Film Opening Research #2- Red Notice

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

    There are 23 different titles that are displayed during the opening sequences to the film, which includes the production companies, director, major actors featured in the film, casting directors, co-producers, visual effects supervisor, music supervisor, costume designer, editors, executive producers, and the title of the film, "Red Notice". 

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

    One of the major images that is prioritized in the opening sequence is the images that show the love story between Antony and Cleopatra in ancient Egypt. Multiple scenes show images of this story, mainly focusing on the introduction of the mystery of Cleopatra's third egg. The remainder of the opening sequence focuses on clips and scenes in which someone is recreating one of Cleopatra's eggs, showing the precise way that it is manufactured. 

What connotations do the images carry? 

    The first major image of the love story between Antony and Cleopatra creates a feeling of mystery and adventure, as the images shown of the egg and the ancient times that relate to the mystery create a positive connotation, as the dialogue in the opening sequence show that many individuals in the film are excited and interested in the third egg, allowing the film to already connect to the audience's emotions. The remainder of the scenes that focus on the recreation of one of the eggs has a more negative connotation, as now that the audience has some background information regarding the egg and its mystery, the audience can make a connection that the person creating the replica is up to no good. 

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

 The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset in many different ways. The first half of the opening sequence focuses on the backstory behind the importance of a significant element of the story, the eggs from ancient Egypt. As the opening sequence dives deeper into the story, the misc en scene becomes more and more developed. The setting goes from a museum, where the storyline focuses on ancient Egypt and the mystery. Then, the setting goes into a lair-type room, in which the audience can see many different forms of manufacturing and printing. There were many different types of transitions used, such as match cuts, fades, and many different jump cuts. 

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

  There were many different strategies that were used to ensure that the film appealed to its target audience. For example, the advertisement for the film uses color to dramatically emphasize the action-packed feeling of the film. The use of the color red and dark colors like black emphasize danger and mystery, adding to the overall ambiance. The outfits also used for the advertisement that were more formal, adding to the ambiance. There is also mention of more popular actors, ensuring that fans of those actors are aware of their part in the film. Making sure that the audience knows the general idea of a film before watching is very important.

How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques. 

  Technology was increasingly used effectively throughout the opening sequence. The opening sequence contains a large amount of different camera angles and editing techniques that come together to create the correct vibe for the film. For example, there is a more dynamic editing style that was accompanied by a lot of fading and match cut transitions. This matches well with the dialogue as it connects more to the audience and the story-telling experience. Throughout the second half of the opening sequence, there is a lot of zooming in to ensure the audience knows the importance of different props and elements that are being shown.