Research: The Dark Knight opening

2008's The Dark Knight (dir. Christopher Nolan) follows a very rare but well known technique in it's opening titles and scene. (Or just opening scene)

Like I have previously stated with the film Inception (also directed by Christopher Nolan), the film does not show the film's title until the very end of the film. The Dark Knight too has this same technique. Because of the big budget the film had and it's popularity among the film culture, the film was relatively well known before it was even released.

The Dark Knight starts with it's institution logo but all tinted in a dark blue which represents the film individually. The soundtrack (diegetic sound) already begins when after the institutions have appeared while the visuals on the film focuses on a cloud of blue flames (or so it seems).

The film then cuts to an establishing shot of the top of a building which establishes the setting of the film- a City (Gotham City to be precise) The camera then cuts to a person inside a building wearing a mask. The camera cuts a few more times to show a different man in a different location around this City each time, each wearing or holding a mask.

Dialogue does not appear until a few of the 'men' get into a vehicle together and exchange dialogue which explains and describes how they are going to a rob a bank. The camera continues to cut to other members of the gang breaking into the security box of the bank but then some of these gang members start killing off others.

The mise-en-scene in the props such as the guns, masks and the bank robbery connote into a mystery action film. When the bank has been broken into and the gang have got the money they want, one of the men in masks kills each of them off. He then reveals his face at the end to the manager of the bank.

The close up used shows the villains face which is painted and scarred. It shows that this character is very villainous and has scars which shows he is very violent, dangerous and the audience select him as the villain because of his difference from the norm.
Here is where The Dark Knight's opening becomes very different. It simply continues on with the story and because there was no film title, the first scene is obviously the opening sequence. The film continues..


Towards the end of the film, the hero (Batman/ Christian Bale) has saved Gotham City but has to get away quickly. As he does, another character talks about the hero. The character refers to him as 'A Dark Knight' and then it cuts to black to reveal the title of the film.

The usual ending titles continue.

This is a very different way of using the opening titles. It is uncommon but very affective as the audience usually do not notice the change from the normal opening titles.

Research: The Other Boleyn Girl opening

Period drama The Other Boleyn Girl uses a introductory from the past as part of the opening titles to introduce the story and some background information for the film. After the typical institution logos, the film goes to black as the soundtrack (non diegetic sound) begins and the production company titles appear over the black and then cuts to the setting of a field before the film's title appears. This is very simple and straight forward.

As the camera pans along the field, the main actors names appear in either the bottom left or bottom right hand corners gradually. Giggles from three children as they run along the field are heard and they call out each other's names.

Two adults appear walking near them as they play in the field in which they exchange dialogue about having a young girl married. Because of the camera focus on the three children, it's obvious that the girl in which the adults are speaking of is one of the young children.

The children continue to run and laugh with each other. Then the film cuts to black as it fades to a church while the titles continue to show on screen. This change of scene with the fade and cut to black show a change in time, though it is unknown how long has passed yet.

As the titles continue, a young woman is shown to be getting ready for a big event. Though it is not yet made obvious, it hints that this woman is one of the children seen previous.

Two other characters enter the room in which the young woman is getting ready in. They exchange dialogue which is proper and formal which shows the genre and time of which the film is set.

The costumes and other elements of the mise-en-scene too emphasis the genre. The dialogue between the three people describe how they are two sisters and a brother and one of the girls is getting married. This refers back to the very first opening scene.

Here the opening scene finishes.

Research: Fight Club opening

Fight Club (1999) is not only a very iconic film but it also has one of the most famous titles and opening scenes of a film.
 
After the film begins with the obvious institution logo and jingle, the titles are all based around visual special effects which are designed to look like the inside of a brain (Edward Norton's character). With flashes the titles appear on the screen as the pathway inside the body continues. Because of the use of extreme special effects, the titles excite the audience and it causes them to act curious to the plot of the film therefore ensuring they continue to watch. Within the special effects are sound effects to symbolises the scientific progression through the body.

As the camera comes 'out' of the body, there is a close up of the narrators skin which continues to get smaller as it works it way up an object (that is later distinguished as a gun) which is when the final title 'Directed by David Fincher' flashes. This sequence lasts roughly 1 minute and 35 seconds long. The soundtrack continues only through the opening titles until the last title has appeared on screen and then the music fades.

The opening scene then begins with the narration of Norton, 'People always ask me if I know Tyler Durden'. The narration connects with the audience as this is his story and he is telling the audience.

Fight Club is known for it's ironic flashback/flash forward technique where the opening scene is revisited, the dialogue between the two characters makes apparent the flashback/forward.

  

Here is a list of what titles are used at the beginning:
- Fox 2000 and Regency Pictures present
- A David Fincher film
- Brad Pitt
- Edward Norton
- Fight Club
- (singular use of the other actors that appear in the film)
- Casting by
- Film editor
- Based on the novel by
- Directed by

Research: Ferris Bueller's Day Off opening

John Hughes' 1985 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off has a very basic but interesting opening title sequence.
After the institution logo, then screen stays black as a fun, blue font introduces the director, main actors and film title while there is non-diegetic audio of the film over it.

Diegetic audio begins over the titles on theblack screen with a radio programme detailing the weather and location of the film. Very hot and Chicago.

The first visual on screen is of a house while the radio diegetic sound continues it cuts to dialogue between two characters. Because of the setting on the house, the dialogue appears to be coming from inside.

There is another quick cut, this time to the face of a character who appears sick. Usually this expression on a face would could connote to the introduction of a horror because of someone being ill (or possibly dead), but because of the upbeat jingle, radio talk and the font on the title, the film appears to be a comedy.

As the opening sequence progresses, the character who appears to be ill claims he is well enough to go to school while his parents tell him he mustn't because of his illness while his sister watches over exclaiming that he is lying. Titles such as the costume designer, written by, etc..continue on screen in the blue, fun font.

The soundtrack makes the introduction feel quite warm and homey, like a family drama. But as soon as the other characters are out of the room, the central character (Matthew Broderick) looks directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) and exclaims 'They brought it'. As soon as this is said, the soundtrack  becomes upbeat as the character continues to explain what is going on to the audience.

He reveals how he has 'faked' being ill and gives help (with added titles on the left) to help the audience in doing the same.

This introduction is very simple yet very ideal because the film is introduces simply with humour which represents it's genre, so the audience have a clear understanding of what is going on in the film. There will be an connection between the audience and the main character because of his direct speech to the audience. It is also a form of the Enigma Code as the audience will wonder why the character has pretended to be ill.