Children of Men (2006)

The opening scene of this film begins showing the universal pictures logo with no sound in the background this shows that the director may had done this for a reason and that this was done for effect so that the next scene would have more of an impact on the audience watching it, which is of the news being played on the TV with the death of Diego Ricardo showing a crowded bunch of

people huddled around a TV in the cafe. This connotes that because Universal is the main institution company for Children of Men they would therefore have more money to produce the film including special effects which is shown later on in the clip with the explosion in the cafe. After showing the Universal pictures. It then follows on with a more independent company however it has less time on the screen compared to Universal Pictures this

connotes that Children of Men are mainly supported by Universal pictures.

The genre of the opening gives clues to it being a Si-fi as it gives the year on the news of 2027 showing the future being dreadful. Another clue that denotes that is it in the future is the TV that the people in the café are watching off of isn’t attached to any wires. This connotes that although they have all of the new technologies the interior of the café hasn’t caught up with the current time period as all of the current things they have look very dated. The lighting of this is very low key connote the subject matter of Crime used in the film it initially starts with the death of Diego Ricardo as he was killed for spitting in a fans face because he was being attacked by the crowd due to being the youngest child in the world. Near the end of the opening of the film there is an explosion in the café with a lady walking out holding her arm and screaming with nobody else exiting the café.

The use of media language in this clip is explored through the use of lighting, camera work, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. The use of low key lighting creates a very verisimilitude effect upon the café and London enabling a very realistic effect with no bright lighting with in it. This connotes the dreariness of the future there still remains a dull atmosphere even when there is an explosion in the café as all you can see is the café being swallowed in smoke. The use of the camera follows the man throughout the clip this highlights his different character as everybody else is upset watching the news with the death of the child. However, he doesn’t remain in the café for very long, but instead

walks out putting some liquor into his coffee. The location has been created by including London buses in the streets highlighting that it is set in London along with billboard however there are bikes with seats at the back this connotes that London doesn’t have as much money as they used to have also the streets look really dirty and not looked after also implying again that London doesn’t have a lot of money. The first sound of the

opening scene is the diegetic radio informing the people in the café the death of the Diego Ricardo, which is the main sound we hear throughout the majority of the clip. This connotes that the people of the future was unexpected of the death of Diego Ricardo as they had all stopped what they were doing before to be huddled around the TV. Another diegetic sound in the opening scene that has

great significance is the when there was an explosion in the café this noise is very unexpected as an audience member it made myself jump because the man the camera was following acted as if it was a normal day.

The opening scene shows a negative representaion towards the future. This is created with the explosion in the shop, and the youngest child in the world getting killed. The location in which it is set in, London, is very dull everybody seems to be looking at there life as acting as if it is a drag with no excitement or happiness in it. In the opening scene the camera follows the man into the street putting alcohol into his coffee this is often viewed upon as somebody who has a drinking problem/ habbit. He is dressed in dark rags of clothing representing that in the future they don’t have as much money to lead a good healthy lifestyle.

I think the type of audience that would watch this film is mainly men from the age of 15+ as there is a lot of action in the beginning scene with the use of explosions and a graphic image of a lady screaming out of the café holding onto her blown off arm which, also gives me the impression that it is suitable to watch for this age group.

The titles in this opening clip are in a bold white font being accentuated with the black background behind it. This movie could connotes that it was once before in darkness but a sign of light could put the world in a different situation creating a contrast. At the ending of the opening scene the title of the movie is represented which is very uncommon for the opening scenes of movies. Maybe the film makers had done it in this way to create a bigger affect of the movie tittle rather than giving all of the information at the beginning.

The values and ideologies this opening scene gives me is that the future isn’t very bright and is often filled with lots of disruption with your daily life shown with the death of the child and the explosion in the café. I think the film makers have done this because this wouldn’t happen in your normal day and wants it to be as if you are living in a different peiod of time with less opportnities about.

Studying this film opening will help me to produce my own film opening as it will allow me to question everything I do and always linking it back to what effect it has off of the audience. For example like the film title being at the end of the opening of the film, it allowed it to stand out more.