Art of the title Activity

The name of our film is 'Under the Influence' and it is a Romantic thriller. The film opening consists of what seems like a normal teenage couple in which the boyfriend is walking his girlfriend home from school. Once the girl arrives at her home, she waves goodbye to her boyfriend and enters her room and starts reading her book in her bedroom while her boyfriend stands outside her house watching her through her                                                                                                                        window. 

The information revealed in the opening sequence is: 

• The two main characters (the couple)
• The fact that there seems to be something wrong in the relationship because the boyfriend seems very stalkerish with the way he watches his girlfriend from outside her house. This is especially highlighted through the CU of his face as he's watching her, which seems focused, and the slight shadows cast across his face even though it's broad daylight imply that he may have something to hide
• Through the iconography of the CU shot of the couple holding hands, demonstrate the genre of romance but then the subtle creepiness exuded from the boyfriend in through his action imply a thriller element to the narrative.
• Who is involved with the film (either through it's production or actors) through the credits and titles, which also show institutional info of the film as well.

We planned for the opening to be very subtle in hinting the themes of the film. By shooting a couple walking home together, holding hands, exhibits a very stereotypical romantic theme because it's something a normal everyday couple would do. However the shot where the camera is inside the girls bedroom and you can see the boyfriend from outside her window if you were to look very closely, is very significant. Firstly, because the audience has been invited inside the girls bedroom and not the boyfriend, it gives the audience an inside and personal view into the girls life. Secondly, the fact that the boyfriend is standing watching her from outside without her knowledge demonstrates something is wrong with this supposedly "stereotypical" couple we saw in the beginning of the film. Thus creating an enigma and persuading the audience to carry on watching so they can find out exactly what is wrong with their relationship.

Film Opening Analysis

Iron Man 3 (2013) — Art of the Title
Identify the film and it's genre:
"Iron Man 3"- Action, Fantasy, Romance& Comedy
Identify where the story takes place and the time scale:
Through the opening sequence of this film there is no given clue as to the setting of  the story but there is heavily implied that the story takes place in a present time and it is set in various locations. 
Summarise what happens in the sequence in chronological order. How significant to the story is the story telling in the order of events?
There is no chronological order to the events of the opening sequence to the film because it is actually a montage of interlocking angled transitions and timed freeze-frames bring that encompass three movies’ worth of Tony Stark Adventures'. Therefore the order of events of storytelling is not that significant because, since this is the 3rd film in the Iron Man series, it would be wiser to bring the audience up to date with what had happened in previous films rather than to set a scene and introduce characters (since the stories of the previous films are more significant due to how they link directly with the plot of this film).  
Do events link to each other or are they distinct, unconnected events?
Unconnected events- this may not only be because the opening sequence is compromised of a montage edited shots but because it helps to make emphasize the action scenes and make them seem more dramatic when they are frozen. However this might not be helpful because it doesn't give the film a sense of continuity due to how it organizes time and space in a compressed form by sequencing it in a montage form. 
Which characters are introduced and what their roles in the film? How do we find this information out?
The characters introduced are:

• Tony Stark (Iron Man)
• Pepper Potts
• War Machine
• Aldrich Killian
• Maya Hansen
• Savin
• President Ellis
• Happy Hogan
• We find this information out because when they happen to appear in a shot during the sequence the frame is frozen and their name appears, they also get their own few individual shots which help highlight as important to the plot of the story.

How much story information is revealed and how is it revealed to the audience? What is deliberately withheld?
Not much story information is revealed due to how the opening is montage edited and so there isn't really a sense of continuation as to what may happen next. But there is definitely a sense of the themes that would play throughout the narrative. The mise-en-scene created through the use of explosions, flying robots, guns, people fighting etc. establish that there will be a lot of action and conflict. The intimate shots between the main character (Tony Stark) and Pepper Potts (Main female lead) connote themes of romance between the two. However it is deliberately withheld how that romance come about and also what creates the reason for conflict and action in the film, thus acting as a hook for the audience to make them continue watching so they can find out for themselves how thing will play out.  
What do you think the audience needs to know at the start of your film? Explain. 
Although the film I analysed may be a bad example of this I know I definitely need to establish setting (essentially time and space of the narrative of my film). Other things I need to establish in my film's opening sequence are:

• Main Characters to the plot of the film because the audience always need to know who to focus on as a film progresses so they don't get lost in the story of the film.
• Credits (an institutional priority)
• An implication of the genre of the film
• The name of the film
• A hook for what may come up in the rest of the film so that the audience have a reason to keep watching.

Film Still Analysis

Narrative:

There is a romantic mise-en-scene created here through the intimate body language and the themes commonly associated and connoted by a sunset. The low key lighting helps to accentuate the romantic mood between the two characters. 

Genre:

Due to the romantic mise-en-scene created and character costumes that belong to a previous era, one can assume that the genre of this still is a romantic historical fiction.

Audience:

The fact that this shot is an open frame MS, demonstrates how both characters are in a peaceful setting and we can see clearly that even their expressions seem to be joyful and at peace; thus symbolising to the audience that the characters seem to be at the peak of their relationship where they feel comfortable and happy in each others presence. This is further emphasized by their body language illustrating complete freedom because the wind is blowing (this can be seen from the odd displacement of their hair) and the girls arms are spread wide. The fact the characters aren't looking or positioned directly at the camera reveal to us that they're in their own little world wrapped up in the thoughts of each other and also emphasizing the theme of freedom. This would appeal to any audience because from many gratification theories it is clear freedom is a fantasy for everyone.