I listed the opening sequences that I watched from what I thought was the best to the worst.
1. The Deception: Out of all the opening sequences I watched I liked this one the best as it had a clear narrative, the title sequence was creative and the way action was presented was clever, for example there was a section of the sequence where someone went to press the doorbell with their finger, at the same time another finger went to touch the water in the bath tub, when these two actions were shown together it created a really good effect, this is called 'match on action'.
2. Bacterium: The use of non-diegetic sound created suspense and within the sequence information was deliberately hidden to create enigma e.g. in the 'bosses office'.
3. Abduction: It had a good narrative, although it did create a bit of confusion at the beginning.
4. Graves: The narrative was good and clear. The sound was representative of the action on screen and it wasn't the same throughout which kept it interesting.
5. Snakes and Ladders: The narrative was clear, and they used a wide range of camera angles. They used very clever shots including match on action, where the girl is seen stepping into her shoes and then in a another location a boy steps into his.
6. The Resistance: Had a clear narrative however, the acting could have been a lot better. The music used created good suspense and tension. They had an interesting point of view shot. The shot reverse shot was filmed badly as they were looking directly into the camera which made it seem less like a real conversation. There was also a continuity error with the times on the phones.
7. Rundown: It had a good narrative. The sound used helps to create a feeling of excitement and danger. A wide range of camera angles were used to portray action.
8. The Slayer: They used varied camera angles, for example the worm-eye-view and low angle this made the sequence look interesting however, I found the narrative quite confusing.
9. It Swings In Roundabout: The sound used creates tension and discomfort among the viewer which is good as that was the aim. The acting could have been better and the use of studio lights was too obvious as you could see a reflection of the camera man.
10. Chroniker: Their editing was very creative, they used split-screens which was clever, but it went on for too long and got a little boring. And the narrative was really unclear.
11. 1962: Not a wide range of camera angles were used. The narrative was very unclear. The shot-reverse-shots were too boring and the music got very annoying.
There were a few issues with the opening sequences that I analysed in class. Some of the errors were pretty basic that could have been fixed, which may have enabled the group to getting a higher mark. Whereas some required a lot more technological knowledge to correct.
One error I spotted a numerous amount of times was, the title sequence had no relevance to the narrative of film. For example if the genre was horror the title sequence included no signifier's for the audience to understand the genre. To avoid this I will make sure everything in my title sequence, from colour to font is somehow relevant to the genre of my film.
Another error I spotted in a few of the opening sequences was, when studio lights were used it made the scenes look highly unnatural and in a few cases shadows of the cameraman appeared in the scene. To avoid this I will try and use as much natural lighting as I can, but if I need to use studio lights I will take care with monitoring the shadows and re-shoot any imperfect scenes.
Sound was also an issue with a few of the opening sequences. It was a regular occurrence that the sound used in the background had no relevance to the action in the scene. Another issue was an error in sound continuity. The music would jump from track to track without any fades. The sudden changes in tracks may cause the audience to feel confused. Sometimes the diegetic background noise overpowers the dialogue. To avoid all these issues, I will make sure I create appropriate sounds for every scene, and make sure the transitions to each sound is smooth and clean cut, and once I've recorded a scene I will play it back to make sure the sound is audible.
In a few of the opening sequences I watched I noticed they lacked usage of a variety of camera angles. Different camera angles are used to make scenes more interesting and to keep the audience engaged and interested. To avoid repeatedly using the same camera angle I will make sure that when I storyboard my opening sequence I use a variety of camera angles wherever possible to keep my work as intriguing as possible.
