Wednesday 24 September 2014

Analysis of a title sequence

Panic room


Plot- After her divorce, Meg Altman and her daughter Sarah move into an old-fashioned house with one very modern addition: a "panic room" which is virtually impossible to break into, designed for refuge during a home invasion. In their first night in the house a trio of thieves do break in and Meg and Sarah rush into the panic room. However, the intruders are looking for something inside the panic room, and given the recent move the room's hotline to the police hasn't been hooked up yet. Worse, Sarah is diabetic and the room doesn't contain any sugar...


Analysis- The opening sequence to the film is very striking and unusual, however, the simplicity of the sequence is very alluring. It gives virtually nothing away about the film itself but sets the scene and automatically allows the audience to adapt to the setting. The use of pan shots and tilt shots allow the audience to see how large and how populated the city is. From first glance, the titles that appear look virtually real and proposes the question 'are they actually on the buildings?'. However, as the title sequence continues the audience realise that they are not. The impact this creates is it gains the audiences attention as they begin to focus more intensely as they try to distinguish what is and inst real. They float against skyscrapers and down town churches as if they belong there and overall creates a really nice effect. 

The music used in the sequence gives the audience the impression of impending doom. The dramatic and intense tone really sets the atmosphere and keeps the audience on edge. It feels like the music is a build up to a dramatic climax and it is inevitable that something bad is going to happen. The music contrasts with the scenery as the city appears to be very normal and ordinary, as though nothing sinister would ever occur there. However, the music implies otherwise, we get the impression that something sinister is going to happen. 
A low angle shot can be used to show the vulnerability of the people living in the city. By looking up onto the skyscraper it gives us an almost point of view shot of someone from the street looking up. It also puts into perspective how big and daunting the city is. This could also put into perspective how many risks there can be in someone so big and so densely populated. 
Towards the end of the opening sequence, two characters appear and begin speaking in an American accent which tells us that the film is biased in America and judging from the master shots in the opening sequence, it could be set in New York city.
When the film title appears on the screen, it is significantly larger than the other title which allows us to focus on it more. After the title appears on the scree, the music then becomes more upbeat and pacey which relates to the title 'panic' which is quite effective.







In our film, I think it would look really effective to use a similar idea of displaying the titles on objects and scenery. However, instead of using master shots and establishing shots, I think close ups and extreme close ups will help create a more dramatic, intense effect which links in with our genre.

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