RESEARCH - Analysing student film opening

Student film opening:

The student film opening I am analysing in terms of sound,editing, mise en scene and camera is called "THE SHADOW". The title seems very interesting as it suggests there is something prodigious in the film. A thriller contains elements of excitement and the title certainly sells it.

The opening starts with a plain black background with scrolling text introducing the story to the audience. It is shown for approximately 19 seconds and I think it needed a bit more time so everybody could read it properly. Nevertheless, it is an interesting story to begin with, it brings excitement and action. 

The story shown is "the story of Ninja and Ninja Assassin, a clam member has faced a situation where his brother has been killed by order of an elder, the shadow ninja shall never forget and shall bring his revenge to the Shadow Clan."  

 Next shown is the distribution company ident, in which are the company that provides the budget of the film. The sound portrayed are the use of violins and soft drum beats to slowly build the suspense. It is calm and soft until it builds up at 00:20 seconds.

 This is the production company, in which organises its use of budget, organization of staff, distribution and marketing. The sound/music here is the same as mentioned above in the previous image. 

 Next, there is a close up of a persons foot and then the camera slowly tilts upwards. This is the main character, in which is introduced to the audience. The use of the colour black signifies darkness and stealth ability. The story of the film is about a ninja, in which a ninja's ability is to use stealth, in which the shadows shown in the shot inflict the individuals skill. The first title sequence is shown as a discrete title sequence, the director is mentioned first as this is common in many movies. Unless the main character is very famous (E.G. Arnold Schwarzenegger), then he will be shown first. The use of lighting in this scene relfects on the title itself "The shadows". The additional lighting is brilliantly constructed. It is edited very good, the title sequence ("Directed by Gaaron Clarke") blends in with the background, it fades away into the darkness after a few seconds. The sound/music here is lifted from a slow tempo calm music, to an upbeat exciting fast tempo with drumbeats combined with violins. This brings excitement to the scene. 

 A mid shot is now shown of the ninja putting on his mask (mise en scene) which shows his character is a ninja. The background is still dominated by the colour black which represents darkness. The use of the mask relates to the colour black as the ninja tries to hide his identity. The names of the characters are also introduced.

 Here is a mid shot of the ninja showing off his training skills. This brings the action side to the opening, in which brings agitation to the audience. This will keep the audience on wanting to see more of the ninjas ability. The mise scene used are the choice of weapons, it is seen here that a nun chuck is used. A nun chuck requires great skill to use in real life, so it shows that the main character here is a very skillful one. 

 Next is an establishing shot which is shot in black and white so it doesn't ruin the use of black and white throughout so far. The establishing shot is also a panning shot in which the movement of the camera moves horizontally. The graveyard shows the audience that there is death related to this story, not just one death, but hundreds. It suggests that there is violence in this film, which also brings suspense and tension to the audience. Teenagers love violence from my experience.

 Near to the end of the opening, more cast members are introduced, in which this title sequence is a stand alone type. The sound/music has now slowed down, when the ninja is training, the music is very intense but now it has slowly relaxed. I think the editor showed his understanding of where appropriate music is meant to go.

 
 The title is the last thing that is shown. It is shown in a stylish manner in which is well edited. The colour red may represent the blood and violence due to all the training the ninja has done. 







Overall, this piece of work has inspired me in many ways. The use of editing is brilliant and the context in which the music has been put in was near perfect. However, there was not enough type of shots used in opening, more close ups could of been used. I will take this research into account when I edit my thriller.