Analysis of opening title
sequence
Frankie chambers
Inception
Spinning
to at the
very
beginning
still of opening titles showing
a confusion of lines and the
presence of the spinning top
Mese en scene
The opening sequence of Inception is done by using animation. This
seems to have been done in the style of a lot of old psychological and
crime thrillers, such as Saul bas’s opening titles for Alfred Hitchcock's
psycho, this is probably to show there is something weird going on.
The distorted lined and urgent music also compare with Psychos
opening titles. The use of distorted and confusing lines gives a sense
of confusion and mystery. The colours used are red, black, and white
witch also seems to be a common theme in crime thrillers as the red
can be interpreted as blood, power, and danger and the black and
white could represent good and evil. A important item in the film is
the spinning top owned by the anti hero. There is a animated
spinning top that consistently appears in the tangle of lines during
the opening credits and is the first thing you see at the start. This is
to add to the confusion of the opining credits and also to make the
audience feel like they have been let in on a secret when they find
out the spinning top is a consistent theme in the movie. The
animated image of the spinning to spinning right at the start of the
opening titles also ties the opening to the film to the end nicely as
the very end of the last scene in the film shows the spinning top
spinning (and not falling over)
Titles
The titles are done in very bold, strate, block capitals in either black
or red. This is done to show the film is serious and sinister as that is
the feeling having such dramatically bold titles gives. Every new title
is done by zooming into a part of the title already on the screen, this
is done to create a direct link from the title to the film as the film is
about people going deeper into dreams and the titles are going
deeper into each title.
Sound
The music is quite fast passed and dramatic, it is used to create
suspense through the title sequence before the film starts, it is music
made by an orchestra, witch indicates it may be a film about
important rich people or gangsters.
The butterfly effect
Blurry yet
distinguishable
butterfly
Bulging
ripple of
yellow light
Meis en scene
The background is black with specks of blue and yellowish light
appearing on the screen and moving across in a spot light
motion, or in a fluttering flashy motion. This is don to make
the viewer feel uneasy and intrigued into what it may be.
About a quarter of the way through the opening titles
sequence and weird bulging ripple of yellow light appears in
the bottom left hand corner. This causes a deep sense of
confusion and shows that there is defiantly something very
strange about to happen in the film. Halfway through the title
sequence it becomes clear the blue lights are butterfly's even
though they are still slightly blurry you can make them out.
Fragments of hand written righting also is show on the black
screen. Both the butterfly and the righting have been used to
link the titles sequence to the film as the name of the film is
the butterfly effect and in the film the protagonist keeps
dairy's. Just after the half way point of the title sequence
images of an x-rayed human skull and neck flash really quickly
onto the black background they get more and more frequent
and then stop before the end this is used to increase
confusion and give a hint that the film is about the Brian
Titles
The titles are done to look like they are floating on some kid
of fluid, as when they appear and disappear they are
distorted and cause ripples. This could possible be a link to
the fluid around your brain but is most likely done because
the link between the rappelling affect of one small thing on
the water and the effect that one small thing can have on the
lives of human beings as this is a direct link to the film. The
distortion of titles is also done to shows things aren't quite as
they should be.
music
The music is light and fluttery, yet urgent, this is done to put
across the feel of a butterfly on a jurney.
The shining
Hotel at the end
of the sequence
Shot showing big
landscape and small
road.
Meis en scene and cinematography
First the logo of the producing company is shown
followed by a tracking shot along a river in a
mountainous aria. A birds eye view of a small road
between lots of trees is then shown, this is to
demonstrate the remoteness of the aria that the film is
set in. A panning shot follows the car from out of the
trees to a narrow road along the side of a gorge or
mountain. The panning shot zooms in on the yellow car
and then moves past it, this is done to show the
irrelevance of the car in such a vast landscape. The
camera carries on panning the land from a high angle
until finally showing a big hotel at the foot of a mountain.
This is done to show there is no easy way to leave the
hotel and how isolated it it, the titles also end showing
the hotel because it is a main theme of the film.
Titles
The titles are done in bold capitals, this is to show the
movie is serious. The color is a torques blue color, this is
done because it is a strange color that is often related
with the supernatural because it looks like it is florescent
and spooky.
music
the music at the start of the titles is gloomy and ominous
to fit in with the vastness of the landscape being filmed.
Half way through the titles the ominous music is joined by
weird spine chilling twidderly bits like millions of owls
talking to each other late at night and string being
plucked, this is done to assert the audience that
something is not right and there are probably going to be
so very strange things happening in the film.