3. Atonement Opening Analysis

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Atonement Opening Analysis

ATONEMENT

(Joe Wright, 2007)
Produced by Working Title (+2); distribution: Universal
Budget:$30m
Box Office: $130m (world); $51m (USA), £11.5m

The titles in this opening include:

• Universal (company idents)
• Working title (company idents)
• Universal pictures presents
• In association with studio canal and relativity media
• A working title production
• Atonement       

The titles in this film are unconventionally short and there are only 6 which is strange. Usually there can be up to approximately 30 titles at the start of a movie. This however allows the user to get straight into the film. The title sequence includes 2 company dents including: universal (the distribution company) and working title which can be identified as the production company. The sequence then includes 4 titles which all follow the same format of a black background with white text which follows the conventional documentary style opening giving it a sense of importance. The universal ident lasts 20 seconds whereas the working title ident lasts 10 seconds. This creates the effect that universal is bigger and more important than working title. The opening title sequence (and idents) lasts exactly 52 seconds which again is unconventionally short in regards to film opening durations.

The title 'ATONEMENT' then appears as to be written by a type writer to signify the time period in which it was set achieving a sense of verisimilitude.

The transition into the main film sequence and into the 1st shot is a sudden frame switch which takes place at 53 seconds. This is an example of a cut shot as there is no smooth transition between the frames.

The opening of this movie includes a variety of things which can be connoted and detonated. For example at the start after the titles have played you can simply hear a type writer. This is an example of verisimilitude as it shows that the movie is set in the time of the typewriter, 1939 to be exact. The first shot is one of a big child's play house. This can be denoted to signify wealth and childhood. It also helps the setting of the first scene which is in the bedroom of a young girl. The setting of the whole opening of the movie is mainly in this one house. The camera then follows a long trail of child's toys which further signifies the fact of wealth and the abundance of non-essential play toys.

The sound of the type write keeps playing throughout the first couple of scenes. This is an example of diegetic audio which allows the reader to understand that there is actually a type writer present in the scene. the room in which the first scene is filmed is a big posh children bedroom which again signifies to the viewer the extent of the wealth that the people of the house own.

You quickly learn from the scene that the girl is writing a play which sets the story line going for the film. The girl in context to the whole film may be seen as an antagonist as she plays a part in a sinister role throughout the film. As the girl leaves the room the pace of the recurring type writer increases even though the girl has actually stopped using it. This is an example of non-diegeticaudio. This increase in pace works with the fast pace of the girl almost running through the massive estate which is her home. 

The use of camera shots varies between shot reverse shot which aids the viewer in seeing the whole conversation which is involved in the shot reverse shot, and the use of other shots such as close ups which the 1st shot is. The 1st shot is somehow ironic in the sense that it is a close up shot of a doll's house representation of the house in which the film is set. This then leads to the medium over the shoulder shot which sets the scene and introduces the main character.

Source: http://wongproductions.blogspot.co.uk