Analysing Film Openings - Children of Men

Scene summaries-‘Children of men’ first two minutes

The film begins with a news report playing of the opening credits, which are very basic, with just a black background and white text. The news report talks about the death of the world’s youngest person; this could be an important plot point later into the film. There is then a sudden cut to a group shot in a café filled with worried looking people listening to the news report. Then the first main character is introduced with him walking from the back of the group. At first he seems like a non-important person because he is just another random face in the crowd but as he gets to the front it obvious he is a main character because he is the only one in the café who is taken in by the news report. The clothes worn by the people in the shop are all greys and blues, this helps set the tone of the film as something that’s not bright or cheerful. This is also reflected by the first main character who is wearing a black coat, grey shirt and grey and black tie. The fact that everyone wears dark colours makes it harder to differentiate the main character from the crowd.

It then cuts to a POV of the news report, this adds context to what is happening in the world at the time. We are told of the story of Baby Diego who was the world’s youngest person, the news reports then gives his birth date year and year of death, this show to the viewer what the year is.

It then cuts back to the main character that grabs his coffee and then starts to walk out of the shop but a POV shot is used to follow him out of the café into the street where it reviled that we are in ‘London, 16^th November 2027’. The mise-en-scene of the setting is quite grey and cold, we see military helicopters flying overhead and rickshaws and cars driving down the road. As we follow the man down the street he stops and starts pouring alcohol into his drink, this show that he is probably an alcoholic. As he pours alcohol into his coffee the shot moves past him and looks back down the road to the café with the man to the side of the frame. Then there is a large explosion from the café and then there is a sudden cut to the title screen.

The beginning of this film is very quiet with not much really happening, but it is able to tell a lot of story in the environment. There is no music in the first two minutes even on the credits and title shot and all sound seems to be diegetic.  

 

Screen shot 1:

The opening shot is a group shot of a crowd of people watching a news report and looking worried. This shows the setting of the first scene, which is a café in this shot. We can see how grey and dark the world is, through the peoples clothes, which primarily consist of blues, greys and blacks.

 

Screen shot 2:

In this shot we are introduced to the main character. The reason you can tell he is the main character, is by how he is the only one not bothered by the news report, but the fact that he wears very dark clothes also makes him blend in with the environment.

 

Screen shot 3:

This shot is a POV shot and allows the viewer to see the news report about the death of the youngest person in the world. This it also gives a bit of backstory about the year and what is happening.

Screen shot 4:

This is the first establishing shot. The way this is done is through a POV shot which follows the main character. This shot shows us the date and location with a small block of text in the corner. The use of rickshaws, medical masks and the emphasis on the colour grey gives the world a dark gritty feel.

 

Screen shot 5:

Is a mid-shot of the main character pulling a bottle of alcohol out of his pocket, this shot gives us information and detail of the character whilst still showing the environment around him. The bottle suggests that he is an alcoholic.

 



 

Screen shot 6:

This shot is a good example of using the rule of thirds, with the main character in the far left of the screen and the event/explosion on the right.

 

Screen shot 7:

In this shot the camera is moved down to the explosion and we see injured and burnt people walking out of the café. This one scene sets the atmosphere for the entire film.

 

Screen shot 8:

There is a sudden cut to a black screen with the title of the film.

 



 

Titles and credits:

There are four different title slides before the film starts the first two are the production companies, are the other production companies involved. Whilst this is playing there is a voiceover of the news reporter giving information on the back story.

What I Learned

This was a useful film for me because we are starting in the middle of the action, and this was a film that began with a dramatic event. I think the key thing is to use camera angles and distances to make an atmosphere of something about to happen - tracking shots and close ups. Sound is also important to create atmosphere.