sequence starts with a side view long
shot walking in slow motion just as the music starts
• One by one each of the characters get a close up and
their credit appears at the bottom so the audience
knows who is who and who the actor for each
character is.
• There is then a long shot from behind which shows
them getting into the car as the title “Reservoir Dogs”
comes onto the screen
• There is then a cut to black and more credits come
onto the screen, the music is still playing so its still
watchable for the audience.
• Dialogue then starts half way through the credits
coming on to the black screen which is going to
Segway into the actual film when it comes back.
• The colour of the film is natural as possible nothing
really stands out, but the slow-motion is very
disjointed because is was because Quentin Tarantino
chose not to have it look natural and wanted it to
resemble technology at the time
5. Machete
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/machete/
• The opening to machete is in a montage
type format but instead of using clips they
have chosen to display stills for the opening
sequence.
• The colours used for the opening are very
vibrant and not natural colours
• There are mostly mid-shots and close ups
used in the sequence as it is introducing the
characters and you need to get a good look
at who they are so that you can recognise
them later in the film.
• As soon as the sequence starts we get a
close up of a lot of knives or “Machetes”
which gives us a clear indication of what
genre the film is going to be.
• The picture of the opening sequence has a
lot of small markings on that only appear
for a second this is to give the illusion that
the film is being shown from a film reel
even if it is digitally shown
• The title machete when it is shown is in big
bold letters to show the dominance and
integrity Machete has but the colour of the
letters are worn down to show how old and
battered he is from his years of violence
6. Beetle Juice
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/beetlejuice/
• Beetle Juice’s opening plays music before actually
showing anything, the production company's logo
comes up and also Tim Burton’s name with a black
background.
• The title of Beetle Juice looks like it has been carved
into stone from the black points in the graphic that
are missing, there are also 6 very worn down skulls
that look like they have been there a long time, Beetle
juice has been carved in black into a white
background so it almost looks like a mural
• The music then changes to something more upbeat
and the black background changes into a establishing
wide shot over the trees, the camera then pans over
the trees so that you can see a little town.
• There is then a series more of establishing wide shots
blended into eachother following a long road down,
we then come to a big house on top of a hill which is
where the movie is set.
• The music then stops and a tarantula climbs onto the
roof of the house most audience members will not
like spiders so this is an effort to disturb the audience
and make them feel small. this is then the transition
into the actual film as the house is actually a model
house on a big table.
