Opening sequences

The opening sequence of Layer Cake, starring Daniel Craig, is exceptional due to it being so unique, also most of the budget for the film is spent on the opening. As you can tell the creators obviously wanted to draw the audience in straight away and give them a useful insight into the film.

Daniel Craig narrates throughout the opening so this informs the audience that he is the main character even though it isn’t clear which character is him yet. Subsequently the camera tracks back and he introduces himself "That's me." as he is shown walking up the street, he is portrayed as smart and superior because of him mentioning that he wants to get out of drug dealing when he has enough money, this shows that he is not greedy and knows that its a dangerous job. Also he deals out the money to his friends showing he is in charge, he has authority, which shows that people must trust and respect him to work for him. Even though he is a drug dealer (a character who people wouldn’t normally take a warm approach to) the audience is made to like him because he is a not 'power hungry' and knows that its a dangerous and risky business, also obviously he is the main character so eventually the once the audience have built up a relationship and understanding of him they feel fondly towards him and can relate to the situation. Also there's a long shot of him mixing another powder in to the drugs so that it looks like there's more and he will gain more money, this again shows his intelligence and business prospects, moreover the mise-en-scene shows him wearing gloves and masks so you realise he does not take drugs and this again makes him more likable.

The opening introduces all of the main characters showing their characteristics so you get a feel for the plot, which will help the audience get to know the characters easier. Also it sets up the disequilibrium by showing him nearly able to quit and leave the drug dealing business but then his boss Jimmy asks him to dinner and it is clear by the looks of his partners that this is bad. Just by seeing the characters in the opening you can tell the genre is action because of the drugs, guns and the look of the gang's.

The camera work was simple but effective, when he introduces him self and the camera tracks back; it is on a crane because the camera flies up a few floors and zooms, where you go into the room. At the start there are a lot of well planned graphic matches like the girl walking past to the police guard, this helps the opening flow because he is talking about different times, like going through the ages of drugs. Mostly they just tracked people walking or have a long shot of a group, but this worked well to introduce the characters. There is one special effect, which would have cost a lot due to the amount of props they would have used, this is where he walked through a shop and every item on the shelf changed as he walked past, his message was that drugs will be used greater in the future.

All the music is synchronised to the scene, for example; he was walking thinking everything is going well so there was calm music. This is just to help the audience understand his emotion and how the situation is then.

I believe that this opening works well because it introduces the characters, you can tell who the villains are and you realise which ones you are supposed to like. Also you can see the plot unravelling, genre and what the disequilibrium is. I have learnt from analysing this opening scene that it is vital to grab the audience's attention straight from the start which will hopefully draw them in to watching the rest of the film.