1.
How
does the title sequence attract an audience’s interest?
There are many colours and you
want to find out why he’s on the run.
2.
Describe
what you think is happening in the clip. What seems to be significant about
what you can see?
There are lots of indications of transport, which
suggests he is moving around a lot, perhaps linking in with the title and
trying to run away from someone or a group of people who is chasing him.
3. Describe the
characters, their actions in the sequence and their
relationships to one another.
The main characters seems like
he is on the run, or people are chasing him, this makes the audience feel that
the other characters may dislike him as he spends the whole duration of the opening
sequence trying to hide or disguise himself. It looks as if he is trying to
stay away from another character. The ‘main character’ moves very smoothly
throughout the whole thing.
4. How do setting,
location, props and costume choices contribute to your interpretation of the
sequence? Consider what information these convey.
The setting
for the clip is not a real place, as it is an animation, but we know that he
will be in various location around the world. The fact that he is wearing a
suit gives you the impression that he’s a man of high importance or holds a
good job. The man also is at the airport at the start of the clip, and animated
planes suggest that he has just been on one; this implies that the man is
always on the move for business. There is a man reading a newspaper, he then
turns and looks at the main character as if he is spying on the man, this
implies that the main character is being watched and followed, something which
is also found out to be true in the film. The are hints in the opening sequence
that this man is being followed, such as when there is a man reading a
newspaper, he then turns and looks at the main character as if he is spying on
the man.
The man seems to fit in and blend into
everywhere, for example he is in a hospital and he then finds a doctors uniform
as a disguise. He also seems to live a lavish lifestyle as at one point he is
swimming in champagne.
5. How does the sound shape your responses to the sequence?
Comment on dialogue, tone, incidental sound and any music you notice, exploring
their impact on your emotional response to the sequence.
The viewer hears the music
(diegetic sound), which sounds mysterious this reflects the genre of the film. There is non-diegetic music used
throughout the clip, it is a jaws like soundtrack but without the fast paced
“da-DA-da-DA” it helps to build up tension, and when the main character turns
his head (40 seconds) the music goes at a higher pitch, creating more tension,
as it gives you feeling that the man is being followed. There is no actual
dialogue or diegetic sound in the opening sequence, this helps add to the fact
that they are living in a stick man world.
6. How do lighting and
colour affect tone and atmosphere? Explore lighting choices, including
noticeable use of light and shadow, as well as considering choice of colour.
The colours
used in the clip are very bright and vibrant, colours like light blue and orange;
this makes the audience feel that the main character in the stick man scene
lives a rich and lavish lifestyle. The characters in the scene are black stick
men; this is of course because this is the normal blunt colour often used for
stick men, but the fact that they are all black stick men gives some edge to
the story and leaves unanswered questions as to why the director has decided to
do this. The pink at 1 minute 52 seconds implies the feminist that is in the
room, but again it makes the characters seem more upper class.
7. How does camera
technique contribute to the creation of meaning in this sequence? Consider the
effects of camera position and angle, commenting on two or more examples. What
is the effect of the handheld camerawork in the final shot?
The same shot length, medium/long shots
are used throughout the whole opening sequence, and this is because there are
often things happening in the back round, which the director wants you to see.
Furthermore there would be no real benefit for using close-up shots on actors
as they are stick men and they have no emotions on their faces. There are many
tracking shots used to follow the main character, as he is always moving on to
different places. The arrows under the characters names, pointing to the
characters shows which actors are playing the characters, this will draw in an
audience as they are top drawer actors such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks
who are world wide famous. This is of course an un-conventional opening
sequence as its stick-men animation; this is something, which I have never seen
before for an opening sequence. It does still have some conventions
however such as production logos as well as cast and crew info. In conclusion I
feel that this is a very good opening sequence, and I really like the “stick
man world” as it’s unique and very interesting. The fact that everything is
like this implies that the whole thing is like a game to the main character.
The opening sequence personally makes me want to watch the whole film, as it’s
very interesting therefore I feel that that this a very good opening sequence.
