Although a clockwork orange is a much older film, and therefore the effects used may be outdated and therefore not appropriate for my task, I still feel it is an effective opening. It starts with a red background and sinister non-diegetic music that instantly sets the tone. Red has connotations of passion and violence and this very subtly (and cleverly) hints at some kind of narrative to the film. The non-diegetic music then plays "music for the funeral of queen Mary'' by Henry Prucell, which is a very slow yet triumphant score.
The typography then appears on the screen (Ariel bold), and the whole shot then changes colour (blue screen), when a new sentence appears. This is very simple, however very effective in creating a sinister atmosphere.
Once the film title appears (on a red background again), the shot cuts to a close up of the main character. He's tilting his head and looking up, connoting a sinister character. The shot lasts a lot longer than generic shots in film openings, and although it is probably just a convention of the time it was filmed it I think it is a good way of making an audience feel uncomfortable, as you would wish to do when creating a thriller. The non-diegetic music still plays over this, and the camera soon starts to zoom out into an establishing shot of the bar the main protagonist and his 'gang' are in.
As the camera continues to zoom out a voice over of the main characters voice establishes both himself and the supporting characters around him as the main focus of the scene, and also introduces the beginnings of the narrative in a unique style that I think is again very unnerving for an audience as his voice and the way he is speaking is quite informal and friendly, and therefore juxtaposes how sinister he looks in the establishing shot.
The mis-en-scene of the establishing shot is slightly irrelevant as this particular film also comes under the genre of science fiction and therefore flamboyancy is expected. However, the characters in the bar barely move the whole way through the shot and are wearing very similar attire (white clothes and a hat). This creates further tension for the audience as you don't quite know if anything is going to happen suddenly or unexpectedly as the shot unconventionally keeps going and going.
The typography then appears on the screen (Ariel bold), and the whole shot then changes colour (blue screen), when a new sentence appears. This is very simple, however very effective in creating a sinister atmosphere.
Once the film title appears (on a red background again), the shot cuts to a close up of the main character. He's tilting his head and looking up, connoting a sinister character. The shot lasts a lot longer than generic shots in film openings, and although it is probably just a convention of the time it was filmed it I think it is a good way of making an audience feel uncomfortable, as you would wish to do when creating a thriller. The non-diegetic music still plays over this, and the camera soon starts to zoom out into an establishing shot of the bar the main protagonist and his 'gang' are in.
As the camera continues to zoom out a voice over of the main characters voice establishes both himself and the supporting characters around him as the main focus of the scene, and also introduces the beginnings of the narrative in a unique style that I think is again very unnerving for an audience as his voice and the way he is speaking is quite informal and friendly, and therefore juxtaposes how sinister he looks in the establishing shot.
The mis-en-scene of the establishing shot is slightly irrelevant as this particular film also comes under the genre of science fiction and therefore flamboyancy is expected. However, the characters in the bar barely move the whole way through the shot and are wearing very similar attire (white clothes and a hat). This creates further tension for the audience as you don't quite know if anything is going to happen suddenly or unexpectedly as the shot unconventionally keeps going and going.
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