The fan made 'Life Of Pi' opening sequence identifies the film as an adventure drama with a very stylised and vibrantly-coloured design, accompanied with a non-diegetic high-pitched musical score that connotes elegance. The design is based around a stem of leaves that changes direction as it grows, relating to nature and presenting the design in a dramatic way - rising and falling as the music does, showing a sense of progression to reflect the narrative's structure.
In comparison, the 'Resident Evil Afterlife' opening conveys it's genre as an action horror by basing it around a biologically-infected woman, gradually revealing her in slow motion establishing shots that are coupled with a consistent bass beat that's dark connotations are stereotypically associated with the horror genre. Similarly, the heavy rain is another convention of the horror genre, and the fact that this sequence concludes with bloodshed solidifies what genre this film is, due to the woman biting a man's neck being typically unethical.
'Snatch's sequence establishes the film as a crime thriller by beginning with a gradual panning shot of TVs that are showing CCTV camera footage. This is stereotypically reflected with the crime genre, as is the dress code of the men within the footage, wearing dark clothes which connote depression, death and a lack of expressionism, which are also often seen in the thriller genre. In terms of props, these characters are also seen using guns as an intimidation tactic that's reflected in the reaction of the office workers. Guns are a key signifier of the crime genre, as well as establish a violent tone for the rest of the film.
Narrative
When it comes to narrative, the 'Life Of Pi' sequence uses simplicity and visual symbolism to retain an enigmatic element, keeping the narrative relatively concealed. Despite this, the stylised growth of the stem the sequence is based around could reflect the main protagonist's maturate growth as the narrative progresses. During the opening, the leaves on the stem is used to reveal an equally animated tiger. The fact that it stays in shot for a while suggests it has some importance within the narrative, and that it ties in with the naturalistic aspect of the growing stem.
'Resident Evil Afterlife,' however, highlights the abnormality and iconography of the franchise, making a clear distinction of characters by showing the infected woman among average urban citizens. This creates questions that the audience want answered, for the sake of closure, such as who was the man she killed and what does this opening contribute to the rest of the narrative? A majority of the sequence is in slow motion to make it appear more stylised and compels the audience to focus more on the cinematography, similarly to 'Life Of Pi,' using striking visuals to help keep the narrative concealed and not give anything away.
By contrast, 'Snatch' sets up the narrative for the rest of the film, with a majority of the sequence regarding four men stealing some diamonds that become the physical goal that all the protagonists and antagonists strive towards. The beginning of the sequence has a different tone and is set after the events of most of the narrative, with the rest being a flashback to provide context for the two main protagonist that are introduced, already developing them with the use of a non-diegetic voice over from one of them, informing the audience of their names and work ethic background.
Character
In the 'Life Of Pi' opening the only character we're introduced to is the tiger, and that singularity amplifies it's importance, suggesting it is or has some relation to the main protagonist. Because the sequence is animated, the tiger is conveyed with a lack of detail which implies this animal could serve more as a symbol, referring to the animalistic quality within people. Another way of looking at it is the fact that tigers are stereotypically associated with nature, it could be a use of imagery to suggest that most of this film is set in very naturalistic place, or even that the characters within the narrative are quite savage and cunning, much like a tiger.
With 'Resident Evil Afterlife,' having it's sequence centred on an infected woman, it suggests that she's used as a signifier to help identify the film as an example of the horror genre. For a vast majority of the scene, she's presented in quite a sexual manor, with the camera slowly tilting vertically up her legs and her dress code being minimal, especially considering it's raining in the scene. The red high-heels connote a rather flirtatious and feminine persona, and conflict with her abnormal behaviour of just standing in the middle of a road-crossing. This confuses the audience and therefore helps to engage them in the story, making her unexpected attack on the man all the more distinctive and puts into perspective that the early disruption of the film's equilibrium impacts everybody within this constructed world.
In terms of character, the 'Snatch' opening sequence quickly goes into depth with two particular characters, implicating they play important roles in the rest of the film. Mentioning the diamonds stolen by the four men before they're even introduced suggests the following scene, and the rest of the film for that matter, is a flashback. Having the character 'Turkish' talk about the diamonds in such a personifying way excites the audience for what's to come. Embedding character development and establishing the main narrative in the film this early creates more of an emotional attachment between the film and the audience because, in this context, the more you know about something the more you'll care about it.
From a character perspective, all three films appear to focus on a minimal amount of characters to help create an enigmatic feel and leave the audience wanting more. The characters in these films, and the stereotypes that they form to also help to set the mood and tone, similarly in this respect to a trailer, giving the audience a rough idea as to what can be expected in the rest of the film.
Atmosphere
'Life Of Pi' has quite an innocent feel, with the elegance of the nature animations creating a sense of purity. This is somewhat contrasted by the tiger whom doesn't even move, while the stem however is constantly changing and moving around the screen. This could be seen to mirror the way people are constantly having to deal with change and the consequences that follow, in comparison to animals who have a better concept of consistency and it's this conflict of behaviours that may be a key element within the narrative.
When it comes to atmosphere, 'Resident Evil Afterlife' has differentiated adultery tone that with the non-diegetic guitar music connoting a more Gothic atmosphere that's also reflected in the black clothing of the woman in the scene. The slow motion builds tension, with the jumps cuts also being in time with the music score to counteract the pacing difficulties that are usually seen in consistent uses of slow motion. All these elements suggest that the rest of the film will be tense, fast-paced with stylised cinematography and visuals, to link back to the video game roots in which this film is based upon.
The atmosphere in 'Snatch' is stereotypically gritty and unsophisticated, considering it belongs to the crime genre. The casual dialect in the character's diegetic language is a key signifier of the modern British stereotype of the men appearing intimidating and yet intellectually inferior. This contrast incorporates comedic attributes into this otherwise serious narrative, showing the stereotype of British gangsters in a more unique and therefore memorable interpretation. Near to the end of the robbery scene, the distinct transitions between shots, with the camera quickly tilting and zooming into one of the four main antagonists, mirrors the chaotic atmosphere that's to be expected with the use of guns. The chaos makes the audience empathise for the other characters in this scene because these transitions give them a better idea of how they were feeling, while also identifying the antagonists as particularly hostile.
Themes
Themes that are apparent in the 'Life Of Pi' opening sequence are nature, growth, purity, elegance, hope and ambition. They can be seen consistently in the sequence, including while the production logo is being displayed, as the non-diegetic soundtrack begins then rather then when the titles begin to create a more gradual and easing tone. This graduation could also suggest a similarly slow pace can be seen in the rest of the film, while it also has connotations that link into the film's themes, such as elegance and growth. The violin's tempo rises and falls, to reflect each stage of the narrative and also connotes innocence, appealing to it's target audience of children while also containing signifiers related to that of the adventure genre.
In contrast, because 'Resident Evil Afterlife' is a horror, it's themes are darker and more specified for teenagers and young adults. For example, the themes of destruction and death are consistent in this sequence through the aggressive persona of the infected woman and the gradual rise in a low-tempo drum beat, building up to establish these two themes visually (death through the male civilian and destruction through the birds eye view shot, at the end of the sequence, zooming out to display a wide scale of terror and dismantlement). Another important theme is a lack of hope, apparent through the ripple effect this one act of violence is seen to have on a global scale, using this element to help the audience understand the context of the film's narrative, as well as establishing what themes in particular the film capitalises on.
Similarly, 'Snatch' is specified at an older target audience than 'Life Of Pi,' which is specified through less vibrant colours in shot, such as costumes and set designs, to connote a more realistic and gritty mood and tone. Key themes that stand out in this opening are turmoil, danger and humour. The humour, in specific, comes from the more subtle attributes of this sequence, with an example not so much being the hostile and awkward atmosphere the first two characters create but the non-diegetic voice over, giving a completely different feel to the scene, referring to the number of people that are 'named after a plane crash.' This random and partially immature trail of thought makes us look at his character in a more comedic light, despite his physically and stereotypically masculine attributes.
Setting
There is no apparent setting in the 'Life Of Pi' opening sequence however there are multiple connotations of a naturalistic setting due to the main focus of the sequence being the growth of this one small plant becoming greater in scale and complexity, as well as the tiger in the grass being stereotypically associated with a more nature-orientated setting.
'Resident Evil Afterlife's setting however is focused in a more urban setting, with the big zebra crossing being a typical feature of a built up area. This idea is solidified by the large amount of people crossing in a clinical and emotionless respect, and therefore making the woman's physical appearance, in regards to body language, all the more significant in comparison. The Asian ethnicity of the people within this sequence suggests the setting for this opening, or even the film as a whole, is set in an Asian city, implying that the quick disruption of the film's equilibrium effects everyone on a global scale.
In the first setting of 'Snatch' they use low key lighting, darkening any background to create a hostile and interrogational feel to the scene. This suggests that the director wanted the audience to focus on the characters and the dialogue, and not judge them based upon the location they're related to. The second scene appears to be set in some form of office block, using the signifier of office cubicles and a smart dress code to help better identify this stereotype. This normality and convention creates a stronger contrast to the previous scene as well as the introduction of the four antagonists, making the havoc they cause more impacting.
Sound
In terms of sound, because the 'Life Of Pi' sequence is animated simplistically there is no diegetic sound, however this opening is accompanied with a consistent musical score that is equally simplistic and important, in regards to symbolism. The use of the violin connotes a sense of beauty and innocence, which links to the film's target audience being children because of their association with these elements. The music's change in pace reflects the movement of the plant, creating a sense of sentimentality and elegance within the plant and it's physical journey, and while doing so, linking to the adventure aspect to this film's genre.
'Resident Evil Afterlife' also has no diegetic dialogue, keeping the audience clueless as to what's going on, maintaining an element of tension. A non-diegetic electric guitar plays over the top of the title sequence, which is stereotypically accompanied with the horror genre. The repetition of the same cord goes well with the slow motion shots, and the titles are in time with the tempo of the music so that they don't become the main focus of the scene.
'Snatch' establishes a contradicting element of comedy within this film, as seen in the diegetic quotation 'That's Tommy. He tells people he was named after a gun, but I know he was really named after a 19th century ballet dancer.' This cancels out any sense of intimidation audience members previously connoted about this Tommy character. Similarly, the non-diegetic music playing at the beginning of the robbery scene is quite light-hearted and isn't usually used in scenes of this nature.
Titles
The titles of 'Life Of Pi' are simplistic and easily readable, which is another identifier of the target audience being children, because if the font was more complicated children wouldn't be able to understand this aspect of the sequence. The colour of the titles being white connotes purity and innocence, while it also contrast the main colour of the opening being orange so that both elements stand out on screen.
In comparison, 'Resident Evil Afterlife's opening also has white/silver titles to contrast the setting of the low lit city landscape. When it comes to the actual font, it's very jagged and sharp, signifying the horror genre and hints to elements of violence within the narrative. After the films title appears the cast and crew titles appear significantly smaller and in the corners of the screen, which implies that the film makers wanted the audience to pay more attention as to what was actually happening within the film, to create it's tone.
For 'Snatch,' the first title to appear is the producers name. This suggests his contribution to the film was vast and that his name is well known, insuring the audience that this product is of a high standard of quality. For the rest of the titles, like the previous two films, they too are white, however these titles distinguish themselves by being accompanied within a black rectangular box to connote the idea of good vs. evil and therefore also suggests that the film's narrative will elaborate on this. It was also contextually fitting, seeing as they were placed on the low standard CCTV monitors and making the titles blend better with the chosen environment. The film's main title, however, is not integrated into the shot so that the audience realise that it's significance.
Here are the film openings to show the contrast in genre and how each conveys it's distinction:
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