'Forrest Gump' Opening Sequence

Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is an Academy Award winning 'Best Picture'. It stars actors such as Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise. This film follows the life of Forrest Gump, played by Hanks, who manages to be a part of every major event in history. This film touches on many different genres, romance, comedy and drama; making it an emotional journey for the viewer. It was released in 1994, and has since been one of the most well known, loved films. 

In the opening sequence of 'Forrest Gump', Zemeckis uses soft, serene piano keys to set the mellow theme of the film. The music gradually builds up, and the piano becomes clearer and louder; which works alongside the journey of the feather. The opening sequence follows a feathers journey through the streets of Savannah, Georgia; where the sequence is set. The feather signifies Forrest, and how the film will be following his journey through life. When the feather lowers down, the music becomes more diegetic as the viewer hears general noises from the surrounding such as cars, the sound of him opening his case as well as the noise of the bus slowing down infront of him.

Camera movements such as tilting and panning were used alongside wide shot, also known as establishing shot, to film the path of the feather.

This allowed the audience to understand where the film is set; it establishes the context for the scene.

 

The closer the feather gets to Forrest, the closer the camera gets to the feather. Zoom in was used to achieve this. This allows the viewer to see the feather in much closer detail, and pulls their attention to the feather and not the backdrop.

Extreme close ups are used when Forrest picks up the feather. The camera tilts upwards, showing the audience details of what the character is wearing. Forrest has dirty and scuffed trainers on, which look out of place with a cream coloured suit he is wearing. The camera then moves upwards staying eye-level with Forrest, so the audience get their first glance at his face. The camera then stays at a high angle, looking down slightly as Forrest. This makes the audience feel as though they are standing infront of the bench that Forrest is sat at. The high angle makes Forrest seem inferior to the viewer.

By showing the inside of the case, the viewer gains a better understanding of Gump's personality. The contrast of the neatness in his suitcase, to the dirt on his shoes shows that perhaps he misses the most obvious details. It can be assumed from this short extract that Forrest is challenged mentally; which the viewers understands better as the film goes on. Gump shows many traits of autism a swell as being developmentally delayed.

The colours in this sequence are not too bright, but not dark either; the tones used are somewhat dull. The lighting is natural, which makes the opening sequence very realistic. The sequence makes the audience intrigued, as they want to find out where Forrest is going, and why he has a suitcase? The lack of dialogue also draws the audience in, as they want to find out more about the character.
In terms of the genre of film being made obvious in first few minutes of the film; it doesn't. The viewer doesn't have a clear idea of what type of movie they will be watching. All the viewer does know is that the opening sequence doesn't have the qualities of a horror movie, or action film; but other than that they are left in the dark about what type of film Forrest Gump is.

Lo x

'Now You See Me' Opening Sequence

'Now You See Me' is thriller, mystery and crime fiction film. It follows the story of four magicians who are brought together by an unknown benefactor. They perform in LA as 'The Four Horsemen', and for their final act they declare to rob a bank. I won't give away any more of the storyline for those who haven't watched the film, but it honestly is a movie worth seeing. 

 

Because 'Now You See Me' is a thriller, mystery and crime all combined together it is vital that the opening sequence captivates the audience and causes suspense. The soundtrack used in the background of the opening sequence is a very subtle aspect of the sequence which causes the viewer to feel anticipation and tension as the beat starts getting faster and gradually builds up in volume. On top of this background track, there is the general noise of people laughing and clapping; which overwhelms the audience as they are trying to focus on each of the magicians. There is lots of dialogue, which allows the audience to make a brief judgement on each of the magicians.

The camera angles used are another extremely important aspect as it can change how the audience perceives the film. The director, Louis Leterrier uses extreme close-ups of the first magician's (Daniel Atlas, played by Jesse Eisenberg) hand, deck of cards, and face. This draws the viewers attention to the magic trick he is performing, and his expression when doing it. Leterrier cleverly makes Atlas' face out of focus when he is performing the card trick, so the audience watch the deck of cards closely.

The magicians face is in focus when he isn't doing the trick.

The magicians face isn't focused when he plays with the cards.

Extreme close ups were also used to express the panicked emotions, such as on a mans face when the second magician, Merrit McKinney played by Woodey Harrelson, questions him about a business trip he took.

These extreme close up's to different parts of the face puts the viewer in the magicians shoes, as we can see what he sees. The quick movement of the camera from one shot to the other makes the viewer start to feel panic, just as the man is feeling on screen.

 Over-the-shoulder shots are used to make the audience feel as though they are a part of the scene, and are observing what's happening. It was used several times in the opening sequence.

Establishing shots were used several times, using camera movements such as tilt and pan. This allowed the audience to gain an understanding of where the film was set.

Some of the long shots were horizontal, and some vertical. This just makes the sequence more interesting.

Shaky camera was used when magician Jack Wilder, played by Dave Franco, is showing an audience on a tourist boat his spoon bending trick. Shaky cam is a hand-held camera and can be used to provide a sense of immersion, instability or nervousness. The director uses extreme close ups when a member of the audience spots another spoon in Wilder's pocket. This was done so that the viewer see's this man's perspective, and feel as though they are again, a part of the scene.

In the last few moments of the opening sequence, suspense and excitement is created when Isla Fisher, who plays Henley Reeves, gets stuck in the fish tank. The camera angle changes from extreme close up, to long shot, medium shot and birds eye view using movements such as pan, tilt and zoom. This creates a sense of panic, and causes the viewer to feel tense with nervousness. This was done brilliantly and is one of many reasons why the opening sequence of 'Now You See Me' succeeded.

Personally, I felt involved with the actors and was hooked to the film. The opening sequence was exciting and gripping, so kudos to the cast and crew for carrying out an amazing opening sequence to a very thrilling film.

Lo x

Second Film Workshop

On Wednesday 25th September, we had another workshop in the studio with Matt and Paul. This time, using all the techniques we learnt from the first session, we put them into a short film sequence that we produced as a group.

Our idea was quite clever, and it came across well; but we didn't succeed fully in the task as we didn't play around with camera shots. Philip and I walked and sat down on the sofa. We then filmed a shot of us hugging. Then Etienne replaced me, and we filmed them hugging. This resulted in Philip looking up in surprise and jumping off the sofa. The idea was that I had transformed into a man, and it produced a comedic effect on our peers.

Lo x

What is an opening sequence?

Definition; An opening sequence, also known as a title sequence is the method by which films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound. It usually follows but should not be confused with the opening credits, which are generally nothing more than a series of superimposed text.


Opening sequences are important as they are what draws the audience in. From a directors point of view, they have to consider many elements to make the opening sequence successful. Elements such as camera angle, lighting, colour, sound and text are important in making the opening sequence gripping and intriguing.


In the next few blog posts I will be analysing opening sequences of two different genres of film.


Lo x

Quick Activity; Analysis of Se7en Opening Credits

Here is the link to the opening sequence:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEq-4fua3lM

Narrative: The opening sequence shows some unknown character planning or investigating something. We see a pair of hands cutting newspaper articles, books, and writing into a journal.

Camera angles: The camera is wisely placed, so we can only see the hands of the mysterious person. This creates a sense of curiosity, and the audience wants to know more about what is happening, and why? The extreme close up's used hides a lot of the location and general setting, which again adds to the mystery.

Sound: The backing track contains sound effects such as screeching, animal noises, and a heartbeat. The volume gets louder, and the beat increases in pace; this automatically causes the audience to start feeling more panicked and tense.

Colour: The colour palette used was quite dark; with lots of dull grey, black, brown and reds. This made an otherwise normal scene (of someone scrapbooking), look quite scary and intense.

Film Workshop

On Friday 19th September my media class took part in a workshop; which took place in the Hurtwood studio.

Matt and Paul took charge of the session on Friday, and in groups of 5 we learnt how to do several things with a Sony NX5. Here is an image of the camera we were using:

We were taught the basics such as setting up the tripod, attaching and removing the camera unto the tripod, and how to zoom, focus and change light settings. By using techniques we picked up by analyzing scenes in movies, we played around with different angles and shots.


Here is just a basic list of angles and shots that one can use with a film camera-

Big Close-up- Head or part of the head. Used to show emotion and detail.

Mid Shot- To waist. Provides information on the body language and clothes of the character.

Wide Shot- Master or establishing shot. Establishes location, often used at the beginning of a scene and again at the end. Helps make clear the physical geography of the space and sets up the atmosphere.

Point of View- Provides perspective from a particular character's point of view. The director manipulates whose eyes the audience experiences the story from.

Close up- Head and shoulders. Reveals character personality. Intimate and powerful. Useful for dramatic or revealing moments of truth/crisis. Increases audience identification with a character.

Medium-long shot - Including the knees. Provides more physical information than the mid-shot, but less close up detail.
 

Medium close-up- Head and shoulders to top pocket.

Long shot- Full figure. Contextualises character in their location. Can often be used to distance the audience from events or suggest loneliness or isolation.

Over the shoulder shot- Helps create a dynamic between the character and what they are seeing. Can also be used to suggest someone is being followed or watched by an unseen presence.

High angle- Camera points down above eyeline, looking down on someone. Can indicate low status or vulnerability.

Low angle- Camera points up from below eyeline. Can indicate someone of high status- someone powerful or intimidating.

Eye-level- When the camera is at the same level as their eyes, so the audience feels that they are directly facing the character.

We also learnt about camera movements...

Pan- Moving the camera lens to one side or another. (Left/Right)


Zoom- Zooming involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject appear closer or further away in the frame. (Close/Far)

Tilt- Moving the camera lens up or down while keepings its horizontal axis constant. (Up/Down)

Overall it was a really interesting lesson, and I'm very excited to get a start on actual filming!

          

Lo x

First Blog Post

Hiya,

My name is Loa and I've just started at Hurtwood House. I'm Iranian, born in Germany but have lived in Dubai for the past 12 years.

It's been a pretty overwhelming week, but it's been fun. My AS level choices are Media Studies (obvs), Theatre Studies, Psychology and English lit.
I chose Media Studies because I'm interested in the film industry, and how it works. Analysing pieces of media, whether it's a film, a play, a poster or an advert really interests me and it's a part of the media course I'm really interested in.
I'm also interested in the actual filming process. Coming up with ideas for a project (i.e short film, music video or adverts) really appeals to me, as I feel that I'm quite creatively inclined. My passion for theatre compliments media quite nicely, and I'm excited to learn more in this course.


Lo x