Four Opening Sequences

Four Opening sequences:

Legally Blonde:

The bright colours (and main colour of pink) reflect the femininity within the girls of this sorority. These girls are close-knit and within the first few seconds we are shown the value of these girls friendship.
The lighting is used with standard white beams and is used inside a house. The main character (played by Reese Witherspoon) is a very feminine character and the first stereotype we associate her with is a 'dumb blonde'- that is until we see she is attending law school.
The pink lettering in the opening credits and cursive writing affect the female stereotype of 'pink'.
The first few camera shots are of the girl pampering herself, which only adds to our first stereotype. Stereotypes are a big controversy in this opening sequence, and overall in the film in general. This film aims to attack the stereotype and tries to abolish any sexism and stereotypes.

Juno:

Voice over: "...And it started with a chair." this is an introduction to any action that we are about to see, and it starts the sequence with a narrative.
Flashback: This editing technique is used to show a past sequence, which is a connection to the rest of the film, a symbol of Juno's life story.
The song playing is an upbeat, positive song, which is a reflection on her life, until the disastrous news of her teenage pregnancy stunts her life.
The lighting in this opening sequence is used in a basic way, as it just daylight, and this shows us that, as a young girl of sixteen, her life will be changed because the daylight reflects her innocence.
The main character Juno is drinking a big carton of Sunny D, which is a link between her life now and her childhood, as if the fact of her losing her virginity has somehow aged her and her strong addiction to Sunny D has pro-longed her childhood.

We are briefly introduced to the father of Juno’s baby, as the audience is shown a flashback to the night that the couple lost their virginity’s, and we are then able to see that both of the parents are as normal as teenagers can get.

Cleaner:

The main character in this sequence (Freeman) is the cleaner after a death/murder has occurred. By the first shot, the audience is already asking lots of question about what will happen and who everyone is/could be. The voice over that is played during the beginning of the sequence then leads the audience into a conversation, as if the main character is telling people a story. The title sequence is at the start of the opening sequence, with the character list along the bottom of the screen. The audience is shown a brief encounter with a female whose mother has died, introducing more characters to the narrative. This then formerly introduces the main character as the person who cleans up the aftermath of death and murder. The director has chosen to use dark lighting, dull colours with a very limited use of bright colouring, and using dark lighting during the outside scenes. The dim lighting is very symbolic as it is laced with the aura of death- it has a pale edge to it.

Constantine:

Constantine is an exorcist, and is used to dealing with supernatural creatures, and therefore knows how to exterminate them. During the sequence there is only one title set, and that is the telling of the film location. Keanu Reeves plays the main character, which reflects the stereotype of him being so good looking, like a hero. The audience is not told what Reeves does, they are shown. There is no voice over, and so that does not connect the audience that way, but the audience is connected in other ways, with the dialogue and direct address that has approached them. Constantine quite clearly knows what he is doing, and his professionalism then makes the audience put their trust in him. The effect of stating Constantine’s location has a personalized feel for the audience, and stating that he is in Los Angeles makes the person watching feel connected if they have visited and/or live in the location. The use of light in the room with the possessed woman is very limited, which causes eerie shadows, and makes the audience more engaged as they are asking more questions about what will happen next. The orange light is a signifier of any magical/mysterious doings that are happening, as the bright colours cause dim shadows and are also a signifier of madness, which is a common theme in the film.