Evaluation of Opening Scene of Memento

Opening few seconds of Memento

Memento

The opening sequence of Memento shows the credits layered on top of the background video. This is a common way of opening modern films.

In the foreground you see a hand holding a picture which shows a man against a wall with massive amounts of blood. This gives a disturbing image which makes the viewer want to know what the photo is all about. As the clip continues, you see the man shaking the photo which is meant to make it more clearer as it was taken with an older camera which uses ink. Oddly though the opposite effect occurs when he shakes the photo which makes it go back to it's original state before it was shaked. This gives a distortion of reality disruption of time, repetition + loss of memory.

The image after it has been shaken

Sound

The sound in the opening sequence is slow paced and done by violin. Stringed instruments give a very tense sound and this makes the sound heard give a dramatic + mysterious feeling. When the protagonist is shown completely, he is shown sitting on a bed and you hear him talking, but his lips don't move which means he is speaking through his thoughts. This gives a stream of consciousness and makes this character seem more like he doesn't know what is happening around him and so he uses his mind the majority of time.

Psychological Thrillers

A psychological thriller is a thriller which is based on the use of the mind. It normally refers to a person's memory, identity and perception, common uses of the memory are amnestic or identity-related to make a enigma.


Identity
Can include mistaken, stolen or dual identities as well as amnesia. Identity can add confusion to the thriller, adding a whole new level to an enigma, often, even the protagonist will be confused about his or her identity.


Memory
Memory ties in with identity through amnesia, often, the protagonist is the one who is having trouble with his or her memory, the problems could be of suffering from, and being tortured by traumatic memories, from the loss of a memory or even the inability to make new memories at all.


Reality and Perception
People's perceptions are commonly explored, with what is and isn't real. These are commonly shown from the viewpoint of multiple characters by showing their PoV or what surrounds them which is to show what they percept. 

Opening Scene of "The Birds"

'The Birds' is a thriller, so has many thriller conventions. The open title text is done in a old-fashioned way because in old films the opening titles, where today the titles show only the main people involved, instead show all people. Also, the way the text appears on the screen is somewhat disorientating. After the opening credits the opening sequence is done in a stereotypical fashion, an establishing shot is shown to set the scene and introduce the main character by keeping her as the main focus of the frame (using a tracking shot).

This classic thriller was filmed in 1963, it is shown to be old fashion as the credit are positioned at the beginning were as the credits are based at the end of productions created in these days. It also uses a basic form of editing for the opening sequence, using only black and white colours while introducing the cast for this film. The colour black is generally associated with death and misery, which fits into the theme of this production. The high contrast between white and black is used to represent opposites, in this film the black birds may represent death or something bad, and the white background may represent freedom.

 

"The Birds" opening scene is set in San Fransisco, America. The blonde woman is surrounded by large skyscrapers, trams and busy streets which helps communicate where the location is set and that it's very densely populated. The woman is well spoken and wears a blazer, pearl jewellery and has good posture, showing her as a stereotypical member of the upper-middle class.

 

We are also introduced to a male character. He also come across as an upper-middle class sort as he wears a suit, tie and a hat. He is also rather well spoken and has a good posture. Also, both the characters are in a shop, which looks to be an upmarket place, as it has large gold cages.

The man is shown to be of higher status than to woman as, when he and the woman are talking, he is given a low angle shot, where as she is given a normal close up, and he takes up more of the frame in the over the shoulder shot, so he is shown to be more important. 

 

PRELIMINARY Task

Here is our Preliminary Task... We did a simple conversation.