Analysis of Film Openings: Children of Men

The opening sequence of Children of Men (2006) is unlike most conventional opening sequences in the respect that it doesn't contain any titles showing the names of cast and crew. Instead, it utilises a cold open in order to show the audience the action of the film straight away. 

The 'Universal' title card connotes a lot more than
initially meets the eye

The first part of the opening sequence which we see is the Universal title animation, which immediately tells the audience a whole host of things about the film. As the film was produced by Universal, who are one of the Big Six media companies, showing the company's name immediately connotes that the movie is going to be aimed towards a mainstream audience rather than a niche one. This is because a product made by a Big Six media company will be economically orientated, so it would be a bad business decision to make a niche film that few people would be interested in going to see. By seeing that the film is produced by such a big company, the audience will already have an inkling towards whether they will enjoy it or not, before the action has even started. Another notable point about the Universal animation in the opening sequence is the lack of music behind it - this connotes that the director wants less audience attention to be drawn towards the fact it has been produced by Universal. However, the Universal title also connotes that the film will have a global audience, a big budget and high production values - all of these will encourage the audience to watch the film. 

All of the outdoor shots have a green tinge to them,
courtesy of a filter and low key lighting

Throughout the opening sequence, lighting has been used to produce certain effects and give certain ideas to the audience. At the very beginning of the clip, there is no lighting, but just a black screen with sound behind it. This lack of light connotes that the film is going to have an especially dark subject matter, as if the film was going to be about positive things then it would start with a bright picture rather than just darkness. Another innovative use of lighting in order to capture the attention of the audience is the mixture of low key lighting and smog in order to connote that the dystopian society shown is an uncomfortable, uninviting place - if there was high key lighting then the smoke would look like the product of a society which was otherwise thriving. The opening sequence has had a filter applied to it - this filter has a greeny hue, which makes the film seem dated like the film reels from decades, despite being set nearly 15 years in the future. This connotes that the society which will be shown in the film is one which is less advanced than todays society. 

Point of view shot in order to establish the huge variety of
people gathered in the same place - connotes a society
who are still together despite the world falling apart around
them

The camera has been used throughout the opening in order to position the audience to see the world of the film from the perspective of the protagonist. When he enters the cafe, the camera focuses on him and leaves with him - the view of the audience is following this man, due to the tracking shot which is being used on him. As he is leaving and walking outside, there is the use of a steadicam, which connotes that his life is relatively stable at this point - nothing has happened to him so far which he wouldn't have expected. There is also a use of a panning shot here to show the wide variety of people who are grouped together within the cafe - it shows that the society in the film is wildly different from the one which most people would expect from a dystopian society. However, when the explosion occurs, there is a sudden switch to a handheld camera which is particularly shaky. The director has done this in order to connote the sudden panic of the protagonist and the people around him - this invites the audience to also feel these emotions as well. Additionally to these shots, there are a variety of point of view (PoV) shots within the cafe, which allow the viewer to see the action from the perspective of different people. The first PoV shot is from the perspective of the people working behind the counter in the cafe. This puts the audience in the position to see all of the different people together, which gives the false impression that the film might be about a completely different subject matter. Another PoV shot puts the camera in the position of the gathered crowd allowing the audience to watch the TV screen - it allows them to make their own opinion about it instead of having to base their opinions on the expressions of the gathered crowd, as they are positioned to feel like they are a part of it.

The sound in the background of the opening shot, when nothing is appearing on the screen, is the sound of various news reporters talking about the laws which make the society a dystopian one. The voices of these reports are British, which immediately gives the audience the idea that the film is going to be set in London, before anything has even been seen on the screen. The high pitched noise after the explosion rings out for a long time - this shows the ringing in the ears of the protagonist and also connotes his fear about what has just happened. This sound connects the audience to the character as they feel like they are experiencing exactly what he is - it is another innovative use of sound in order to hook them in. 

The explosion is the first thing that happens to shake up
ideas about the genre of the movie

The opening of the film is fairly ambiguous about genre, as the film starts off appearing to be dystopian drama when the people are standing around in a stunned silence watching TV. However, the genre of the film then seemingly switches to a Sci-Fi movie when the subtitle tells us that it is set in the future. This is a crucial use of subtitles, as without being told when the film is set, it could still appear that the film is a drama, or perhaps even a horror. The idea that the film is a horror comes from the shot of the woman holding her own arm which has been blown off in the explosion - this is the image which confirms that the genre of the film is dystopian Sci-Fi which has been set in the future.

London is confirmed as the location the protagonist steps out into the street, which confirms what most members of the audience would have already been thinking. By confirming something which the audience were already sure of, the director makes watching the film seem more inviting as the audience hope that this narrative device of hinting at something before confirming it as true is likely to encourage an interest within the film. Another innovative use of narrative technique within the film opening is attaching the audience to one character, despite them not knowing his name or anything about him. This connotes that the society which the film shows is going to be an anonymous one where people don't know each other or speak to each other. A final use of narrative technique is the fact that the film starts off with the action happening on a TV screen - most films would start off by showing the stabbing of the person rather than purely showing peoples reaction to it. This connotes that people in the film have become desensitised to things around them, which is another narrative hook to draw the viewer into continuing to watch the film.

The audience are positioned in order to follow the
protagonist out of the cafe - it uses a tracking shot

Throughout the opening of the film, there are high levels of verisimilitude, meaning that the audience feel like they are a part of the action. This is mainly due to the viewpoint of the audience always being situated upon the single male character - their views become attached to his. The audience shares the view of the bomb blast and the ensuing carnage from the same shot as the male does, so start to associate themselves with him. Additionally, the audience are left on a huge cliff-hanger about who planted the bomb and why they did it, which drives them on to want to watch the rest of the film.


The ideology of the director is clear throughout the introduction - he is trying to show a dystopian society which he fears could end up happening if various problems are not corrected. By showing the youngest person on earth being mobbed for autographs, he connotes that celebrity can be a negative thing as well as a positive - especially when they are famous for such a negative reason. This use of ideology in the opening makes the audience wonder what other things are commonplace in this futuristic society, which is another hook to get the audience into the film. As the man steps out of the café, the digital sign outside a theatre reads "please support suspicious activity".

To conclude, the opening of Children of Men is incredibly effective in drawing the viewer into watching it, mainly through showing a dystopian society - the audience wants to continue watching the film in order to see how this society works, and why it has become like this.