Dystopian Opening Titles

WARNING: This is my longest blog yet

I firstly looked at the opening to the film '12 Monkeys'. From this I liked the idea of the computer writing setting the time and what the world is like.

"...5 BILLION PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM A DEADLY VIRUS IN 1997...

...THE SURVIVORS WILL ABANDON THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET...

...ONCE AGAIN THE ANIMALS WILL RULE THE WORLD..."

If the writing above was put over the top of the beginning of a film clip I think this could look quite effective, especially with drama going on in the background. However I don't think there should be that much text otherwise the shot/s would look overcrowd and unprofessional.

Having seen this film I like how it is set out because the beginning scene - that is briefly shown after the title - sets up the whole story as the film ends with exactly the same scene. I like this because my short could be something dramatic which unexplained and could leave the audience that watch the short interpreting it in different ways.

I then took a look at the film opening to 'Blade Runner'. Again it had writing which set the scene for the movie to begin - I can only assume that this was popular during the times in which 'Blade Runner' and '12 Monkeys' were filmed around the 1980's. During the end of this sequence I like how the world is finally shown and isn't far from what we have now. This allows the film to still have a science fiction feel to it but to also have a grounding sense of reality - which stops us floating off into space! The use of the man in the room with his back to the audience gives a sense of secrecy and mystery. So when the clip ends the audience is immediately hooked to the storyline and wants to know more.  

I then decided to look at the opening of a dystopian film I have not yet seen called 'The Book Of Eli'. Which from what I can understand, is a film about a man in a post-apocalyptic America that is trying to protect a book which contains the secret to mankind's survival. 

I like the introduction to this film because it introduces the audience to post-apocalyptic America but also the society that the world is now in. From this I can see that introducing the audience to the world that they are now in is very important to how the movie flows. 

I then went on to look at the opening to the film 'Moon' which I saw a couple of years ago. What amazes me about this film opening is that in just 2 minutes the film has been set up so that the audience knows what the world is like, who the main character is and where the film is set: on the moon. Although this is classified as sci-fi film I believe it also fits under the thriller category. 

'Moon' is about an astronaut called Sam Bell who is on a 3 year shift at a lunar mine on the moon. The film begins when he is beginning to look forward to going home - as his shift is almost over - and being reunited with his wife and young daughter. Suddenly Sam's health deteriorates, suffering from headaches, hallucinations and almost has a fatal accident. He then meets what appears to be a younger version of himself and becomes determined to solve the mystery before the company ship comes to collect him.  

The way this film opening is set - dark progressive music, small glimpses of where the film is set - is effective and the limited dialogue also makes the audience curious as to what is actually going to happen.

I then when back to a film I have already mentioned in my blog called 'V for Vendetta' - which has to be one of my favourite dystopian films. In this opening I like how the main character called V is compared to Guy Fawkes. This massive jump from the original Guy Fawkes to V in the future is effective because I think it emphasises that history will continue to repeat itself. This is useful for a plot line because so much has happened in our history that a dystopian film plot could be based on a historic event that is repeated in the future. I always see this film as a combination of a Nazi Government and terrorist that was similar to Guy Fawkes. It's an interesting twist and one that really gets the audience thinking. This has inspired me to maybe take something from history as the base of the short plot line and then expand.