Media Opening

Scene
By Conor Window 12A

Narrative
The narrative of our movie, and therefore opening sequence, shall
follow a notorious gangster and member of the mafia as our main
protagonist. However our film shall be unique from other films of the
same genre, as these characters are usually Italian-American, where
as ours shall he English. As a result of this, our movie shall be set in
his home town of London. Our opening sequence will show our main
character having flashbacks of crimes he has previously committed
whilst casually strolls through central London. A non-diegetic voice
over shall describe the events. This allows us to set the scene
through our mis-en-scene, as well as establishing a character and
plot, all without giving too much away to the audience.

Sound
We have used a range of non-diegetic sound throughout our
opening sequence. This includes such things as voiceovers
and music soundtracks. We have also used a range of
diegetic sound, such as speech, gunshots and London
traffic. This is effective as it allows allows us to impress the
audience on a greater level due to out sound effects. It also
adds more realism, as we hear our main protagonist speak.
This helps establish a character.

Shot by shot
The scene shall open with an establishing shot of London. This will
allow us to set the scene of our movie, denoting the location to the
audience. It will then transition onto a tracking shot, following our
main protagonist as he walks through the city of London, with well
known locations denoted in the background. Another transition will be
used to show the flashbacks of our main character committing crimes.
Match on action and shot/reverse shot will both be used during these
flashbacks, where we will see a murder, a kidnapping and a corpse
being dragged away. To conclude our opening sequence, an extreme
close up will be used in order to reveal our protagonists true identity.

Genre Conforming
One way in which we will conform to the genre is through the outfits of our
characters, as our protagonist will be seem wearing formal clothing in the
form of a suit and tie. This is a common convention of the gangster genre.
Another way that we will do this is through props. Our main character will
use a gun to murder a victim, as well as rope in order to tie another up.
These are both commonly used props in this genre. The opening scene will
also show scenes of violence, danger and some foul language, as these are
all also common conventions of Gangster themed films seem throughout the
genre. This connotes the 18 age rating of the movie. The music we use is
from around the 1960s era, connoting the era of most of the movies within
this genre.

Genre - Subverting
Our opening sequence shall subvert to the usual codes and
conventions of the genre through a non-diegetic soundtrack. This
will be done through an upbeat, happy piece of music. This subverts
the genre as the soundtracks used in its movies are usually slow and
eerie in order to build suspense. We have decided to use this music
whilst showing the flashbacks, as this will disorientate our audience,
leaving them confused as to why the sound track is unparalleled
towards the scene. This will leave them eager to watch on as they
may create more questions as a result of this, which can only be
answered by the rest of the movie.

Camera
Match on action shall be used throughout our journey through the
specify of London. We will use a range of high and low angles
throughout the flashbacks, in order to connote the levels of power.
Our main character shall he shown through a low angle, making
the audience feel inferior as they are being made to look up at
him. We will have an establishing shot of London to show the
audience a detailed image of where the film is set. A POV shot will
also be used during the flashbacks, in order to show the events
from the main characters eyes. We will use various zooms when
the victim is tied up so the audience can have a detailed
understanding of the discomfort, distress and pain in which this
character is currently experiencing during this moment.

Editing
As our protagonist walks through London, there will be low
key lighting in order to connote the dark narrative of the
film, as well as the mystery of our anonymous gangster. We
shall use a black and white filter during the flashbacks. This
is effective as it shows these events took place in the past,
as well as connoting the era in which our movie is set in. A
series of jump cuts shall be used in order to transition from
real time to flash back throughout the opening sequence.
The non-diegetic soundtrack will mute during the flashbacks
in order to allow the diegetic, synchronous dialogue to be
heard by the audience.

Enigma
We create an enigma throughout our opening sequence.
This is done whilst our audience is witnessing the main
protagonist walk through London, as they hear the nondiegetic voiceover and soundtrack, as well as when the
flashbacks are denoted. This creates an enigma as the
audience are left with unanswered questions such as:
"Where is he going?", "Does he regret his previous actions?"
"Why doesn't the music match the scene?" and "Why is the
music so happy?".