One Step Ahead Opening Sequence - Final

Analysis of Sound - Jack Reacher

• The fast-paced music slowly builds attention and connotes the genre of the movie will be action.

• When the visuals track to the city skyscrapers, the trumpet suddenly got very louder which suggests something unusual will happen in the city - crime scenes.

• The heart racing non-diegetic sound along with the on-screen diegetic sound allows audience to question, what is happening? What are they doing? The close up shot also further create the mystery.

• The loud orchestra background music generate a rushed feeling and makes audience wonder - almost like a pressure and that help sets the mode. 

• The music quiets down and change to an even faster paced music and that builds a bit of confusion. Who is in the van and what are they doing here. This makes the audience focus and engage with the film.  

• As soon as the character got out of the car, the music changed to a softer, light tune while slowly being more and more quiet. This contribute to the theme of mystery which was also helped by visuals as we have only seen the character's feet and don't know who that is.

• When they started showing his face, the music also gradually got louder and louder which signifies something is about to happen since he also looked at his watch and was carrying a gun in his hands - codes and convention of an action, crime film.  

• The non-diegetic sound stopped as soon as he held his gun up and was about to aim. It gives the feeling it is happening like your heart beat has stopped which makes audience's curiosity stronger and it fascinates them what is about to happen. 

• The stop of non-diegetic sound also helps audience focus on the 'breathing' of the character which show signs of him being nervous. This can help decide which kind of character he is in the audience's view. The heart beat sounds near the end also connotes the nervousness.  

• The loud gun sound can be quite shocking to audience as there isn't any music to distract them and they were made very focus/engaging beforehand. 

Analysis of Sound - Batman Begins

• The sound of bats connotes 'batman' begins, this is like a sign for audience to identify the movie. 

• It begins with fast-paced non-diegetic music slowly fading in suggests the genre of this movie is action.

• The music also creates a sense of mystery which lead audience into foreshadowing the crime/violence that may happen later on. It slowly builds up the tension. 

• The loud 'bang' when he drop creates a sense of shock;  this builds tension and allows audience to engage more with the movie. 

• At around 1.00 the change of mystery music match the way the boy thinks - worried and curious. 

• The silence proves to audience that it was just a nightmare and release the tension built before. 

• When he wakes up, the non-diegetic sound stops and there is only the sound of the conversation and off-screen diegetic from outside. This will change the audience's focus to the conversion instead of the visual. 

• When the visual cuts to something else, the  music slowly fades in again to build up curiosity of where the protagonist is and what he is doing. 

• The language they used in the dialogue is simple English and they have done this because it will further makes it look like the protagonist is in a foreign country that don't speak English. 

In this opening sequence, I have realised they stop the background music when there are conversations or actions (punching) going on. They will slowly fades in the music when there is no specific on-screen diegetic sound. This will make the audience focus on a certain thing more than other in certain situations. 

Analysis of Sound - The Dark Knight (2008)

• As soon as the visual enters, a 'Boom' sounds to get attention from audience and to suggests the show is starting.

• The diegetic sound of cars in the background connotes this scene is from a big, busy city.

• The music slowly gets louder and louder to build tension. It also gets the audience ready for something big to happen (action scenes).

• When the glass shattered, powerful beats starts to fade in which makes the audience wonder and question what's happening/ what are they going to do.

• The sound of drums further build the tension and switching to a different scene with a conversion creates more curiosity and mystery.

• The diegetic sound of the guns loading contribute to the codes and convention of this movie - crime, action. This is a way of letting the audience identify the genre. 

• The non-diegetic creates a sense of secrecy to signify the crime they are going to get involved in. 

• The off-screen screaming also makes the audience nervous and scared. 

• The language used is very rough and include some slangs - this express they are the criminals and are people who wasn't very well educated.
  

Analysis of Opening Sequence - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Action, Adventure and Crime
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.

The use of vintage items such as the typewriter suggests the time period is set in the pass. For the production company logos, they have sketched it to fit in with the old, aged idea and makes the audience feel like it is part of the movie. The clothing also suggests it is not set in present time as the characters wore corsets dresses and old-fashioned classic suits. 

The protagonist is introduced through the narration (sound bridged) which shows it is 'his' story. There was a few over head shots and close up shots on grabbing beans/rice to establish the setting. To build the tension, a bomb scene was included and it didn't show what happened afterwards which makes audience want to know. The interesting use of track, mid shot framing of the women (no face, just body) creates a sense of mystery and makes audience question who she is. 

There is no music at the very beginning and then slowly/quietly fades in which gets attention and builds mood. The background music they use is fast and up-beat which suggest this is an action movie. It is also very subtle in the background to allow mood building up but at the same time not over powering the diegetic sound. 

However the plot is unclear which makes the audience wonder and want to watch on. 

Ranking Opening Sequences

1) The Deception (12E8) - I have ranked this first because I liked the title animation idea they did at the beginning. The shot reverse shot used is very well edited and the use of montage creates tension and that is good for an opening sequence because it can hook the audience into watching more. The music they used match the actions quite well and changed accordingly. I also thought the idea of using the ripples of the water to represent the sound of the door bell very clever. 

2) The Slayer (12E10) - There are a lot of different shots used and that makes it interesting. The story line was very clear and the details in the office helped hugely for audience to understand who the characters are. However, I think the music could be improved. 

3) Abduction (12C6) - They have used good camera shots/framing. I thought the idea of the CCTV was quite clever and nicely edited but it was a bit long. The titles wasn't very good either.  

4)  Snakes and Ladders (12B2) - The graphic match was beautifully edited and filmed and the titles at the beginning was good but not during the middle. There was too many close up shots and the storyline wasn't clear. It is also edited in way that's more like a TV show. 

5) Graves (12C7) - They have used interesting camera shots and the panning was satisfying. Both the storyline and voice over was clear and easy to understand. However, the camera was a bit shaky.

6) Bacterium (12B1) - I like the titles and the shot reverse shot was edited nicely but a bit long. The storyline was not very clear and they need to cut down on the walking and focus more on what they are doing (storyline). I didn't like the music because I feel like it doesn't fit well.

7) Rundown (12E7) - I thought the titles was interesting and fits genre. A lot of action shots was included and some of them was very good, for example the over head shot and when he steps in the puddle. However, the start and end was terribly but together and didn't make sense at all. 

8) It Swings in Roundabouts (12C7) - Good effects, interesting flash-back shots and music matched the genre, which helps create tension. The sounds effects need to be improved and the acting was quite bad. 

9) Chroniker (12A2) - The idea of split screens they used was clever but it went on for too long and got boring. The story and ending didn't really make sense. The music was quite bad and annoying, and the sound bridge at the beginning was too long.   

10) The Resistance (12B6) - They have use interesting POV shot. The shot reverse shot was badly filmed because they are looking directly at the camera which doesn't feels like a conversation. The camera was often shaky and the acting needs improvement. 

11) 1962 (12E9) - Terrible framing, storyline wasn't clear. The music got annoying and the screaming was very irritating.