Catch Me If You Can - Opening Sequence Analysis

 Catch Me If You Can - Opening Sequence Analysis

The cartoonish style is evident from this screenshot.

Catch Me If You Can sports an impressive title sequence full of beautiful animations that wholly capture the imagination and theme of the movie. What really makes this title sequence memorable is the way its subtly suggests some of the films key themes without making it obvious. 

The fonts used for the title cards are simple yet effective. They are soft and smooth and the animated characters are exaggerated and over-the-top. However, like most films, the positioning of the names and the order in which they appear, suggest greatly the importance of said person.

From analysing Catch Me If You Can’s title sequence I have learned that I can make my title sequence cartoonish and, if I do it well, I can still capture and maintain what makes a thiller title sequence. 

However I am not going to implement much of the conventions used in this title sequence into mine but I believe looking at this title sequence has still been beneficial to me as I am more familiar with different title sequences in the genre of thriller.

Also the cost of producing such a title sequence would be exponential as the amount of hours necessary to animate such a breath-taking piece of animation would be ridiculous. But I maintain the belief that an animated title sequence can be just as effective of showcasing a thriller movie as, lets say, the opening to Fight Club or Se7en.

                                                     

Camera:

The camera used in this opening sequence does not exist in our physical world, the camera is within a computer animation software, however both work similarly. Many techniques are used to effectively transition from one shot to the next but the ones I noticed that are used more frequently are standard zoom and pan. These are used to show the simplistic nature which is clearly trying to be put across by Steven Spielberg in this opening title sequence.

Sound:

The opening portion to the opening sequence contains light hearted and soft instruments. Such as slow guitar riffs and soft piano notes. These are effective at calming the audience which could be argued is not the intention of Thriller films. However this is how Catch Me If You Can is different to most thriller films, it does not rely on dark lighting or scary music to be an effective thriller.

Then as the opening begins to come to an end the music changes to a more dark and ominous tone. The change is subtle and effective and completely changes the atmosphere. Perhaps the director chose to change the tone of the music to remind the audience they are about to watch a thriller film and not an upbear childrens comedy.

Editing:

Editing is used throughout the duration of the opening sequence to suggest urgency through the use of quick cuts. It could be argued that the director chose to do this because the urgent nature in which the shots are put together is a key convention throughout the film as the main theme is fraud.

Mise-En-Scene:

There are two prominent main colours used throughout the opening sequence, these are blue and black. It could be said that these two colours suggest different themes that are used in the film. Blue could represent the light hearted nature in the film and black could represent the subject nature of crime and fraud.

List of Titles (In Order):

Dreamworks Pictues Presents

A Parkes/MacDonald Production

A Steven Spielberg Film

Leonardo DiCaprio

Tom Hanks

Catch Me If You Can

Christopher Walken

Martin Sheen

Nathalie Baye

Amy Adams

James Brolin

Brian Howe

Frank John Hughes

Steven Eastin

Chris Ellis

John Finn

Casting By Debra Zane, CSA

Co-Producer Devorah Moos-Hankin

Based Upon The Book By Frank W. Abagnale With Stan Redding

Titles By Kuntzel Deygas

Music By John Williams

Costume Designer Mary Zophres

Film Editor Michael Kahn, A.C.E.

Production Designer Jeannine Oppewall

Director Of Photography Janusz Kaminski, ASC

Co-Executive Producer Daniel Lupi

Executive Producers Barry Kemp, Laurie MacDonald

Executuve Producers Michel Shane, Tony Romano

Produced By Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes
Screenplay By Jeff Nathanson

Directed By Steven Speilberg

Sweeney Todd - Opening Sequence Analysis

Sweeney Todd - Opening Sequence Analysis

The title sequence to Sweeney Todd is excellently made and exquisitely directed. From the cartoonish blood to the dramatic music everything screams Tim Burton. This sequence really nails the bloody nature of the film yet the cartoonish style in which everything is presented. This is, in my opinion, one of the more well-made opening sequence to a thriller in recent years.

The font used for the titles is simplistic yet edgy and stands out. The titles do not move or fly onto the screen they simply fade in and fade out. The speed at which the titles appear on the screen increases as it nears the end and the position of the titles depends on the importance. For example Tim Burton's directorial credit appears largely in the center of the screen whilst someone arguable less important, like Director Of Photography Dariusz Wolski, ASC, appears to the left of the screen.

I believe watching and analyzing this opening sequence has helped me understand what I need to include in mine because I now have a better knowledge of what credits to include to make mine more authentic and believable. 

 

Camera:

The camera pans through the streets of London, the image is slightly cartoonish which suggests an element of fantasy. From this we can gather that the film doesn’t take its self too seriously, yet suggesting the dark subject nature and violent themes. Tim Burton has decided to do this because it is his niche, it also works very well with the story of Sweeney Todd.

The camera looks through a window at the infamous Sweeney Todd chair when a drop of blood falls onto the window. Suggests violence and also gives the chair negative connotations as we instantly associate the chair with blood. However you could intrepet this particular scene as the blood representing Sweeney Todds blood, perphaps giving the audience an insight into the finale of the film before the credits have even ended.

Sound:

During the opening sequence the distinct sound of an organ can be heard throughout the majority of the sequence. Whilst an organ is typical of the era in which the film is set, it also has a timeless, eerie sound that chills most people to the bones, therefore perfectly suitable for such a violent thriller.

Towards the ending of the opening sequence the music begins to intensify. It quickly picks up pace and becomes louder, quicker and scarier before rounding off for an imense finale. The intention of this technique is to get the audience of the edge of their seats before they have even started the main portion of the film.

Editing:

There is a shot of a river that clearly appears to be flowing completely with blood. Editing has been used in this shot to make the blood to appear cartoonish, yet whilst making the surroundings seem lifelike. However it is clear to the audience that the surroundings are not physical sets either, rather computer animation. Yet they have deliberatley decided to make the flowing river of blood look more fake than anything else in the shot.

Mise-En-Scene:

Black shadows are a prodominant feature throughout the opening sequence. Tim Burton has decided to dominate the whole portion of the opening sequence with dark, eerie shadows. These have a negative effect on the audience, in terms of mental state. They fill the audiences mind with dread and tension so the fact he has used this technique straight away from the beginning shows us this is something he wants intends to happen.

Red is also a dominant colour, like black, that fills the entirty of the opening seuqence with fear. The main use for the colour red is for blood, which creates negative connatations for anything related to the colour red and also creates fear in the audience as most people do not like to see violence in movies. However is Tim Burtons case he can make the blood look fake which helps him keep the film not too disturbing.

List of titles used (in order):

Dreamworks Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures Presents

A Parkes/MacDonald Production

A Zanuck Company Production

A Tim Burton Film

Johnny Depp

Helena Bonham Carter

Alan Rickman

Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Timothy Spall

And Sacha Baron Cohen

Casting By Susie Figgis

Music And Lyrics By Stephen Sondheim

Based On The Musical By Stephen Sondheim And Hugh Wheeler

Originally Staged By Harold Prince

From An Adaptation By Christopher Bond                                    

Music Supervised And Conducted By Paul Gemignani

Orchestrated By Jonathan Tunick

Music Producer Mike Highim

Co-Producer Katterli Frauenfelder

Costume Designer Colleen Atwood

Edited By Chris Lebenzon, A.C.E

Production Designed By Dante Ferretti

Director Of Photography Dariusz Wolski, ASC

Executive Producer Patrick McCormick

Produced By Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, John Logan

Produced By Richard D. Zanuck

Screenplay By John Logan

Directed By Tim Burton

Main Task - Humble Beginnings

The time has come. The time has finally come to start the main task. Which is as follows, to create a two minute opening title sequence to a thriller movie. This should prove quite easy as I have watched several thriller movies and believe I have a good understanding of what to include to really hit the nail on the head in terms of conventions.
The main task should be fun, it should be hard but it should be educational. This is where I really learn what it takes to create a real opening sequence to a movie. Note that I am creating an opening sequence and not a short movie, these are the first two minutes of a feature length movie so it does not matter whether or not the opening sequence makes sense as there should be a further 88-odd minutes left.

I have thought constantly about what my opening sequence should be about and I have not yet came to a definite conclusion but as soon as I do ill update this blog. Once I have my final idea I will begin to storyboard and gradually build up an image in my head of what I want everything to look like in the final version.

I will update this blog tomorrow once I have a solid idea of what I am hoping to achieve.

Matt.

Pre-Lim Task Completed

Today we finished our Preliminary Task and the final product is available to view on YouTube. For this we had to produce a short movie, with 5 lines of dialogue and examples of shot reverse shot. One thing I learned whilst making 'The Exchange' was the importance of the 180 degree rule. If you are filming a sequence where a shot reverse shot is necessary always stick to the 180 degrees rule. Otherwise your sequence can become extremely confusing for the audience.

To conclude my entries for the preliminary task I will say that I enjoyed making 'The Exchange' and I have learned many techniques to further help me in my course. I would say to anyone who is looking to make a short film to research the different rules filmmakers use in order to prevent their films becoming muddled and confused.


http://www.youtube.com/x-yt-ts=1421782837&x-yt-cl=84359240&feature=player_embedded