Enigma

We looked at the use of enigma in films and how it was used in film, to begin we looked at the connotations that go with enigma and came up with a list:

• unknown
• questions
• curiosity
• Mystery 

We were also asked to define what enigma meant. Mr Lucas showed us a dictionary definition of enigma:

• A saying, picture, question, etc, which has a hidden meaning  

We then had to come up with our own definition:

Enigma is something that is puzzling or hard t work out. It is a mystery that is created by the use of a person,object or question, which true meaning is hidden from the audience, it will be later revealed to the audience and then the enigma will no longer exists.

We then thought about ways in which we could create this enigma:

• Editing.
• Sound.
• Camera shots.
• Mise-en-scene. 
• Changing the conventions of the narrative. 
• Framing.
• Not introducing characters until later on.
• Hidden meanings running throughout the film.

Finally we put all that we had learnt in this lesson and looked at the opening to 'The Bourne Identity'. After watching this it has showed me how to increase the enigma if that is what i wanted to do in my final  task.

Film Opening : The Blair Witch Project

From 0:00 to 0:10 seconds the Artisan entertainment logo comes on to the screen, followed by the Haxon Film logo until 0:14 seconds. This is then followed by a blank screen until 0:17 seconds. The tittle of the film appears onto the screen at 0:18 and lasts until 0:24 seconds. Again , this is followed by another blank screen for 5 seconds. Due to this film being a documentary style film, it was meant to look as realistic as possible, therefore a short review of what the film is about comes on the screen from 0:29 to 0:39 seconds, the review says ' In October 1994 three film making students disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville,Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found'. this is then followed by another blank screen until 0:42 seconds. The film starts at 0:43 seconds as documentary introducing the first 2 characters Heather and Josh, although we don't see Josh's face until later in the film. As this film is done in the style of a documentary, it is always done from the point of view of the characters, perhaps making it more intense and realistic because getting lost can so easily happen to anyone and although the witch is said to be just a myth, our imaginations can easily be tempted that we actually believe it is true. We first see Josh at 1:15, when both him and Heather are packing up equipment into the car, the third and final character's name Mike is first mentioned at 1:42 and then at :151 we see him for the first time. Our first thoughts on Heather is that she is very bossy and controlling, we also get the impression that this school project means the most to her as she is very determined to get get things done as quickly as possible throughout the film. The other two however seem more laid back at the beginning, however as the movie unrolls we see that all three become a little more involved with the Blair Witch then they first imagined.


What the film does well:

• Introduces characters within the first 2 minutes
• Introduces what the film is about well. eg the review that appears on the screen

What the film dose not do well:

• Due to it being a documentary, we don't see the 2nd character Josh until later into the opening even though we hear him and his name is mentioned. This is one of the main down falls to this style of filming

Film Opening : The Woman In Black

At 0:00 to 0:06 seconds the Paramount logo and the soundtrack can be seen on the screen, this is followed by a blank screen until 0:09 seconds. Next the Hammer logo appears on the screen until 0:18 seconds, again followed by a blank screen for 2 seconds. At 0:20 seconds the national lottery logo appears on the screen until 0:21 seconds, followed by the UK Film Council until 0:27 seconds. This is then again followed by a blank screen until 0:36 seconds. The film begins at 0:37 seconds, and the eerie music starts at 0:39 seconds. the stetting fro this opening is a children's nursery where 3 girls are playing with their dolls, the music quickly builds up tension leading the audience to feel on edge as something bad is going to happen. the scene continues to play with various different shots of the children playing their games.

This film builds up tension very well in this opening scene as it leads the audience into the creepy story of an old ghost lady killing the children of a small secluded town in England.



what the film did well :

• builds tension
• sets the date,as children are in old fashion clothing

What the film didn't do well:

• dose not introduce leading actors.

Film Opening : Captain America

0:00 to 0:18 the Paramount logo and soundtrack appears on the screen, this is followed by a blank screen until 0:21 seconds. From 0:21 to 0:33 seconds the Marvel logo appears, followed again by a blank screen for 3 seconds. At this point the film starts, it is unclear as too what is happening as the scene is foggy suggesting to the audience that the climate is cold, at 0:47 seconds headlights can  be seen coming closer towards the camera until they expand to the full screen at 0:52 seconds, it then cuts to a POV shot from the car and we can see a man holding a stick with a light on it, presumably to find his and the people in the car's way to what they have discovered, seen as this is super hero movie we expect it be to be supernatural and big, however it it is still unclear as to why anyone is out in this climate. At 1:12 dialogue starts and they have been introduced as 'the guys from Washington'. The scene continues with various different camera shots and angles. At 1:47 the zooming effect starts on the spaceship and here also the music becomes louder as the space ship is reviled on camera


What it dose well:

• use's good camera shots to set the scene
• good use of zoom to make the audience aware of the scale of spaceship and just how big it it.
• good use of suspense as to why they out in this climate.

What it dose not do well:

• Although we can see they are in a cold climate thy never actually introduce the setting.
• A lot of time is spent on creating the suspense as to what is out there and not enough time introducing the spaceship. Although enigma is being created i feel that they should have spent more time on the subject of the spaceship rather than the men talking and walking in the snow.

Film Opening : Love Actually

At 0:00 to 0:21 seconds the universal logo and soundtrack can be seen on the screen. At 0:21 to 0:38 the Studio canal logo and soundtrack can been seen. After this Working title logo can be seen which lasted until 0:49 seconds. This is then when the music starts which is relaxing and soft to go with the genre of the film.  the film starts and it is set a t the arrival gate at Heathrow Airport, showing how happy people are greeting each other as they arrive . At 0:49  until 0:54 seconds the words' Universal pictures and studio canal presents', then after this ' A working title production' appears on screen from 0:54 to 0:59 seconds. ' In association with DNA films' is the next thing to appear on the screen. All of this is printed in a white font, suggesting to pureness of love and happiness, which is what the film is about. At 1:13 Hugh Grant's voice can be heard which continues until 1:58. at 1:50 ' Love actually is all around' appears on screen at the same time as Hugh Grant says it, and at 1:58 the words dissolve off the screen leaving only 'Love actually', the title, on the screen.

Things it did well :

• i like the speech hugh grant makes along with the footage. it shows what the film is going to be about, and makes us think about it in perhaps a different way to what we first might have thoughts

Things it didn't do well:

• it didn't stick to the conventions of film openings as it didn't introduce any characters or leading actors, however i really like this film opening as it provokes emotion from the audience and is very heart warming. You can tell from this opening that this is going to be a very good heart warming family film for all to enjoy and that's what makes it so appealing to me.

Film Opening :Se7en

In the beginning of the opening of this film from 0:00 to 0:15 seconds there is a man sat in his bed at 0:15 seconds a ticking sound starts and ends at 0:46 when the music starts, unfortunately this is not shown in the clip below as it is only opening titles. At 0:51 seconds ( when the clip below starts) the words ' New Line cinema presents' appears on the screen in Gothic style font suggesting to the audience that this film is eerie and scary, this last until 0:53 seconds. 1 seconds later at 0:54 the words 'An Arnold Kopleson Production' appears on screen which last until 0:55 seconds. Again the words are in a style of font which reminds the audience of the horror genre this film is, along with the music its gives the audience the feel for the scary 'factor' this film has. The next words to appear on the screen are 'A film by David Fincher' at 0:58 to 0:59 seconds. This film has a very good cast, with well known actors such as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman playing the main parts. At 1:01 Brad Pitt's name appears on a blank screen this last for 2 seconds. At 1:05 Morgan Freeman's name appears,again lasting for 2 second. The tittle of the film appears at 1:11 until 1:15, the unusual spelling of the film title intrigues the audience as to what the film is about.

Other big name stars such a Gyneth Pathrow, Richard Roundtree and R.Lee Ermey also star in this film



What the film did well :

• creates suspense
• creates enigma  

What the film didn't do well:

• it did not introduce all main characters that star in the film

Film Opening :Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging

In the beginning of this film opening we can see from 0:00 to 0:20 seconds the paramount logo can be seen on the screen. the movie sound track starts between this at 0:15 seconds and continues until 1:01. after the first logo has appeared on the screen, Nickelodeon movies logo then appears straight after lasting between 0:20 to 0:33 seconds. At this point the film starts and the dialogue comes in 2 seconds later  at 0:35 seconds which last until 1:57. The film continues to play and at 0:50 seconds the words ' Paramount Pictures International and Nickelodeon movies presents' appear on the screen which last 3 seconds. At 0:54 the words 'a Gurinda Chadha film' appears on the screen letting the audience know that this film was directed by her.Tthis last for 4 seconds until 0:58. At 1:01 (as above said) the soundtrack stops and at 1:06 it starts again up until 1:24, when backing music can be heard from a radio/CD player in the background of the scene which stops at 1:50. 1 seconds later and the well known pop song 'She's So Lovely' by Scouting For girls comes on and continues to the end of the full 2:00 of the opening scene.

What the film did well

• sets the scene well, with the running through the town and the ocean shots
• keeps to the theme of the books, incorporating some lines from them

What the film dose not do well

• dose not introduce all main characters.

Film Openings:The Wedding Date

At the start of the film between 0:00 and 0:21 seconds the Universal logo along with the soundtrack is seen on the screen, this is then followed closely by the Golden Circle film logo which last from 0:21 seconds too 0:29 seconds. After this the screen goes blank for exactly 2 seconds.The blank screen is then followed by the writing 'Universal films and' from 0:31 - 0:35 seconds, after this for one seconds the screen is blank. At 0:36 seconds the words 'Golden Circle films presents' this last 4 seconds until 0:40 seconds, again for one seconds the screen is blank and then the music to to the film starts at 0:41 seconds,at this time 'a 26 films production' appears on the screen for 4 seconds. the film then starts at 0:45 seconds. At 1:11 the words ' In association with visionveiw LTD'  appears on the screen.

Later at 1:19 too 1:23 the lead actress Debra Messing's name appears on screen. 6 seconds later at 1:26 her co star Demote Mulroney again lasting 4 seconds on screen. The title of the film then appears on the screen at 1:34. The first dialect of the film begins 6 seconds later at 1:40. At 1:53 other leading actors/actresses names start appearing on the screen including Amy Adams which can be seen on screen from 1:51 too 1:53.

what the film does well: 

• introduces all actors who star in the film well
• sets the scene well, by having shots of the iconic New York skyline 
• provides context well through the use of the phone message and by the invite. we understand from the begging that the main character is going to a wedding and she has hired a date for it

What it does not do well

• dose not introduce characters very well, we know their names but not them fully