Children of men - Opening two minutes analysis

Children of men

Opening two minutes analysis

This is a very effective opening to a film as it draws the viewer in as it gives away minimal information enticing the audience to pay attention. Although we can sense that the genre is thriller/sci fi/drama through the sound (narrative) and use of camera.

As in any opening two minutes sound is key to drag the reader in and create different emotions not possible to be provoked by the images on the screen. Whilst the opening titles are on screen there is no music playing and no sound at all which is uncommon for opening titles as we are all aware of 20^th century fox’s opening sound, as well as universals – iconic sounds that advertise the company to the viewers. Yet in this film, there is none. This is interesting as it builds tension and suspense; it seems different to other films and excites the reader for what’s to come. This silence is then cut sharply, against a plain black screen, by a man stating a headline for a news report (diegetic sound) and leaves the viewer curious as to what’s going on, before they get a chance to think about what they’ve heard another news report is heard, then another and another. Different new stations talking about the same topic suggesting it’s important. This opening narrative is effective as it draws the viewer in and the overlap of news reports could represent the chaos in this world the viewer has just entered; it provides information for the viewer yet still leaves a lot to find out. A detailed news report on the TV gives the viewer a greater insight into this new environment and leaves them wanting to know more – a perfect way to drag the viewer straight into the film and make it so they can’t stop watching. As the camera tracks one character the news reports fade away as he leaves the coffee shop to show even though this is a major news story he doesn’t care at all, the traffic noises overwhelming the news reports could represent how his mind is overwhelmed by other things and draws the viewer in, wanting to know more about this character. The traffic noises fade as he puts what we can assume is alcohol into his drink, this suggests that the alcohol allows him to tune himself out of the world and therefore suggests that he has things in his past he wishes to forget about or that he hates the world he lives in and doesn’t have much hope for the future. A massive explosion contradicts the earlier silence and adds a splash of action into this drama film, also screams being heard add tension and fear to the scene. A siren sounding alerts the viewer that something is going to happen, it continues to be heard whilst the opening titles appear on screen to show that it is important and will affect the whole film. During the scene every sound used is a diegetic sound and has no non diegetic, this is because by only using diegetic sounds it gives an effect of realism and makes the audience feel like they are.

The genre is shown subtly in the opening two minutes as although it’s a drama not that much happens as it wouldn’t fit with the film if you were thrown straight into the drama without learning the backstory of the new environment you’re in or the characters. The thriller part of the genre is only clear right before it cuts to the opening titles as I woman emerges from the explosion holding her arm which has been blown off, this is a signal for what’s to come. Also thrillers normally have a plot focused on a disaster such as in this case the youngest man dying at age 18, also the whole realism aspect of the film gives the effect of a thriller as the audience feel involved and the plot becomes more literal and they become more involved within the film. Arguably the most predominant part of the genre shown in the opening two minutes is the sci fi part as we learn we are in London, November 2027 – the futuristic part signals to sci fi and is a convention of the genre. Also the fact that the youngest person is 18 years old provokes a lot of questions from the viewer as they want to know how this is possible and what has happened to the world.

The only character we are introduced to in the opening two minutes is the man the camera seems to be focused on, we can tell he is a bit disaffected from society and not phased by the news in which the youngest person has died, this makes the audience question who he is and what is his back story. The camera tracks him throughout the opening scene showing he must be key and somehow connected to the news report and what’s happening in this world. The opening high angle shot of the extras looking at what we can assume is the news report on the TV shows how insignificant they are as the world around them is dying and the point of their existence is ceased – they have no reason to create a better world as no one else is going to live in it and soon they will all be dead.  As the characters look ahead in absolute concentration we see a man pushing his way through the crowd, he comes into the foreground of the shot, right into the centre, he is also unaffected by the news story that seems to have possessed everyone else and therefore shows he must be an important character in this film and someone who we instantly want to know more about. He briefly looks at the news report so the camera flips so we as the viewers can see it, this is key as everyone in this world knows what’s going on as they are living there but we are new and although suspense and not knowing is good the viewers will get bored of that and so some information needs to be provided – introducing a new character is an excellent way to do this as then the viewers are effectively represented by the new character who needs everything explaining to them. It brings the viewers a step closer into the film. The camera follows the main character out of the coffee shop leaving the news report behind and flows to a long shot of a futuristic London which the viewers can relate to and can be taken out of the film for a second to imagine and wonder. Long shots are a convention of action and sci fi as new worlds, environments are introduced and therefore the audience needs to see it all, unlike in horror films where mystery is needed and so long shots would destroy this and reveal too much. There are several things for the viewer to think about, transport, police, buildings, people and get an idea for what the film makers think the world could be like in 13 years times. This is followed by a shot of the camera panning across the street and starts to follow the main character again,  reasserting the viewer’s theory that he is the main character, he then pauses before the camera pans around him into a long shot in which the explosion happens in the background (the first sci-fi genre indicator). One of the final shots before the titles appear on screen is a quite natural shot as if the camera man is running which gives the shot a realistic effect. This then turns into a long shot where, after the explosion has happened, we see a girl holding her own arm walking out of the remains of the building alarming the viewer as to what caused this explosion but also to how calm everyone seems to be about it and the fact there's a girl in the street holding her arm that's just been blown of.