The opening first few minutes of a film do a lot to tell the audience what kind of experience they have just sat down to watch. The opening sequence can set up the main characters, the location of the film, time period in which the film is taking place, or it may simply just be a place for credits to go. The opening scene also does a lot in setting up some of the films themes. Comedies for example may start off by a main character telling a joke, or being put in a humorous situation. This gets the audience (hopefully) laughing, and sets the tone for the rest of the film. However an opening scene can do a lot more than just set up genre, or location. It can tell you important messages. Two films that I believe do this effectively are the Edgar
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Both Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz’s sequence do a good job of using editing to convey the tone of the film. In Shaun of the Dead the cuts take us down this road of increasing zombification. While in Hot Fuzz the cuts serve to give us a backstory on this character. The pacing of these cuts also do a lot to help establish tone. Shaun of the Dead’s cuts are very rhythmic, while Hot Fuzz’s are fast paced. Both of these films also use humour to help get the audience laughing. However both of these films us comedy in different ways. Shaun of the Dead’s use of comedy is very direct, and straightforward. The situation, music, actions on screen, even the location to extent is funny. Short of having the characters tell jokes everything is setup for this sequence to be considered funny. In contrast Hot Fuzz's opening from a cinematic, and editing perspective is done very seriously. The music is intense, and the voice over narration is very serious. The shots themselves are tight and clean. The editing is fast paced with lots of jump cuts to give us the feeling of high octane action. However this sequence is still funny. The situations that Nicholas are in are presented so seriously that it’s almost commical. In their book Looking at Movies, Barsam and Monahan talk about the use of flashbacks to establish narrative. They say that typically films use these flashbacks,” in which the action cuts from the narrative present to a past event.” (Monahan p.345) While this is certainly true of Hot Fuzz, the flashbacks serve to do something more than just give the narrative a jumping off point. You can’t help, but to think that he takes his job a bit too seriously. It’s that juxtaposition between the tones that make this sequence
Both Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz’s sequence do a good job of using editing to convey the tone of the film. In Shaun of the Dead the cuts take us down this road of increasing zombification. While in Hot Fuzz the cuts serve to give us a backstory on this character. The pacing of these cuts also do a lot to help establish tone. Shaun of the Dead’s cuts are very rhythmic, while Hot Fuzz’s are fast paced. Both of these films also use humour to help get the audience laughing. However both of these films us comedy in different ways. Shaun of the Dead’s use of comedy is very direct, and straightforward. The situation, music, actions on screen, even the location to extent is funny. Short of having the characters tell jokes everything is setup for this sequence to be considered funny. In contrast Hot Fuzz's opening from a cinematic, and editing perspective is done very seriously. The music is intense, and the voice over narration is very serious. The shots themselves are tight and clean. The editing is fast paced with lots of jump cuts to give us the feeling of high octane action. However this sequence is still funny. The situations that Nicholas are in are presented so seriously that it’s almost commical. In their book Looking at Movies, Barsam and Monahan talk about the use of flashbacks to establish narrative. They say that typically films use these flashbacks,” in which the action cuts from the narrative present to a past event.” (Monahan p.345) While this is certainly true of Hot Fuzz, the flashbacks serve to do something more than just give the narrative a jumping off point. You can’t help, but to think that he takes his job a bit too seriously. It’s that juxtaposition between the tones that make this sequence