Analysis of Opening Title Sequences- Slide Show 2 Jane Lawrance Media Studies Varndean College

Collateral (2004) Michael Mann

How are the Titles presented? There are no words in the opening title sequence from Collateral on the VLE. How are the Titles supported by the sound track? Music supports this scene it uses Diegetic sound to emphasis the importance of The small details even finding the pencil writing noise as an important detail to tell You about out taxi drivers personality.

Tom cruise is the focus of the shot, laying on the left third line. Blurred crowd. Hidden identity Shaded glasses. Very grey colour pallet used with this Character, grey hair and suit with pale Skin makes him look very neutral. MEDIUM SHOT

Level shot of the bags, identifying the situation Smart shoes, shows wealth And suit trousers. Identical Brief Cases More focus on the bags then the people, suggesting how people may not notice such an event in a ordinary setting. WIDE SHOT

Shot of top of taxis, establishing location change. Eyes are captivating, weird contrast from Tom cruises character as we couldn’t see his eyes. Slightly brighter colour pallet with the yellow…suggestion of New York taxis as they are famously yellow. First glimpse of the semi-outside finding out more about the location MEDIUM SHOT

Use of blur, is a common feature of a thriller film Light shone, outside view, turns into TV. Turns out to be an over the shoulder shot. OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT CLOSE UP

MEDIUM SHOT PANNING Use of several medias; television, music and newspapers. Smartly dressed men, casual clothing. Use of Blur to focus used when panning to show different members of the public

MEDIUM SHOT Bright colours used, tool drawers and car boot. Light source coming from industrial light Personal mementos shows its someone’s work place

Glasses worn, suggests intelligence. Neutral clothing. Doing puzzles, shows intelligence. MEDIUM CLOSE UP

Glimse of the outdoors, day time, more yellow taxis. Can tell it is a garage as well as a taxi rank because of the car lift and amount of taxis. More blurred images of the public. LONG SHOT

Light source from above. Heavy shadowing on hand Identity of person and profession. Shows an OCD side of the man making sure everything is in its place. CLOSE UP

What elements of the location/setting in the first scene indicate the genre? A big normal surrounding is used. Something out of the ordinary is suggests by the briefcase swap. Lots of details are shown before the main character is shown properly – taxi cab, advertisement, fare counter, puzzles and everyday people.

What does the first scene tell us about the character? That Tom Cruise is the most secretive of the characters as his eyes are always hidden and he is not shown on a full on shot when talking to Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis is shown as a more normal character… he doesn’t have the completely grey colour pallet that Tom Cruise has in hair, skin and suit. He is a slightly more darker tone coloured character. The Taxi driver is shown as a more OCD person who is shown as more smart. For example he is doing puzzles and is wearing glasses.

How is the narrative introduced? The brief case swap introduces the ‘bad’ characters in the narrative. To have the taxi driver introduced as a smarter individual gives us the mystery of why he is in the taxi driver job where as the other men are shown as smartly dressed and sharp but they don’t give off a smart vibe.

How is the atmosphere created? How is it typical of a Thriller film? Music is used to create atmosphere during the sequence. The music turns into more of a repeated drone when the taxi driver is in his car on his own. The noise reminds me of the hum used in The Sixth Sense. The opening title sequence is based in a normal surrounding.

Sound Track Music Drone with Diegetic sound. Sound Effects Crowd, foot steps, bags hitting floor, music changes when Tom Cruise puts the ticket in his jacket. Clicks and engines as Taxi’s are shown. Chatting. Dialogue Conversation between Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis