Texual Analysis

This is the opening sequence to the 1995 thriller film "Seven". Seven was directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. The story follows a retiring detective (Morgan Freeman) and his replacement (Brad Pitt), jointly investigating a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the seven deadly sins.

The opening title sequence to Seven is very dark, its starts with a book being opened which suggests that the audience are going to be taken on a journey filled with twists and turns.
The title sequence uses very quick shots, this makes the audience feel disoriantated but makes them intrigued and want to see more of the film. Alot of images are flashed at the screen making the viewer feel confused and it is slightly unsettling.

The music used again is very eerie and disoriatating, it keeps the audience alert and making them to want to know more. The shots being very short make sure that the audience dont know too much and it leaves many things unanswered. Towards the end of the opening the music picks up starts to begins to make a climax

There are alot of shots overlaying eachother again adding to the pace of the piece and adding more dramatic tension. Images of peoples faces being crossed out are seen which suggests that the film will have a disturbing nature to it.

We never see a specific person only there hands this suggests that the identity of the person will be unknown throughout the film.
The book becomes very significant towards the end of the piece, we see the figures sewing things into it more images suggesting death and violence are seen.The flashes between shots make it hard to focus on one particular element suggesting to the audience that the film they are about to watch is not what it seems

Textual Analysis

This is the opening sequence to the 1992 horror movie "Candy man". After watching the title sequence i will know look at the elements used in the opening and evaluate them.



Candyman is a 1992 slasher film starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Xander Berkeley. It was directed by Bernard Rose and is based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker. The plot is centered around the urban legend of "The candyman" and how it is now being reality. Candyman was not a mainstream film so the opening credits are quite simple, but really effective in the way they draw the audience in.
The pace at the beginning of the opening sequence is quite slow using one continuous shot,The slow pace and apparent tracking of a vehicle creates and uncertain eerie effect this puts the audience at ease and also they can relate to the setting as it is a typical scene (main road); this connects them straight away to the film. The journey of the the car represents the journey the audience is about to take with characters in the film.
The tunnel, brige and water bellow and the complexity of the road junction, creat imagery of a tunnel with illumination of learning something
the fall form a tunnel, the bridge and its water below and the complex road junctions. The water represents the sub- conscience and represents the strength of the characters in the film, and how their presence is greatly important.
The music used in the opening sequence is non- diegetic, We are presented with a combination of the stactic radio and gothic cathedral-esque eitha with a choir or organ. This gives it a dark era which is relative to the folkore premise and the story like realism of the film.

Finals Hours of Editing

We have spent hours this morning editing to which we can be satisfied with to a very high standard. The music will be inserted tonight by John as the music in which he has composed is on his computer at home. We will then have the final piece tomorrow by 4 o clock.


We have now completely finished our main task, which was to make an opening title sequence. The music goes well with our piece and we are all very satisfied! As ive posted the music certainly does compliment the footage that we have capured and has given it the theme and feel we wanted to achieve. The footage is effective and to the satisfaction we required our piece to be like. 'The Cursed' is chilling and ghostly, which represents her past and I feel the opening title sequence in which we have created significantly proves that.

Structure of our Opening Sequence

After watching various title sequences on Youtube we tried to find the standard order in which credits appear. The clips we watched included 'Catch me if you can' and 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'. In both these clips the structure was as follows:
The Name of The Film Studio
The Name of the Production Company
Who Makes the Film e.g A steven Speilberg film
Main Actors
Name of Film
More Actors
Casting
Music Composer
Costume Designer
Cinematographer
Editor
Production Designer
Executive Producer
Producer
Screen Play Author
Director

Change of Music

The Cursed | Upload Music

After nearly finishing the editing process, as a group we then decided our current music John had composed did not have a quick enough tempo and this slowed the pace of our opening, which meant it did not cause as much tension. John has now composed a a new piece changing the structure and tempo of the piece, by using this new piece we hope it will increase the audience's anxiety during the opening sequence which will prepare them for the rest of the film.

Another Horror Opening Example

This is the opening sequence from British made film Creep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peggLQ1fLg8

The Opening is very disorientating with most of the shots being blurred to create an un-easy atmosphere. This sequence relies alot on it music, as for most of the opening it is just the titles flashing up. The sounds of trains can be heard and the lighting effect over the titles looks like the lights of an oncoming train; this creates a tense atmosphere making the audience feel uncertain,but this invites the audience in and make them want to see more. The blurred images return, again causing the audience to feel confidence and curious to what is going on. All the shoots used are tracking to continue the theme of uncertainty and disorientation. The images we see are related to death and violence enhancing the genre of the piece and setting the audience up for the rest of the film.

Logged shots- DAY TWO

3.35-3.45: PAN 1 YES
3.45-4.03: PAN 2 YES
4.03-4.09: PYLON SHOT NO
4.09-4.51: WALKING TO CAMERA YES
4.51-5.01: BACKWARDS WALKING YES
5.01-5.11: EMPTY SWING YES
5.11-5.35: SOPHIE SWING YES
5.35- 5.47: SOPHIE TREE YES