Steve Neale's theory/ Barthe's Enigma codes

 

Impacts of technology on the film industry

 

Opening sequence creation notes

 Make either sci-fi opening sequence or murder mystery

Use Nosas purge mask and black tracksuit for the lamp shot

Music should fade in not be sudden

Make the video long takes/ slow editing

Learn a new skill such as visual effects editing and photo shop as a group

Possibly mix our own music

Music themed like guardians of the galaxy

Over shoulder shots with reflection of knife

Build a sci-fi set/location in studio if needed

Set the murder mystery in road with street lamp

Always story board and pre shot the angle and scene to see if it’s possible

Use extreme long distance shots (for running shot)

Only think about the opening sequence, not the story of the whole film

Opening sequence analysis

 Rocket man Opening sequence analysis

 

The film opening starts with nearly 2 minutes of calming piano as logos from other companies appear on the screen (thanking other film/distribution companies). We then fade into a title of ‘Rocket Man’ and Elton John (played by Taron Egerton) swings open 2 doors and the title is dispersed into a glittery shower.

This represents Elton as confident and flamboyant. Through the long shot, we can see his long, confident strides and his over the top costume, this supports his representation of his confidence. Elton being in the centre of the screen highlights that he is the main focus of attention and that he is important. The backlight and dramatic music along with the slow zoom in of the camera lense add to the intensity Elton is giving throughout this long take.

 

The camera then cuts to him confidently walking his way into a rehabilitation group, but we get a close up of his face which is more concerned then confident. He immediately stands out from the rest of the members and the background as he is dressed in a colourful, glittery costume with wings and horns whereas the others are in dark clothing against a bleak background wall. The silence and slow tracking shot emphasises him being an oddity as he is the only one standing and being stared at. This alienation is expected as he is a stereotypical homosexual man during the time period the film is set in (50’s to 80’s). Homosexual men were pictured as camp, over dramatic/ expressive people who dressed with a more feminine manner in flamboyant colours. He is also a non stereotypical male for the time as he isn’t working to provide for a family (wife and kids) and doesn’t have a physical labour job. This alienation that Elton suffers is shown through his facial expression during his monologue as he talks about his imperfections during a slow zoom in, which allows the audience to connect to his suffering and victimisation.

The target audience for this film are people aged 40-60 as that is the age group that grew up with Elton and his music. The audience also might be the LGBTQ community as Elton is a homosexual and an idol to those in the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ community consists of fairly young people 20 onwards, which expands the films audience by quite a large number. Although the film features people of different ethnicities, the most obvious audience nationality group to watch the film would be English people as Elton is an English songwriter and the film is shot in English dialogue. The film consists of several dance and music numbers which attracts theatrical/ musical people. The film is a journey through Elton Johns life which particularly shows his use of drugs and alcohol. This feature in the film could also attract people who have had/ have a similar life style. 

 

The narrative of the opening sequence is told through the use of media language and setting and dialogue. At first when Elton enters the rehab meeting, several enigma codes are brought up by the audience, such as; why is he in rehab? Why is he addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex etc…?, how did he get to this point in his life?. The effect of these enigma codes are positive as they gain the audiences interest and hook the audience into the story as they want to find the answer to the questions that have been raised.

The story/ plot line of the film is revealed at the beginning. We can tell the film will consist of flashbacks events as Elton hallucinates his younger self during the rehab meeting which is the take off point of the musical film. We also understand that the film will take the audience on a journey through Eltons life as he talks about his life and career in the meeting, which is what instigates the flash back. 

 

‘Rocket man’ is a musical and drama themed film which has a sub genre of biographical films. The opening sequence shows these genres to the audience by including dramatic and a musical scene. The dramatic scene is the rehabilitation meeting as the piano stops to add suspense, the surrounding is bland to create a depressing tone and the dialogue tells the audience of Eltons dramatic life story. After this we go into our first song as we track through the doors outside into a dance and song number ‘Bitch is back’. The film fits into Steve Neale’s film theory as it starts as a classical drama and musical, but slightly steers away from the original concept of the two genres as it pushes the boundaries of musical as it isn’t a family friendly film due to the drugs, sex, violence and alcohol. It also uses new camera and editing techniques which open a whole new idea of musical based films as it goes even further to deviate from the realistic features other film genres have e.g. drama is realistic whereas ‘Rocket man’ has unrealistic editing such as Elton’s flying scene.

Analyse opening sequence- rocket man

 

Se7en title sequence notes

Scary

Dark

Fast editing causes anxiety/fear

Sound- non diegetic music is irregular with low drones- unsettling 

Close ups of objects shows us abnormal detail- similar to a serial killer

Writings font is scribbled- looks to be done hastily

Lots of close ups on several objects, fast editing, confuses the audience with lots of detail but no broad picture/ idea

Sequence is very disorienting

Books and pictures shows audience information but no answers- action codes/ enigma codes (why is he crossing things out?)

Photographs of surgery in graphic detail makes the audience feel sick

Sexy beast class notes