The key conventions of openings: Indiana Jones and Mad Max

High quality Indiana Jones clip

The class has been asked to analyse two opening scenes of films of the same genre, as I have picked the adventure genre, I have decided to choose Indiana Jones and Mad Max.

Setting (comparison):

The setting of the two openings are very different; Indiana Jones is set in the south American jungles in the 1930's, whereas Mad Max is set in a future desert wasteland.

I think that Indiana Jones is set in the past and a jungle because this is a more conventional setting for the genre of the film, and the director could have wanted the film to be recognised as an adventure film easily.

Mad Max could be set in a wasteland in the future because the director wanted to be unconventional and wanted to set the movie apart from other adventure films and to show the audience something new that hasn't been done before.

Mise en scene (Mad Max):

The use of negative space in the introductory scene is used to show the audience how vast the desert is and how small and lonely the protagonist is compared to the force that is hunting him.

The 'war boy' costumes could also be used to show the audience that they are the antagonists of the film, as they look unnatural and skull like, which would make the audience feel uneasy. 

Titling (Indiana Jones):

In the opening scene the audience is shown the production and distribution company, director, the title, main actors, producers, editors, and main writers. The director could have included so many opening titles because the opening scenes only show a team of people exploring a jungle, and wanted the main focus to be on the titles.

The director could have also wanted to show the main actors' names to gain the audience's interest as they could be familiar with some of the actors.

I think that the director chose to put the titles in white so that they would stand out from the black silhouettes of the characters that appear onscreen while the titles appear. The positioning of the title of the film could also help it to stand out as it is more likely to catch the audiences eye in the middle of the screen than at the bottom. The font of the titles can be used to give the audience a sense of setting and the time period the film is set in as the font looks old-fashioned.

Introduction of protagonist/antagonist (comparison):

In Indiana Jones the protagonist is introduced as a black shadow and their face is only shown later on in the scene, this could have been done by the director of the movie to create more suspense in the opening scenes as the audience is more likely to wonder who the protagonist is. 

Similarly in Mad Max the protagonist also starts off with his back to the camera, however the audience gets to see his face quickly, although his face is only partially shown, which builds the tension in the scene.  

The antagonists are shown to be chasing Max and seem to be catching up to him, the use of sound also helps to show to the audience that the characters are antagonists as the sound of engines happens suddenly and after a long pause, this would help to create a sense of panic in audience.

Editing (Indiana Jones):

The use of close up shots at the beginning of the scene adds mystery to the characters when they are first shown, as the audience cant see their faces, only the outline of their shadows, this could make the audience more intrigued about who the characters are and why they are important.

Tracking shots are also regularly used in the opening scene, this could be to show the audience how far the team is walking and to also make them more interested in the story and what the protagonists are hoping to find. 

The opening scene is also edited so that the audience never sees the protagonists face until 3 minutes in, when he disarms a member of  the team who tries to shoot him, this could be to create more tension and mystery as the audience wants to know who is leading the team of explorers.

Sound (Mad Max):

The first three minutes of the scene don't include any music, which only starts when Max gets captured. This could have been done so that tension is built up in the opening three minutes, the introduction of music at a certain point could also hint to the audience that something important is about to happen.

The musics volume increases as Max tries to escape, this creates a more    feeling in the scene, which also makes the audience feel uneasy and more engaged in what is happening on screen as they want to know if Max will escape.

However the music stops again as Max almost falls down the abrupt cliff behind a door,and starts again as he jumps onto a hook nearby. I think this is done because it helps to create suspense in the scene and in the audience as they could be wondering if Max will make it to freedom.

Non-diagetic sound is not often used in the opening scenes, only music and a voice over are edited over the footage, I think the director could have done this to create a more realistic feeling in the scenes and to make it more believable for the audience.

Composition/ Camera shots (Indiana Jones):

This opening scene often uses close up and mid shots. I think this has been done because the director wants the audience to notice that the characters on screen are important to the story, and also make the audience feel more connected to the characters, as these shots allow the audience to see more emotion on the characters faces.

Close ups also help the audience to find out details about the protagonist, whose face isn't shown until later in the scene, doing this could help to create suspense within the audience as people could try to figure out who the protagonist is.

The shot composition of the opening scene uses the rule of three as the scenes can be split into three sections that have something in it. The director could do this so that the audience focuses on something specific.

Colour tone (Mad Max):

The colour tone that is used in the opening scene is very unconventional, usually in adventure films the colours that are used are either greens (as films are normally set in jungles/ forests) or quite dark colours, however as Mad Max is set in a desert the colour scheme of the film are very bright. I think that the director has done this to coincide with the setting of the film and to interest the audience.

Iconography(Mad Max):

This film includes conventional iconography of adventure films, such as car chases, explosions, fire and skulls. The director could have done this so that the film can be easily recognised as an action/ adventure film and so that people know what they will see when they buy the tickets for the film.

Shot sequence (Indiana Jones):

In the opening scenes the sequence of the shots shows how far the team of travellers have journeyed to get to their objective, this would make the audience curious about what will happen next as they would want to know why the team have walked through the jungle in South America.

The sequence of the shots also shows the protagonist to be leader of the team, the director did this so that the audience can see that he is an important figure and want to learn more about him.