Film Opening Research #1-Tenet

 How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

There were only two titles which were the companies: WarnerMediaCompany and Syncopy.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

The opening sequence shows a panning shots of the cinema and the people and multiple zooming shots. It also shows a man outside in a car as he is inspecting something as if he is waiting for something to happen in the cinema. There are no opening credits.

What connotations do the images carry? 

The shots of the people and the zooming shot of the man in his car outside suggest show that something bad is about to happen to the mass amount of people.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? 

The genre of this movie is science fiction/action which is expressed from the use of a lot of advanced  technology and in the beginning scenes there are intruders with guns and bombs that rush inside of the cinema. When a swat team runs into the building, the main character, Tenet, can be seen avoiding a bullet after it was shot but comes back to him. The bullet scene is the first symbolic clue that the movie is science fiction and the intruders are also another hint that the movie will produce many action scenes. 

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? 

This film is not like any other sci-fi movie because usually, movies start out with the plot right at the beginning but, Tenet is the opposite. The audience does not know the plot of the movie right in the beginning because it is not explained until further on.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

The movie has constant use of technology such as the inverted bullets and the involvement of the future. This movie revolves around the use of science and innovation from the future and the past.

How has technology been used effectively? You might want to consider camera angles, transitions and editing techniques. 

In the beginning, Tenet gets captured and the camera switches from wide, medium, and close up shots of the kidnapper and Tenet. They also use a close up to put emphasis on an pill to keep relevance of its importance. Before the title of this movie is shown, there is an extreme close up of Tenet as he is struggling to live before he passes out. The camera focuses on his eye so the audience has a view of when he stops moving to show that he is basically lifeless. The title of the movie is displayed after the shot of Tenet and the use of displaying the title late in the movie, during that scene, is to express that the movie is going to be bizarre and action packed as the beginning of the movie started off with fighting before the title was shown. The title being shown at that scene also could have been used to show the audience that he is the main character hence the reason they used an extreme close up of him.