‘How effectively does the opening sequence from ‘Children Of Men’ use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your response as a member of the audience?’
During this essay I will be discussing how effectively the opening sequence of ‘Children Of Men’ use the different forms and conventions of film openings.
Children Of Men was made in 2006. The American Sci-Fi is directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Children Of Men is set in London in 2027, the film explores the ways the world has changed in every way possible (mostly in negative ways).
The film starts off with the production logo, in this case it is Universal. This is a typical convention of a film opening as it is essential to the film. The production logo tells the audience the main company that worked on the film. Sometimes if the budget for the film is high, the production logos will be edited so they can link to the film. The background of the production logo is generally black to make the logo itself stand out.
Title screens are the next shot shown in the film Children Of Men. This is another common convention of film openings as they are a great way of building up suspense. In Children Of Men there we can hear two news reporters reading off the news briefly. This is a good way of capturing the audience’s attention as there are no images to distract them, only sound which is attention grabbing. Usually the title screens will display the stars of the film, because famous stars would generally attract the audience to the film. However in Children Of Men no names are mentioned in the title screens, only the production names.
After two production names have been mentioned, the screen goes totally black for six seconds. This is when the news reporters report the main story. They say ‘the world was stunned today by the death of deago recardo, the youngest person on the planet.’ This is a shocking statement to say right at the start of the film, which is a good way of grabbing the audience’s attention. The shot then turns to a cafe with around 15 people in. They are looking up towards the corner of the room (face on to the camera, but slightly to the right) to show all of their facial expressions. Whilst the customers in the shop are looking up in the cameras direction the news reporters are still talking. By positioning all the characters together in a cluster and have them all looking up at the camera (to the audience) this is a good and effective way of attracting the audience, as they feel as though they are being watched by all the people in the shop. The clothes of the customers are very dark and grey which shows the seriousness of the subject. One lady is holding a dog which maybe is an indication that as this is set during 2027 that although a lot of things have changes, having animals around is not one of them, which is a big sigh of relief for a lot of the audience as they themselves would more than likely own pets. The customers are looking up towards the screen in the same position for around six minutes, until another customer enters the shot.
A tall man manages to push his way through the crowd to reach the desk to buy a hot drink. The other customers shown in the shop do not look happy about the man pushing through to get to the counter; this is because they are trying to listen to a serious story being shown on the news. The man pushing through the crowd is a star which is also a common convention of opening film sequences. By showing the star within the first five minutes of the film shows that the star is going to be a main character which would make the audience want to carry on watching. The man asks for a coffee whilst the news reporters are still explaining the story, he then hands over his change and whilst waiting for his coffee to be made looks up at the TV screen just like the rest of the characters in the cafe.
The shot then turns to the flat screen TV on the wall showing the news report. The story is about an 18 year old boy who dies the earliest person in the world, which is a indicator to the audience that in 2027 people are having less children for some reason, this is the first sign the London has gone downhill. The man then takes his coffee and heads for the door, as he is heading for the door we can still hear the news report but the sound slows down as he reaches nearer to the door, which is an editing technique used emphasise how young the boy was when he died. We can also hear sobbing in the background, maybe this is from a customer in the shop or perhaps from a person on the TV. As the man reaches the door, there is a close up shot of the cafe door; the cafe is named ‘caf-fine’ which shows the language too has gone downhill as it seems to be written in text form, which is an indicator that people have become very lazy.
The shot then turns to the outside, which is a panning shot- this too is a common convention of opening of a film as it shows the place that the film is set which is useful for the audience to know. On the walls of buildings is large moving advertisement which shows how technology has advanced over the years. Cars and bikes run by engines are driving pass, which too is an indicator of how much London has changes. There is a lot of pollution and smoke everywhere and the colours are all dark and grey colours which show this is not a very nice place to be it. We then turn down the street to see two policemen patrolling the streets which tells the audience again how much London has changed, and that it is a very dangerous place. The camera is following the main character a little down the road, passing bin bags and rubbish dumped on the floor. The main character then puts his coffee upon an electricity box, whilst the camera circles round him to have a clearer view of what the man is doing. We view him open the lid to his coffee and pour some type of alcohol into the coffee, which shows just how bad London has become. There is then a sudden bang, the man drops his coffee over the road and steppe back quickly. The coffee shop looks as if it has been bombed as there is a lot of smoke and dust coming out the shop, as well as the sound of glass smashing and a woman screaming. The camera then moves over to the explosion where a lady comes out holding an arm. The screen then turns pitch black and the words ‘Children of Men’ show up in thick white lettering.
This Children Of Men opening sequence conveys many of the typical opening film conventions, which are mentioned above. The conventions work well as they generally set the scene, pinpoint the main character, explain a little about the time period and where the world stands during this time and also shows the production Logo, which is all what this film opening has done. A lot has happened in the opening sequence of Children of Men but a lot has to happen to keep the audience hooked and keep watching, which is what this film does, this is one of the main reasons why I enjoy the opening sequence so much, as a lot happens.
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