In the opening sequence to 'Catch Me If You Can,' it becomes soon apparent that the genre of the film is a crime/drama, due to the non-diegetic sophisticated jazz music being stereotypically associated with criminals and hustlers. Another identifier is the fast pace of the sequence, with the two main characters running throughout, chasing one another, and already identifying whom of which is the antagonist.
In comparison, the opening to 'My Best Friend's Wedding' reveals it's genre to be a romantic comedy by using vibrant colours for the setting and the character's costumes. The walls being bright pink is a stereotypical representation of women being associated with that colour, also connoting romance, femininity and a light-hearted nature. The diegetic song playing throughout is another indicator of this films genre because the lyrics relate to loving a man and what the expected conventions are in a relationship, displaying them as the stereotypically dominant sex.
'Catch Me If You Can' informs it's audience of the narrative by highlighting the key moments in the film through the stylised opening sequence, that forms to stereotypes (when it comes to the representation of class and gender), while it also gives the audience insight into the dress code being very formal and typical of the time period. In the case of gender, an example can be found when the main protagonist is swimming and the camera tracks his movement, while also revealing a woman in minimalistic clothing and a very sexual pose.
By contrast, 'My Best Friend's Wedding' gives the audience a glimpse into the narrative by the characters wearing clothing that's iconic of a wedding's dress code, such as a singular white dress surrounded by more refined, yet more colourful dresses (a stereotypical representation of weddings being very formal and feminine). With their body language being synchronised and over the top, it implies that the narrative takes a non-naturalistic route, and possibly inspired by a musicals conventions of consistent, and in this case alienating, song and dancing.
Character
Character types are identified in 'Catch Me If You Can,' with the main protagonist portraying conventions that relate to a criminals, while the supporting character conveys traits that are associated with a police officer, typical of the 1950s time period. For example, at the beginning of the sequence, the protagonist is seen side-stepping and attempting to conceal himself, where as the police officer is seen sitting down in a suit and hat reading a news paper on a bench, keeping an eye out for trouble. The fact that actors names are conveniently timed with the entrance of any new characters means audiences can quickly have light shed on, what is at this point, unknown as to whom a cast member plays. An example of this can be found with the previously mentioned sexually posed woman, with her introduction being well timed with the cast member title of 'Amy Adams' on screen, suggesting to the audience that this actress plays this character.
In relation to this, 'My Best 'Friend's Wedding' conveys it's character types through the rest of the characters idolising the woman in the wedding dress, which implicates that she is the main character. The idolising is established through the bride always being the centre of attention, and often in the centre of the frame, with the other characters admiring her ring and/or fiddling with her dress, which quickly identifies who is the main protagonist and also reveals to the audience her self-involved and stereotypically feminine personality. For example, roughly half way through the clip, in a long shot of all the characters, a couple of brides maids are surrounding and comforting her, while the other adds some final touches to the dress. This puts into perspective the importance of the main protagonist, in context with the narrative, as well as the other characters lacking any sense of substance or independence.
Atmosphere
'Catch Me If You Can' creates quite an exciting atmosphere through the fast paced editing and constantly changing scenery, accompanied with jazz music, with it's tempo quickening as the chase between the two characters becomes equally faster and more tense. This reflects the drama aspect of this films hybrid genre, already setting the tone for the film. It also hooks audiences, due to the unexplained various settings and characters, raising questions that audience members want answered so that they have closure after having watched the film.
'My Best Friend's Wedding,' however, is more simplistic and therefore doesn't raise as many questions to entice it's audience. That having been said, it does create an atmosphere of light-hearted romance, to link in with it's genre, with the consistent, and slow paced, singing and dancing regarding love being stereotypically associated with this genre. The opening also, ironically, creates a contrasting element of intimidation, with all the characters using direct mode of address throughout the sequence, making audience members feel slightly uncomfortable, which could perhaps mirror how the traditional groom in a movie of this genre feels soon before getting married.
Themes
The key themes that are established within the opening of 'Catch Me If You Can' are chase, identity and disguise. Chase because the main protagonist is being chased by the police officer throughout the clip, identity because the characters are all represented as distinguished stereotypes that are associated with whatever setting they're currently in to give them a sense of identity, and disguise because the main protagonist changes his clothing multiple times to blend with his environment and hide from the officer.
In comparison, the key themes in the opening sequence of 'My Best Friend's Wedding' are love and elegance. Weddings are a long term action, in the context of love between two people, and therefore is always associated with this genre, regardless of it's narrative. Elegance is apparent because the singing from the characters is well pronounced and their etiquette continues to be formal, despite the occasional facial expressions appearing flirtatious and somewhat playful. Their body language is also quite refined and in time with the music, suggesting that these characters don't defy social convention and stick to their stereotypically feminine etiquette.
Setting
Iconography is used consistently in the 'Catch Me If You Can' opening, with an example being the iconic image of a yellow taxi being used to suggest that the film, at one point, takes place in New York City. Because the scenery changes multiple times throughout the opening, it suggests that this will be reflected in the rest of the film. The iconography in the sequence is also wide in variety, with other examples being a plane to symbolise an airport, a swimming pool for a leisure resort and a stethoscope and nurses costume for a hospital.
By contrast, 'My Best Friend's Wedding' has no particular setting, merely a fluorescent pink wallpaper in the background, which implies that this sequence is more of an ideal imagining of a wedding, rather than a realistic interpretation. This most likely used so that the audience empathise for the bride, by knowing and understanding her goal, and putting it into perspective with reality, to show a clear distinction.
Sound
The opening non-diegetic music to 'Catch Me If You Can' is high pitched and repetitive, typical of the 'jazzy' time period, soon breaking the repetition with a lower-tempo sound effect to imply a change in dynamic; this suggests that the non-diegetic music mirrors the narrative of the film, to better prepare the audience for the rest of the film. Soon after, the repetitive theme comes backs in, only this time it's higher and quicker, coinciding with the introduction of a character to suggest their importance in the narrative. Because this music connotes suspicion and concealment, it implicates that the character who's introduced is a stereotypical criminal - hiding in plain sight. This repetition continues throughout, rising and falling depending on the scenery and how close the two characters chasing each other become, to create tension.
In relation to this, 'My Best Friend's Wedding,' begins with a simple, and diegetic, acoustic guitar, with it soon being accompanied by the four female characters singing the lyrics to a song about love, to reflect the genre and give the audience insight into these characters personalities. For example, the brides maids accompanying as back up voices to the main singing of the bride suggests that they priorities her over themselves, to fulfil there job as bridesmaids, and connoting loyal friendships.
Titles
Much like the sound in 'Catch Me If You Can,' the titles in this sequence coincide with the introduction of new characters, making it obvious who each actor is playing. For example, at the beginning of the clip, when we're introduced to the criminal the name 'Leonardo DiCaprio' appears on the screen, with a yellow arrow pointing to the character and the audience immediately making a correlation between those two devices, putting it into perspective with the narrative so that the rest of the film makes more sense.
The titles in 'My Best Friend's wedding' uses a calligraphy font to connote the elegance and femininity that was also established in the stereotypical characters, creating a sense of consistency. The main actors are apparent in this sequence by being chronologically placed before the title of the film, with examples being found with names such as 'Julia Roberts' and 'Dermot Mulroney.' This informs the audience of their importance within the film, and indicates whom of the four female characters on screen selected actors are playing.
To conclude, film openings are used to quickly establish the films genre, narrative, character types, atmosphere, key themes and settings, through both sound and visual techniques. Depending on the genre, opening sequences are wide in variety to appeal to different target audiences and make their film as memorable as possible.
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