Final Piece

Final Plan

Our final idea is to create a fantasy themed film set in an empty school. Two boys wake up after falling asleep in lesson and find the school deserted. They begin to explore and discover a mysterious trapdoor...

Sam has created a piece of music suitable for the fantasy genre. This will accompany the boys as they explore the school, adding emphasis to important moments within the opening scene. The piece was created after studying music for similar films such as The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Harry Potter films.

We plan to open the credits with empty shots of the school. This will tell the viewer that the area is empty before the characters know it themselves. This will draw the viewer in. In addition to this, the shots will effectively set the scene, giving the viewers a sense of time and place. there will be limited dialogue between characters to heighten the sense of mystery. Who exactly are the characters?

Home Alone Opening Analysis

The film begins with an opening shot of a full moon in a dark sky, giving viewers a sense of what time it is. This calm shot of the moon is replaced by people manically rushing around a house - the contrast heightens the impression of the people being in a hurry. Kevin, the main character is then introduced. The viewer immediately get a sense of his character through the conversation with his parents - he is portrayed as a confident boy who likes playing pranks on people. This allows the viewer to form a idea of what the film is going to be like - comic.

Because the opening is mostly compromised of dialogue, it can be assumed that the film is aimed at older children. Films targeting a younger audience tend to have a very fast paced opening sequence to keep young viewers interested, and this film does not. The target audience is likely to be young children around Kevin's age - roughly 7-11.

Music is not a main factor in the opening sequence as it is masked by the dialogue. However, before anything else can be seen the music lets you know that it is chistmas through its array of bells, a common factor in such songs.

Monsters Inc Opening

The credits begin with upbeat music, well suited for children. This immediately suggests that the film will be light-hearted and cheerful like the music. The imagery is mainly made up of doors moving about. There is a vast array of colour, again suggesting that the film will be well suited for children, and this suits the accompanying music. The credits also reveal two main themes within the rest of the film - doors and monsters.

However, a darker atmosphere then occupies the screen. The impact of this is reinforced by the contrast against the jolly music and colourful titles that were present just before. The new atmosphere creates tension and provides a hook to help draw viewers in. There is then more contrast as scary atmosphere and tension dissapears and is replaced with near slapstick comedy. This type of humour is usually reserved for children, and shows it is a film aimed mainly at younger people.
The 'Scary monster' is then shown to be a comical, clumsy character. All traces of fear are gone. This is done to suit the younger viewer - nothing bad happens and the scary moment is kept short.

Nightmare Before Christmas Intro Analysis

You can immediately tell that the film is a child friendly horror by the use of images associated with children's halloween. Pumpkins and scarecrows are shown, but the images are not made to be as scary as possible due to the jolly narration and singing. The characters are all typically 'scary' things for kids, such as ghosts. monsters under the bed, witches etc. However, through song they seem less menacing and seem to be introducing themselves rather than scaring people. However, they are still all typical halloween images, and halloween is usually depicted as scary. The introduction cleary shows that there will be scary monsters in it, but the monsters are friendly and pull the film away from horror and more towards Fantasy.


The sound used in the opening of the film is mostly comprimised of the 'pantomime' styled song, which is sung by the monsters. It is used to introduce the characters via song, which makes them seem less scary to the viewer, which is key to restraining the horror elements of the film to make it watchable for young viewers. Instantly regocnisable sounds accopany the music and introduction of the characters. For example, the witches cackle instantly gives the film ties to halloween, creating more powerful imagery associated with halloween. The sound is especially impotant in this opening scene as it hold the film back from being too scary by creating a pantomine atmosphere.


There is a wide range of characters that are introduced in the opening sequence through song, forming a close link between character introduction and sound. Nearly all of the residents of 'Halloween Town' are introduced during the pantomine style song, which gradually leads up to the introduction of the films main protagonist: 'The Pumpkin King'. This graual build up creates a sense of anticipation within the viewer before the Pumpkin King is introduced. You can immediately tell that the other characters are his 'subjects' by the way they are dancing and performing around him in a celebratory way, as if he has returned from an absense. Again, this provides a hook to keep viewers watching.


A scary atmosphere, suitable for young children, is set almost immediately by the vast range of Iconography relating to Halloween. Examples of this include witches and other monsters. In contrast to this, a jolly atmosphere is created through the pantomine stlye song sung by the characters. The two constrasting atmospheres are blended together expertly and, being a childrens film, the jolly, sing-song atmosphere is more prominent than the scaryness. The two atmospheres are also different in the medium they are presented in - the scaryness is fabricated using imagery whilst the lighter mood is offered via song.