-The girl on the train - no opening scene
-The departed
- Cellular - no opening scene
- Hostage - just credits, no actual opening scene
- Pulp fiction
- Fargo
- The girl with the dragon tattoo
- Gone girl
- Tell no one - no opening scene
- Zodiac
-The snowtown murders
-Seven
-Bourne identity
-Collateral
Gone Girl
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 2014
Budget: $61 million
Profit: $369,330,363
IMDb User Rating: 8.1/10
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
UK Distributer: 20th Century Fox
-Black screen
-Voiceover
- Character is in the first third of the screen but moves across to the final third
-Starts like its going to be normal but then takes a really weird, dark turn with the voiceover
-Simple, steady shot
-Very little movement
-Soundtrack, subtle
-Text sans-serif
-Starts with black, ends with black
-Short, concise
The Departed
Director: Martin Scorsese
Year of Release: 2006
Budget: $90 million
Profit: $289,847,354
IMDb User Rating: 8.5/10
Production Company: Warner Bros.
UK Distributer: Entertainment Film Distributers
-Soundtrack with lyrics
-Text sans-serif
-Starts with black with text telling us when it was - not specific but factual information
-Begins with 'real life' footage of violence
-Voiceover
-First time we see the main character he's silhouetted, we can't see him properly throughout the entire first scene, his face is always in the dark. It's only right at the end when he steps into the light
-Steady camera, tracking shots
-Flashback
-Starts early on then cuts to when the boy's grown up, gives us a bit of backstory first
-Long, we get a lot of information all at once but very little about the plot, more about the main character's views and opinions
-Little boy is always in the light
-Light when he's alone bright and yellow, when he's with the man it's dark and shadowy - implying he's a bad influence although we really pick this up ourselves from the voiceover
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Director:David Fincher
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: $90 million
Profit: $232,617,430
IMDb User Rating: 7.8/10
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
UK Distributer: Sony Pictures Releasing
Opening credits
-Black then with fire coming in
-Aggressive soundtrack with lyrics
-Text - serif until the actual title
-Extreme close-ups CGI images
Opening scene
-Steady camera work
-All very dark, black and grey, sometimes a slight blue tint
-Raining
-Press stories
-Mid-shots, no close-ups initially, only one of the main man later on
-No soundtrack, only diegetic sound
-Very very little dialogue
Pulp Fiction
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Year of Release: 1994
Budget: $8 million
Profit: $213,928,726
IMDb User Rating: 8.9/10
Production Company: Miramax
UK Distributer: Buena Vista International
-Starts off relatively normal coffee shop until you hear what they're talking about
-Steady camera
-Varying camera angles, switch every now and then throughout the scene
-Lighting coming from the window on one side, puts one side of their faces in light and the other in dark - two faced? More to them than first appears? Dark side?
-A lot of mid-shots
-A lot of dialogue and information for the audience
-Tracking camera shot
-No soundtrack, just diegetic sound
-Quite quiet, soft voices. Contrasts with the sound of the gun on the table - loud and abrupt
-Close-up of gun, indicates it's significance
Fargo
Director: Ethan and Joel Coen
Year of Release: 1996
Budget: $7 million
Profit: $60,611,975
IMDb User Rating: 8.1/10
Production Company: PolyGram Filmet Entertainment and Working Title Films
UK Distributer: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
-Starts from black
-Text is sans-serif
-Starts by telling us its a true story - factual information. Font for this is kind of like a typewriter, not perfect, makes it seem authentic
-Credits are black on a white background
-White background merges to snow in the scene - Smooth transition
-Soundtrack, no lyrics, almost classical
-Camera angles switch - first car coming towards camera, then driving past the camera side on (tracking shot), the camera is watching it from behind
Zodiac
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 2007
Budget: $65 million
Profit: $74,785, 914
IMDb User Rating: 7.7/10
Production Company: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
UK Distributer: Warner Bros.
-Starts with an establishing shot of the city
-Dark, night time
-Soundtrack, with lyrics
-Steady camera work
-Date given at the bottom - factual information
-Diegetic sound as well
-Soundtrack fades out into just the diegetic sound of the radio
-Brightly lit fro the side they're murdered from, makes them seem vulnerable
-No sound other than speech when the man comes round to the car so shots come as a shock
-Soundtrack comes back in when the murder's taking place
The Snowtown Murders
Director: Justin Kurzel
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: N/A
Profit: $8,452
IMDb User Rating: 6.6/10
Production Company: Carver Films and Screen Australia
UK Distributer: Revolver Entertainment
- Starts from black
- Diegetic sound, phone, can't make out the words - draws you in.
- Very subtle high pitched sound always running through.
- No soundtrack. I really like this sound combination!! It's really effective
- Still camera, characters in the final third
- Yellow/browny colours, musty, dirty, unpleasant
-Flickering light coming from the left of the screen, makes the scene unpleasant and uncomfortable to watch
- Slow motion
- Tracking shot, camera moving towards the characters. Characters are relatively still
- Close-up on one character's face
- Blue tinge when we see the body in the bath
- Body in the first third
- Harsh, quick transitions
- Voiceover, mumbly. Again, draws you in
Really like this opening, it made me feel uncomfortable to watch and thats how I want my audience to feel.
Seven
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 1995
Budget: $33 million
Profit: $327,311,859
IMDb User Rating: 8.6/10
Production Company: Cecchi Gori Pictures
UK Distributer: Entertainment Film Distributers
- Starts from black
- No soundtrack, just creepy sounds in the background - effective
- Dark
- Still camera
- Character in the last third
- People's voices, muffled - draws you in
- Close-up of his glasses
- Metronome builds tension
- Tracking shot very slowly coming towards the character
- Cuts from close-up of metronome with only that sound of whole room with background noise as well, good contrast
- Goes from silence and metronome into quite loud credit start noise - good contrast, a bit of a shock
- Credits have non-diegetic sound layered with diegetic sound - good, effective
Bourne Identity
Director: Doug Liman
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: $60 million
Profit: $214,034,244
IMDb User Rating: 7.9/10
Production Company: Universal Pictures
UK Distributer: United International Pictures
- Starts from black
- Starts with a storm foreshadowing turbulence
- Blue light, negative connotations
- No initial soundtrack, comes in when we meet the new characters
- Sailors speak in a foreign language - mystery
- Handheld camera - unease, chaotic
- Floating body suggests there's been a murder, creates mystery - this is what want to do with the child in the opening scene
- Title comes in before opening sequence is done
- Music tempo increases as they pull the body from the water
- Heavy rain - so much pathetic fallacy!
- Diegetic sound increases, increases the sense of panic
- Looks un-choreographed, people walking in front of the camera, blocking the action etc. Feels natural and puts you on edge as people are very close to the camera so you can't see much - frustrating
Collateral
Director: Michael Mann
Year of Release: 2004
Budget: $65 million
Profit: $217,764,291
IMDb User Rating: 7.6/10
Production Company: Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks SKG
UK Distributer: Paramount Home Entertainment (Wasn't at the cinema)
- Starts from black, we hear sound just before we get a picture
- Steady camera, Suggests this character is organised, knows what he's doing.
- Some people in focus and others out, main character in focus so stands out
- People walking in front of the camera, blocking our view of the main character, natural
- Diegetic sound only
- Slight sound effect when briefcases are dropped, emphasises the importance of the moment
- Starts off seeming normal but then the interaction between the two men creates a feeling of unease
- After their interaction the soundtrack kicks in, no lyrics
- Montage of taxi station, sets the scene
- Get the diegetic sound of the taxi station after the soundtrack has played over the montage for a while almost like a delayed sound entry
- Handheld shots of the taxi driver, a bit more rough and ready, more normal. Emphasises the differences in the two characters
- All quite close-up shots of taxi driver, more personal, less clinical
- When he shuts his door he shuts out all the outside sound, natural but also creates a contrast, suggests isolation. Jolts the audience
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