Opening Sequence Analysis

Kes

**Stop watching video at approx 2 mins 30 secs

Kes sets up the narrative through introducing it with an alarm clock. The two characters Billy and his friend George start contemplating on getting up out of Bed after wards. It starts off with Billy saying "George?" and George saying "What?". Its simple narrative which shows us that they are people like us who have to get out of bed however don't want to. It doesn't follow Todorov's structure because there is obviously no equilibrium or heros. At this time in the film, the opening scene, the narration is restricted because we are in that one moment with the characters, only knowing what they do.

There are only two titles at the start which are "The Criterion Collection" and "Metro Goldwyn Mayer", these last around 20 seconds. These show the audience that these companies worked in making the film which sets up the films branding. They are placed centrally which straight away make out attention drawn to them. The titles are more visual rather than words. This is so that the audience are more engaged in what it is and it gives the audience something to remember.

The sequence looks quite dull and dark. This is what the average person would experience in the morning. This makes it realistic giving it high levels of verisimilitude. When George gets up and turns the light on the camera focuses on Billy quite a lot showing the audience that he is going to be an important character within the film. As the two characters are sharing a bed and it isn't the nicest of beds, it shows that they are rather poor. This mise en scene sets up the type of place and time for the audience.

The opening sequence suggests that the film will be quite sad however improve near the end. This is all down to the lighting. For most of the opening sequence the light is dark which gives us a feeling of sadness. However, at the end of it the light is turned on by George which suggests that near the end of the film there will be a switch which will head for a happier outcome.

The film appeals to people who want to make the world a better place. This is because it is clearly a real life situation that is featured. All of the film will be about a real life scenario which the audience will learn from and become more aware of. This creates surveillance and personal identity to the viewers personal purpose in watching the film (Blumber). The characters engage an audience because they are able to relate to them as it is an act in which we take place in everyday. Enigma codes are within the sequence because despite being able to relate to the characters it still leaves them thinking, how is this boy and his friend significant?



Kidulthood