Opening Scene Analysis – Lord of War
Summary:
The title sequence for the movie Lord of War is entitled “The Life
of a Bullet”. During this opening the camera follows the bullet through
production up to the point where it is fired from a gun. This opening is mostly
special effects. This opening is done well and gives the audience an idea of
what themes the movie will contain since bullets are a generic convention of
war or fighting.
The camera is constantly stuck to the bullet throughout the
opening. Therefore the camera sometimes is it strange canted angles (e.g. when
it is picked up and inspected). The camera is always just behind the bullet so
the audience can see where the bullet is going whilst showing the audience that
the opening illustrates the production and lifespan of a bullet.
The setting throughout the opening is constantly changing and each
area gets around 30 seconds of camera time. The changing settings show the
audience how far the bullet travels from where it was first produced to where
it is fired off in battle. The narrative moves forward from characters
interacting with bullet (e.g. a character picks the bullet up before it rolls
into the water), the transition from production to being shot show a clear
story of what happens to a bullet.
The titles in the opening scene for this movie are in a fairly
standard font. This is good since it doesn’t take the audience away from the
action of screen and at the same time they are easy to read and noticeable.
They are also good since they don’t block anything significant (e.g. a characters
face). The titles are not integrated in this opening.
Genre:
Genre is connoted by the fact that is camera is following the
bullet since this gives the audience a hint to the themes and possible settings
that can be in the movie. The audience sees the bullet and knows that a bullet is
a generic convention for war or fighting.
Camera:
The camera is constantly stuck to the bullet throughout the
opening. Therefore the camera sometimes is it strange canted angles (e.g. when
it is picked up and inspected). The camera is always just behind the bullet so
the audience can see where the bullet is going whilst showing the audience that
the opening illustrates the production and lifespan of a bullet.
Character:
There are no particular significant characters in this opening. The characters that are shown are normally given around 10 seconds of camera time before they are disregarded and side characters that help drive the opening narrative forward. In a sense the bullet may count as a main character and how the camera follows it journey helps the audience care for the bullet. This makes the opening more meaningful that it may first appear.
There are no particular significant characters in this opening. The characters that are shown are normally given around 10 seconds of camera time before they are disregarded and side characters that help drive the opening narrative forward. In a sense the bullet may count as a main character and how the camera follows it journey helps the audience care for the bullet. This makes the opening more meaningful that it may first appear.
Narrative/Setting:
The setting throughout the opening is constantly changing and each
area gets around 30 seconds of camera time. The changing settings show the
audience how far the bullet travels from where it was first produced to where
it is fired off in battle. The narrative moves forward from characters
interacting with bullet (e.g. a character picks the bullet up before it rolls
into the water), the transition from production to being shot show a clear
story of what happens to a bullet.
Themes:
The themes presented in the opening are connoted by the bullet and
the settings shown. One of the major themes of the opening is war.
Sound:
Sound gives a better idea of place and settings and connotes to
the audience what is happening to the bullet even if they can’t physically see
what is happened (e.g. when the bullet is inside the box). Over the top of this
music is playing the song is entitled “For what it’s worth”.
Titles:
The titles in the opening scene for this movie are in a fairly
standard font. This is good since it doesn’t take the audience away from the
action of screen and at the same time they are easy to read and noticeable.
They are also good since they don’t block anything significant (e.g. a characters
face). The titles are not integrated in this opening.
How
this will help me
This will show me how an opening can be done with little dialogue and
not many main/significant characters. It will also help me understand how music
and titles can be used effectively.
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