Forrest Gump. (1994)
The Narrative in this film is open, this is because we know the film carries on. The opening shows the narrative about being alone in a world where there is so many people. We know this because as we see the feathers journey throughout the town we see lots of people getting on with there life's doing different things, but as the feather ends its journey it stops in front of a man on his own opening a suitcase which is filed up with things for one person only.
The Genre in this opening is left open, by this i mean the use of sound and titles means it could be a ROM com or a drama. This is due to the happy sound of the music and everything on the screen being light for example the setting and the titles. Rom Coms often start in a happy way, where as dramas can start in many different ways, being happy or sad.
There are quite a few background characters in this opening showing people getting on with there life in the city but nearer the end of the opening it shows one man on his own who doesn't say anything, the audience can instantly tell he is going to play a big part in this film.
The atmosphere is very slow paced in this beginning, as it shows the life of the feather, a feather being an unharmful object, blowing through the wind slowly. As soon as the feather drops everything becomes quicker from there as reality on earth kicks in.
The themes in this opening seem to be family as from the sky you can see families together getting on with their life happy, but also a theme tends to be lonesomeness as the man is sitting on the bench on his own, looking as though he is waiting for something to happen.
The setting for this opening is a busy city, showing the city from above all the buildings, getting close to some buildings then moving further away. Then showing a bench which is an important part in a city as that's where people sit and watch life's happen.
The institutional logo is the first thing to show in the this opening - paramount. The titles during the film tend to be big but white to fit in with the harmonic setting of the feather moving around, this leaves a a calming atmosphere on the audience.
The sound used for the opening of Forrest gump is peaceful as a simple melody is played on the piano in a high key in a reasonably slow manner, this starts the film on a good note as the audience relaxes ready to watch an easy film.
The narrative in this film is open as we know the film carries on because this is just the opening. Throughout the opening the non diegetic voice talks about his life introducing people and daily objects this shows the narrative being 'his life'. but things could change as the film goes on.
The Genre in this piece immediately shows it is a drama. This is due to the character talking about his life and how he hates it he even says his life is nearly over and he has one more year to live, this gives the audience an insight into what might happen in the film.
There are quite a lot of characters in the opening considering it is just the beginning, this includes: The voice over showing himself the audience See's that he is quite a negative character, the mans wife cutting her roses showing she is getting on wife life happily, the 2 next door neighbors who are homosexual and the daughter who is not happy with herself which is a stereotypical thing for a teenage girl. The way the voice over talks you know the film is going to be about him.
The atmosphere in this film started off slow paced when the voice over was just talking while the camera slowly zoomed into the city then everything changed to a normal pace when all the characters were introduced. This makes the audience feel more at home as we see everything is normal.
The themes in this opening is simply life, as we are introduced to his life and everything goes with it, as the film starts to go more themes will be released.
There are a fair few settings in this opening such as the town, the bedroom, the bathroom, the garden and the front garden - this shows a normal morning and how things are in a family home.
There were no titles in this opening scene which means they will come in an unusual place.
The sound in this open is a simple beat to show a simple morning in a simple family in a simple place. This eases the audience as it is an easy film to watch.
Rain man (1988)
The characters in this opening are 3 men looking at cars, one with a clipboard. This shows that they are in the business somehow. There are alot of background workers doing different jobs obviously working for these men with the clipboard.
The atmosphere throughout this whole opening is slow paced, this is due to no one saying anything and watching the men looking at the cards hoisting one down from above. Not much is going on but you are intrigued to know what they are doing.
The theme for this opening is business, that seems to be the only theme as there are no other clues for what else could happen in this film.
The 2 settings in this film are the city when we watch the car slowly move up high with the city behind and a car site with loads of similar looking cars, this shows that the film is going to be set in the city.
The institutional logo is used first - metro Goldwyn Mayer. The titles are shown on a black background with big writing in white with all the main actors names first, this shows that they are important as they are the focus point of the screen at the time. The rest of the titles come up in front of the car site this shows they are not seen to be as important as the main actors as they are not the focus point of the screen at the time
The first sound used is talking in the background when nothing is shown on the screen, but very quietly. Next a beat kicks in and continues for a while and the audience can tell that something is going to happen then a feel good song kicks in and you feel happy.
