Film Openings

Casino Royale
-Location established by text (spy/thriller archetype)
- Black and white makes the scene more gritty and ominous
- High and low angles of man give us distorted view of him, suggest he may be duplicitous etc.
- POV shot in room builds tension
- Flashback cuts suspense with action, keeping audience on their toes
- Music is eerie and builds tension
- Hero is cool and collected despite murdering someone
- Continuous threat of death
- By the first few words, we are immediately thrown into the world of espionage
- Sudden changes from quiet to loud is "thrilling"
- In fight scene, the camera is right in there with the action
- ECU of Bond's face during the killing is intense

Casino Royale Opening (Embedding disabled by request)

Collateral
- Lots of CUs on action immerse the audience straight away
- Shallow depth of field focuses on action
- Sound bridge at the beginning takes us straight into it (in media res)
- Very audible footsteps build tension
- Establish setting and foreshadow events by showing NY taxi

Collateral opening:



Shifty
- Introduced to 4 characters, intriguing
- Drugs are quickly introduced, illegality is thrilling
- Build up to opening of the door builds suspense and tension

Shifty trailer:



London to Brighton
- Location and time immediately established, precise time suggests time is important and the characters are against the time
- We see a small girl which, given we were just told it was 7 past 3 in the morning, makes us ask questions
- Violence is evident. Again involvement with small child is shocking and intriguing
- First scene set in public toilet, seems dirty
- Harsh strip lighting
- Mother is hysterical, angry, aggressive - something bad must have happened
- It becomes apparent that the mother is a prostitute
- Ominous mentioning of Derrick - mother assures girl he's not on the train
- Lots of CUs - intimate, scary
- Wide shot as they run across station, makes them seem vulnerable and out in the open
- CU on chips in bathroom emphasises dirtiness of bathroom - not somewhere ideal for a meal
- Shaky camerawork on train
- Whip pans
- No sound bridge at start - in media res
- Sounds of train amplified
- Naturalistic lighting

London to Brighton trailer:



Pulp Fiction
- Begins with a couple sitting in a diner speaking very matter-of-factly about their occupation as robbers for about 4 minutes
- Shots comprised mainly of two-shots and POVs, conversation seems quite mundane despite subject matter
- They decide it would be a good idea to rob the restaurant they are in and immediately start doing so, pulling out a gun and screaming at the customers - a stark contrast to the preceding 4 minutes
- Faint ambient sound of other customers talking, music playing lightly and the clinking of crockery, the substantial sound heard apart from the two characters talking is the man slamming the gun down on the table which cuts right through the low-key, mundane mood
- Man is wearing a hawaiian-esque shirt, making him seem carefree and easy going despite him initiating a robbery
- They share a kiss before starting the robbery - contrast between standard couple and criminals, shocks viewer

Pulp Fiction Opening: