This student film opening identifies it's genre as being crime, with the narrative regarding a stereotypically thug-like teenage boy who robs vulnerable girls and using fear as a tool to get what he wants. The title is also memorable and the concept is traditionally associated with the crime genre. The lack of formality within the antagonists dress code also relates to the crime genre by being a key visual signifier, with the dark blue and grey colours also connoting quite a dark persona.
Editing
Continuity editing is used throughout, with the fade transition being used numerous times to suggest that the events within this sequence occur over quite a long period of time. Shot lengths are short and this results in the opening having a fast pace, which is a stereotypical convention of the crime genre. There no apparent shot reverse shots, due to the lack of diegetic dialogue, but the simplicity of the sequence means the audience don't require verbal context to understand this film's premise.
Sound
The non-diegetic and consistent sound effect at the beginning of the clip quickly builds tension by being high pitched and therefore connoting a sense of importance from what would usually be a normal action (checking a wallet's content). However, the fact that this is accompanied with such a sound effect implies this holds significance, in context with the films narrative, while also establishing a dark and tense tone.
Camera Angles
A majority of the camera angles are close ups to create a sense of discomfort for audiences so that we empathise for the vulnerable women and create an emotional attachment to their characters, thus compelling audience members to continue watching for the sake of closure. Consistent close ups also have connotations of abnormality and tension, which are stereotypical traits of the crime genre, and further establishing the themes consistency within the film.
Mise-en-scene
A skateboard is seen to be used by the teenage antagonist, relating to the immature aspect of that stereotype, while also making him appear more dominant over the girl just walking alone, physically giving him more of an upper hand. Money is referred to numerous times, with props such as a wallet and ATM cards identifying the antagonists values and priorities within the sequence. The naturalistic settings being a bedroom, high street and tunnel incorporates an element of verisimilitude to ground the film and make it more relatable, rather than creative. The camera itself also has consistent yet subtle lens flares to make the opening appear more dynamic and stylised, linking back to discomforting atmosphere created by the non-diegetic music.
Titles
When it comes to the design, the titles are very basic and easily readable. With white being used as the colour to connote contradicting purity and innocence to the darker tone of the opening, could imply that these connotations symbolise the innocence of the girls in which this antagonist preys upon. They appear in the corners of the screen, implicating that the film makers wanted the audience to focus more on the narrative as apposed to the cast and crew credits, while also assuring that the titles don't effect the openings fast pace.
Character
Because there's no diegetic dialogue there isn't any character development, which means the audience isn't provided with any particular context, in regards to why the antagonist steals or why he targeted those girls in particular. This begins to create questions that audience members want answered for the sake of closure, with the constant awkward silence generating a very unease atmosphere. The use of stock characters means the audience can quickly apply logic to the characters in the sequence and notice the distinctions in their mannerisms, with the antagonist conveying a more controlling and physically dominant character, in contrast to the timid and vulnerable females.
To conclude, this film opening conveys it's establishment of the genre being crime quickly with the use of stereotypical traits and directorial techniques. However, the lack of diegetic dialogue means there's no sense of contextual information, when it comes to the characters or the scenario. Also, the film's title is placed at the end of the sequence which is incorrect - the directors name should be the last title and the film's title should be one of the first, on top of which the camera appeared to shake a lot during the sequence. This meant some shots were difficult to make sense of and made it look quite amateur, in comparison to professional opening film sequences.
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