Analysis of Memento 1+2

Analysis of Memento 1:
The first frame of the opening sequece is the title of the film. The title of the film has each of the letters seperated; these are a connotation of the different fragments of the film. The font looks like Times New Roman, which doesn't make the title seem any more unique than any other title, as the font used is common. The colouring of the font is blue, which contrasts with the black background. This is used so that the title stands out in the frame, and grabs an audiences attention where it hopes to continue doing so during the rest of the film. The title is also directly in the centre of the frame, as this would most probably make it more visuably clear and upfront for the viewers.

The second frame is very cleverly constructed as in uses connotations of the theme of the film visually and through the title of the film. Yet again, the title of the film 'Memento' is still directly centered in the middle of the frame. I was unaware of what the word 'memento' meant, and therefore researched it on the internet. I later found out that a 'memento' was a little keepsake object that reminds you of someone, or somewhere. Moreover, instead of the background being plain black, is has captured a close up still image of a hand holding a polaroid in his hand. This is a connotation of the main character's personality, as everytime he shakes the image on the polaroid it slowly fades, just like his memory does throughout the film. The polaroid is a representation of the main characters life, as if he didn't have these photographs his memories would start fading; the photographs are all his memory has.

The third image is also a close up of the main characters facial expression so that the audience can witness and experience the emotion that this character is currently feeling. However, the audience may be concerned with the characters facial expression, as it is kind of stern and emotionless. His eyes also appear as if they're looking down at something, which we presume is the photograph. As no emotion is really forseen in this image, it could be suggested that this character committed this killing. This would arouse suspicion within the audience as stereotypically in all genre's of films the main character is not the 'bad guy.' This leaves the audience slightly intrigued and would encourage them to keep watching to see what happens. Also, there are no props used on the characters face like fake stitchings or blood. This connotes that it wasn't self defense, as there seems to be no struggling on his term and therefore suggests that this indeed was murder.

The fourth frame shows the forground being a pair of upside down glasses, in contrast to the background which shows walls covered in blood. The fact that the walls are a washed out, pasty colour suggests that the director deliberately wanted the blood to stand out amoungst the wall in the background. The glasses in the foreground are not directly in the centre of the frame; this also suggests that they are not meant to be the main focus of the frame. Moreover, the fact that the glasses are shown upside down suggests that the series of events in this film are not all they seem, and appear to be a connotation of things being shown in a opposite way. For example, the film starts near the end, and rewinds itself in order to demonstrate to the audience the events that occured which led up to this scene. You could arguably say that this shot shows signs of vulnerability, as as whoever glasses these were clearly needed them for seeing, and now were left at a disadvantage in the film. It shows a status of power without really letting us get to know the characters yet. It connotes that whoever glasses these were, their power can be given to them as quikly as it can be taken away.

The next frame of the opening sequence is a mid shot of what presume is a dead body, but only allows us as an audience to see from the shoulders upwards. This is a more focused image of the second image, which showed it in a polaroid. This suggests that this wasn't a picture that the main character found, but took. This leads the audience to believe even more than this man committed the crime, because if you found a dead body the first thing you would do is ring the police, not taken a photo of it. However, maybe he took this photo so that he could remind himself to ring the police, as people could forget that the main character has memory loss. These initial ideas would intrigue an audience even more as there are so many options as to what might have happened, and keep the audience interested and on edge. Although the dead persons face is shown face down, suggesting that his identity is yet to be revealed, and wants to keep the audience guessing yet again.

The last shot is a contrast to the majority of the other shots. It looks almost prestine clean, and has connotations of peace and sincerity. However, the audience are fully aware that a death occured here, and are probably trying to identify the odd splashes of blood and so forth. The director has used a close up of the bullet so the bullet doesn't seem out of proportion. This gives the bullet a God-like status, as the representation of gold also suggests power and money. Even though the bullet is clearly not a character in the film, this shots gives the bullet almost a personification of human abilities, as it seems powerful and in charge. However, this bullet has connotations of danger and pain, and therefore most of the colours that are used in this frame are washed out and look dirty.



Was Memento a successful thriller opening sequence?
Overall, I think that Memento has an extremely clever and successful opening sequence. It uses a range of cleverly used close ups and mid shots so that the audience can really start to interpret their view and opinion of the film. It has very well constructed connotations, and subjects the audience to really involving themselves in the film. The suspenseful music really adds to the intense atmosphere and setting. It is filmed beautifully, as every shot could be used as a picture. The use of mise-en-scene is played down but is still very relevant to the opening sequence. As well as it having a brilliant opening sequence it is almost an extremely well scripted and acted film.

My Genre 1-Fight Club Opening Sequence

This opening sequence creates an eerie mood, as it starts with slow, calm music; the next thing you know the music becomes louder and somewhat echo's. It doesn't introduce the characters through shots, but introduces them through titles instead. It certainly familiarises the viewer with the setting of the movie, as the negative imagery leads an audience to believe that it's an inside brain, implying that this movie is going to be a physchological thriller. However, what you thought was a brain turns out to be inside the barrel of a gun, and therefore connotes what the movie is to be about, and that's a movie that messes with your head, just like it's done within the first minute or so. This creates an intense atmosphere, and most certainly grabs an audiences attention, as just from opening sequence they'll be intrigued.
All nine images are pretty similar to one another, therefore there isn't much to evaluate inbetween. With all the images being so similiar, you could assume that it wouldn't really engage the audiences attention. However, it uses all the connotations that a thriller genre should have, and purposefully uses a build up of slow paced music that develops into fast-paced. It adds to the suspense, and is very cleverly misleading in the opening sequence, suggesting that throughout this film there are going to be a lot of tricks and suprises.

Title Sequence vs Trailer and What Titles

Movie Opening sequence
In a movie opening sequence it has to instantly grab your attention, creating an atmosphere that will draw the audience in. It will often be slower-paced, leading into the narrative of the movie. It will always have opening credits with backing soundtrack, to establish a 'certain mood' or 'tone.' Sometimes, when the opening credits are playing, an opening sequence will introduce the characters through shots of them or perhaps through the titles. An opening sequence will then often familiarise the viewer with the setting/establishing setting.

Movie Trailer
When coming across a move trailer, there will often be a voiceover, adding intensity to the trailer, story/plot. This will help persuade the audience to follow up and to go and watch the movie, to draw in a specific audience. A movie trailer will also include who is staring in the movie, as this will also draw in a wider audience, perhaps using a certain male character or female character. There is never any spoilers in the trailer, although if the genre is action then that will often show the majority of the good action bits; this could also apply to the horror genre as well. You will also find that the trailer will be fast- paced, giving an overview of the story/plot which creates tension for an audience.

What does a title sequence look like?

What titles?
When creating a film there must be titles of who put what into the film and these are normally shown at the end of the film but can sometimes be shown at the beginning. The less important titles are shown right at the end of the film and the most important titles are shown either at the beginning of the film or at the beginning of the end. For this research I watched the opening sequence to The Sixth Sense and then researched what some of these job titles meant. Some of the titles that are shown are:

-The prodcution company:
A company responsible for the development and physical production of new media, performing arts, film, radio or a television program. The company may also be directly responsible for the raising of funding for the production or may do through an intermediary.
-Who the casting was by:
In the performing arts, casting (or casting call) is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.
-The music producer:
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the production of an artist's music.
-Costume designer:
A costume designer is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered part of the "production team.''
-Who the film was edited by:
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
-Executive producer:
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. See also film producer, line producer.
-Producer:
someone who finds financing for and supervises the making and presentation of a show (play or film or program or similar work)
-Written by:
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
-Directed by:
someone who supervises the actors and directs the action in the production of a show.

My feedback for my preliminary task

WWW-What Went Well

My peers said that I used a great range of shots and angles, allowing different movement to be more effective. It also allowed the actors used to show a range of emotion and body language. They also said throughout my clip, I continued to use the 180 degree rule, which enabled my clip to appear more realistic and more fluent. Also, they said that the acting was of a high standard, which also helps my clip to be more realistic. The eyeline and the sound match was significant for my clip as it really helped to present the quality of my work. This also helped my clip to be more fluent, as everything flowed really well, with no clips overlapping, with a good continuous use of the reverse shot.

EBI- Even Better If

For my next task, there were a few improvements needed in order for my next task to be successful. Even though my different angles in my shots were good, I however need to make sure that my camera is steady at all times. Because if my shots are not steady, than the audience are not able to focus on the body language and the emotion portrayed. They also said that my storyline for my task was not very creative, and was pretty bland. If I had used a more exciting storyline, I could of engaged a wider audience.

My Opinion
I think that overall my preliminary task was very successful, as i focused on using as many different camera angles and shots as possible. I felt comfortable when directing, and I believe that I had much improved from previous tasks that I had completed. As I was working on my own, I didn't have anyone to consult when coming up with idea's, but purely had to be confident in what I could acheive. I agree with one of my ebi's that my camera needs to be steady at all times, as this can lead to a video into looking clumsy, and therefore my I could loose precious marks.