Heat Opening Titles Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqRyngrXlXw - Link to the Heat Opening titles (unable to embed).

Heat is a thriller movie centred around a detective trying to catch a group of armed robbers who stole some bonds. It is set in 1980s Los Angeles and the opening titles uses a great deal of conventional media functions to create a sense of intrigue and to build tension.

Camera Angles

An establishing shot is used of a train on tracks approaching towards the viewer, this creates a sense of intrigue as the audience would want to know what the setting is and where the train is going. Because the train starts a long distance away and comes towards the camera this connotes a sense of power and modernisation. It also creates a threatening atmosphere which helps to initially build tension

The next shot is a wide lens long shot of the train going towards the station. The train goes past with a great deal of speed again adding to the menacing feel of the opening. A long shot is used to establish the setting, as the long shot is able to capture the text on the train saying Los Angeles, which gives us a sense of setting. Using the rule of thirds the station is in the centre, this makes it seem like a beacon in the darkness and suggests that there is light at the end of the tunnel, which could be a theme of the film.

A close up of De Niro is used as he steps off the train and walks towards the camera. A close up is used to highlight the importance of the character and show that he is a central figure. We are also able to see the characters emotions giving us insight into the type of character he is, clearly his emotions are stern and serious, suggesting a more professional lifestyle and a mundane personality.
Because the character walks towards the character it gives him a great deal of power because the camera stays locked in a close up on him even when he moves in. This builds a sense of thrill as the audience would want to know who this character is and why he is so important.

Finally and Over the shoulder shot is used which tracks the character down the escalator. The character walks into the shot suggesting that the shot was prepared for him and all ready for him to walk into suggesting a sense of power and control. It is an over the shoulder shot as we get to see the characters perspective for a brief second before he descends down the escalator, this immerses the audience greatly. The tracking shot again adds intrigue as it follows the character showing his power, and the audience would want to find out more information about him.




Editing

The film titles and the names of the actors are an important part of the appeal of the film. Big name actors are placed side by side, De Niro and Pacino. This would add a great sense of excitement as the audience would know that these famous actors bring a sense of quality. The names of both these actors are on the same text slate, this could suggest an idea of the characters they play working together, being equally important or being involved in a combat with each other. The text used for the actors names and the title of the film is the same font and it has the same in/out animation. This creates a house style and makes the audience feel comfortable because it conforms to media conventions. The style of text is blurry which could suggest that the issues and morals discussed in the movie are not clear, or can be seen from multiple perspectives making them 'blurry'.

A match on action is used here, the previous shot showed the train coming towards the camera and this shot flips around and shows us the train going away. This adds a sense of continuity and makes the narrative easy to follow. Because the narrative is easy to follow it makes it easier to build tension slowly as the audience will be thrilled to see what happened next, and also in a linear narrative a juxtaposition would stand out even more.
Also long takes are used in the train scenes, in this opening the long takes are used to build tension. The long takes make the audience intrigued as to what will happen next and creates a slow pace. But when something fast paced happens it will seem more dramatic as the introduction was more languid.

Sound

The soundtrack is quite orchestral at the start. It has slow drawn out violins and is a slow tempo. This builds up tension slowly as it seems calm at the start but as the orchestra picks up the pace it gets more dramatic. The volume of the orchestra increases towards the end of the extract which continues to add drama, giving the sound a sense of gravitas.

The sound of the train is very quite at the start even though it is not that far away from the camera, this makes it more impacting and dramatic when the train comes past the shot and the volume increases dramatically as we hear the train thunder past. This could suggest the idea of a hidden threat in the movie, something quiet at the start that suddenly surprises us with a dramatic action.

The main characters footsteps are enhanced diegetically when he steps off the train and walks to the escalator. This adds to the sense that he is very powerful and an important character as we can hear his steps clearly. This allows to know the pace of where he is going and it drowns out the other footsteps of the surrounding characters. Because it is his footsteps it makes him seem in control and even to the extent that he is dictating what the audience see and hear.

Mise-en-scene

Lighting
The train scenes are very dark and the exterior of the city has very little ambient light. This suggests that the city is miserable, or rife with nefarious doings making it a dark place to live. Even all the lights in the shot cannot illuminate the area showing a sense of uselessness, and inability to stop the darkness. The train searchlight is the only thing that is bright in the first scene, which could show it as a beacon, searching for a goal or redemption. The station is the only other thing that has a sense of brightness and it mirrors the searchlight. It is the destination, the hope at the end of the tunnel. The idea of dark and light makes the audience wonder whether the themes discussed are that of good vs evil.
De Niro's character when he goes down the escalator is heavily in shadow, which suggests he either has a hidden secret, or is an evil character. Either way this builds tension because the character has depth and the audience would want to discover whether he is truly evil.

Props
The only props in the opening are the main characters tools. This suggests that he has a working profession and has to travel a lot to work. It also connotes the idea of poverty as the character has no bag to carry the tools in and carries them by hand. This intrigues the audience as to his profession.

Costume
The main character has a medics overalls on, and a medic is associated with the idea of helping others and selflessness. This juxtaposes the character we have seen so far as he has been cast in shadow and seems to have more power and importance than that of a medic. Everyone else in the scenes have mundane clothing which does not draw the eye, this adds to the sense of importance that the main character has as he stands out.