Katie's Opening Analysis

Katie Doyle                          Opening Sequence Analysis

 

 

 

The opening sequence of the film I’m going to analyse is Man on Fire. The sequence initially suggests that the film is going to be about kidnapping as in the opening titles we are presented with the fact “In Latin America there is a Kidnapping every 60 minutes, only 70% of the victims survive.” Also, within the sequence, there are many different active shots, giving the audience glimpses of the scenario without giving too much away. This helps intrigue the audience, as they are given alt of unanswered questions during this sequence.

 

The first thing presented to us in the sequence is the company logo. The titles such as the actors, director and the producer, are presented in a way that suits the film. They all have a similar font, bold filled with colour that are associated with evil like black and red.

 

The first camera technique used is a montage, which gives a quick and exciting feeling to the movie suggesting that a lot is happening at once. Different camera techniques used during the montage are; establishing shots, pan and mechanical shots to name a few. The variety of the camera shots also and to the busy and hectic feeling to the sequence.

 

The Mise-en-scene adds to the confused and chaotic feel of the sequence. Firstly, the film is set in a busy and crazy city with a lot happening at once. We quickly are informed this city is Latin America by the fact given at the beginning. The actors are acting in a way, which is far from calm such as panicked, scared and upset. This adds to the intensity of the scene. The costumes of the characters, from smart and posh to quite commonly dressed, shows the divide between the characters. There are a lot of weapons and gore used which shows this is a violent film. The different lighting used, from low lighting to natural light, makes it very atmospheric and highlights the different moods and feelings of the film.

 

The sound also contributes to the powerfulness of the film. A lot of digetic and non-digetic sound is used. Digetic being gunshots, screams and children’s laughter, which gives a creepy feeling to the film. Non-digetic being action music which changes to the mood of the scene and also adjusts the mood of the viewers.

 

Overall, I think all the different aspects of this opening sequence work well together and contribute to the genre and the effect the film is trying to give. I think it successfully gives a tense and anxious feeling to the film and productively made me eager to continue watching the film.