'Shrek' - Opening Sequence

                                                       Opening Sequence To 'Shrek'


An opening sequence of a film is the most important part to consider when filming. Whilst filming the opening sequence, you need to consider the genre of the film, the characters and the story line, as well as the above-the-line talent to highlight the main stars of that particular film. This can determine whether the target audience  watches the film and enjoy it. For this task, I searched many film opening sequences on YouTube (films that I  have watched and enjoyed) and out of those I have searched, I decided which of them was the easiest to analyse. That film was 'Shrek' (the 1st film).

The Title:
The title (pictured above) is big, bold and colorful, suggesting this film is mostly aimed at children under 13. In the opening sequence, this piece of text is shown before the above-the-line to show importance. The importance of this title is to tell the audience what the film is called. The opening sequence shows the above-the-line talent in the following order:

• Mike Myers
• Eddie Murphy
• Cameron Diaz
• John Lithgow

This shows that the actors that have the more important roles appear before the least important, as Mike Myers does the voice of Shrek, Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona) and finally John Lithgow (Lord Farquaad). The first 3 actors are well-known and play well-known characters, which you see in 'Shrek' sequels, whereas you only see John Lithgow's character in just one film (although he does make a cameo appearance in 'Shrek the Third').


Establishing The Genre:
The genre of this film is a 'computer-animated fantasy-comedy'. The technical elements used in the film gives the audience a clear idea of the genre.. In 'Shrek' the lighting is bright and clear and the music played is 'pop rock', a popular genre of music for kids and teenagers  alike. The film is also computer-animated, which includes a wide range of colours; therefore it would attract a kids attention more than a teenagers or an adult. Teenagers and adults would prefer to watch films, which are filmed realistically and are rated a 12, 15 or 18.
      At the very start of the opening sequence, we get an exact idea that this film is a fantasy film because of the idea of a fairytale book, which tells the story of a princess being trapped in a castle by a fire-breathing dragon. This gives the idea that this is a kids film because kids are the most likely age to get in to fairytales.

Narrative:

The story is introduced through both dialogue and action. First of all, it shows a book of a fairytale, where the character turns the pages and a voiceover then reads what is written in the book.   This shows that the story is very typical for the genre of the film because of the Disney cliche fairytale, which kids are most likely to enjoy reading or listening to. It is very typical also because of the wide range of bright colours used throughout the film's opening sequence, as well as the whole film. Children are young and to grab their attention and to grab their attention and get them engaged in an object is via the use of bright colours and colours that stand out on a different coloured background.

Time and Place:

The film is set around the same time frame as the middle-ages (The 5th up until the 15th Century). The setting is easily identified first of all with a long, probably establishing shot of a wooden-built portaloo, which is when the main character first appears. He then looks directly at his house (shown to the left) identifying a particular setting in the background (a forest). Other settings include a swamp, where Shrek goes for a shower and also a small village, located near a cornfield, where the knights are prepared to hunt down the ogre.