Zombieland Title Sequence Analysis.
It opens up with a sideways camera angle which makes the audience immediately think “What’s going on?” and also disorientating the audience making them immediately more intrigued as this is new and unconventional because usually, films are captured at an upright angle. We get a close-up shot of an American flag so we know that the film will be set somewhere in America. A narrative voice is also introduced who says: “Oh, America! I wish I could tell you that this was still America. But I’ve come to realize you can’t have a country without people.” The tone of the speaker suggests that he is the central character and because he’s speaking to the audience directly, he makes us more involved with what’s happening on-screen – this is emphasized more so by the way the film is being shot as if by a handheld video camera. It’s effective because it’s more amateurish and creates the idea that the audience is participating rather than observing.

We get a sense of chaos and destruction in these first few seconds as there is a constant flicker of static which is a great effect to make it seem like the film of the camera has been damaged. We are shown The Capital Hill building with smoke emanating from it, cars alight and abandoned as there is the constant sound of car alarms sounding as well as guns on the ground. From this, the audience already knows that something is wrong because it’s set in a city where life is usually more civilised and constructed, whereas now it’s being presented as chaos and anarchy.

The person holding the camera is still filming but running backwards. It’s very well done in that it captures the aggression and persistence of the “zombie”. Without the input of the speaker, this would be quite sinister to the audience. However, the speaker says: “No, my friends. This is now the United States of Zombieland.” The casual introduction of the “zombie” is quite comical and ironic, and comes across as really casual suggesting that either the narration is from a later point of view where the narrator is used to this chaos or that the narrator doesn’t care. Having seen the film, I know that he’s speaking as if he’s used to it as he is but anyone who hadn’t seen the film would think of those two possibilities. There is a final close-up shot (a parallel to the close-up shot at the beginning) of the “zombie” picking at its teeth as if it were using a toothpick at the dinner table. This suggests to the audience there will be violence and gore in the film but it will be humorous. To further this element of humour in the title sequence, a list of random rules being said by the narrator appear on screen which engages the audience as they feel they’re being prepared for this world of anarchy and the fact the narrator has rules makes the audience wonder how long the world has been like this for someone to make a list of rules on how to survive.

Lord of War : Title Sequence Analysis.
where it pans at a diagonal angle. The view of the birth of the bullet at is very effective because it introduces the title “Lord of War” – it foreshadows what the film is about. In this, the audience is given a suggestion that the bullet is being compared to an important character in the film who deals with weapons and ammunition.

Each title that introduces the actors such as Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto and Bridget Moynahan is timed so that for each stage of the bullet’s creation, an actor is presented. Although there are sound effects like the clinking of the bullets, a soundtrack is also being played in the background. The lyrics are: “Stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down?”  – I think this is to draw the audience in to how the bullet is being made so they get an idea of what might be the plot of the film but it’s also a very catchy soundtrack and this gets the audience involved because it’s a memorable sound to sing along to. We also get a sense of a time period because the bullet we are first introduced wit goes from what looks like the world war to present day arms smuggling in Africa suggesting where the film is set. This is shown again where the bullet is stored is suddenly opened by a group of people carrying heavy amounts of weaponry. Every time the bullet is put into another box and the screen goes black or dark, a member of the film crew is introduced. It’s timed between 5 to 7 seconds.

The title sequence ends when the bullet is put into a gun and the audience gets a view down the barrel of the weapon. This first-person view of the bullet makes the audience imagine that they are the bullet and puts them in the position of being something that seems so capable of taking a life and the silencing of the soundtrack would usually tell the audience the tile sequence is over but  the bullet is shot at somebody and this starts the film off brilliantly giving the audience an unexpected surprise and leaves them even more intrigued as to what will happen next. The use of colour is metallic as well as bright and lighting is ambient so that it looks realistic and believable, with resemblance to the barrel in the 007 films being a prime example of intertextuality. The silencing of the soundtrack through the bullet being shot at somebody starts the film off brilliantly. The editor of the title sequence even went as far as to show a burst of blood to depict what might be evident in the film – war and gore.

Title Analysis : Se7en

 In the title sequence for ‘se7en’ it starts off with thunder which is metonymic for apocalyptic weather, which is unsettling and there are loud beats of a drum which is frightening to anyone as the fear of loud noises haunts us all. The occasional beats resemble a heartbeat, as they beat twice and then beat again twice with a little break. There’s a close up of a mistreated and beaten book which is mysterious because it leaves the audience thinking, what’s in the book? The condition in which the book is in gives the audience a quick glimpse into how the person lives. It’s evident that he’s messy, unhygienic and doesn’t buy everyday things like a note book often, so the one he owns is worn and decrepit. The slow beating drum and slow beat music builds suspense as it’s eerie and unusual compared to the average lullaby, making it unnatural for the ears.

There’s the use of the colours black and white mostly in this title sequence, with the white handwritten and scruffy looking font on the pitch black background and most shots throughout the sequence are filtered with a black and white effect to give it a dull and morbid look. The fonts shake around and flash on the screen with a grainy texture to them and the picture itself giving the sequence a film-stock home movie effect, or an out dated and old look to go with the theme that the person does not leave the house. There’s a picture of a pair of distorted hands, almost disfigured in their appearance which gives an eerie element of self-taught human anatomy, ultimately giving it a harrowing feel. The sequence goes on to then show another close up of dry and worn fingers with semi-long finger nails with dirt underneath, emphasising the gritty feeling and lack of hygiene, which is mostly discarded by modern day society as it’s not the social norm nor civilised.

Pace of the soundtrack eventually increases and gets louder with the occasional electronic interference/screech which is uncanny and unnatural to hear adding to eeriness of the scene. This screech resembles a very conventional record player in older horror films, but is done to an extent that it's almost a new type of sound.

The only part of the character we see in the title sequence is his hands and he has worn and dry plasters that seem to have been in use for a while, exaggerating the lack of hygiene and leave the audience connecting the plasters with an earlier scene in the sequence where he is cutting of dead skin with a razor blade, which is also symbolic of a weapon. There's usually more than one picture in a shot/frame, often resulting in many images layering over one another which gives the audience a sense of montage to imply time is passing. In the sequence the audience has a glimpse of a 'red-room' where old Polaroids are developed as well as other photo's which is quite old fashioned and out dated implying he is maybe less in ouch with society and more isolated and the macabre impression that he could possibly stalk people.

The character sticks in a picture of what appears to be a dead woman and a picture of a male with some kind of torture device in the back of his head,into a book with a similar style to that of a scrapbook, sticking the picture in with tape which is a messy way to present things and implying that this could most definitely be a hobby of his. There's a silhouette of the characters hand holding a pen through the sheets of paper as it gets turned, being an iconic reference and great example of intertextuality as it resembles the shower scene from 'Psycho - Alfred Hitchcock, 1960'. As the sequence goes on, the character sticks in another picture of a little boy this time, but to then cross his eyes out with a black marker to dehumanise him, creating a preternatural feeling. At this point the pace of the soundtrack increases as well as the cuts becoming more frequent, making it faster paced creating more tension. This is then followed by a close up of the male feeding a needle thread which immediately turns some heads as there's a common fear of needles but the thread itself is fraying which implies its old or maybe even re-used to then create a home made book by connecting the papers together. 

Fonts in this sequence are very contrary, one is handwritten and messy and the other one is a type writer. Both being equally eerie as it's not modern and is generally quite generic of horror films to have, although in my opinion i feel the hand written font is something of its own kind. The sequence is then ended with what seems like hand held footage as the camera is shaky and then the audience is shown lots of files next to one another making the audience think if they're profiles of people, victims or worse leaving mystery. To then further how horrifying and weird the male is, there's a close up of him placing a locket of hair into a plastic pocket, maybe as a trophy? In the final scene of the sequence, the audience is shown that the character is cutting the word 'God' out of the Dollar note to possibly defy God.

Editing : Continuity Sequence

This is my continuity sequence that i have made with the help of my classmates.
In this sequence, there is a match-on-action, shot reverse shot, focus pull, cut away and some other forms of cinematography. Some of the sounds used have actually been edited in to help create more of an atmosphere in the sequence, these sounds are non-diegetic.
The main purpose in this exercise was to just understand and get used to editing as a whole so mise-en-scene isn't amazing as well as the narrative being crude.

What is  title sequence?

A title sequence is the opening sequence of a film and its the films opportunity to make a good first impression on you, the viewer. The title sequence of a film introduces the audience to the tone and theme of the film as well as the cast and crew. Not only does it make an initial impression on the audience, it also simply tells the audience the title of the film.

Media Coursework Specification

Video:

Video Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group