Micro-Analysis of the Opening 2 Minutes of Titanic

The first 20 seconds into the film is the

introduction of a production company and then it
goes to 9 seconds of just a black screen. The
production company is Paramount and 20th
Century Fox which are quite famous so because
these companies are quite famous it also means
they are quite rich so they would have a large
budget so the film would be a quite professional
and the audience would have high expectations
of the film. This prestigious reputation that these
production companies uphold indicates to
viewers that the film will be of a certain high
level of sophistication and will be very
professional and worth watching because the
audience trust the companies due to many
In this shot there is a pan from the left to the
right to introduce the boat as the main focus.
This shot shows a worms eye view and this low
angle shot makes the titanic look more colossal
and impressive than it already is. This is
because this shot ultimately makes us look up
at the titanic because it is so huge showing its
importance and it highlights its ferocity and its
power which is ironic because the whole film is

The shot now changes to a viewpoint shot of

just a character that might be like the other
characters around them waving goodbye to
people on the ship. This makes it feel more
personal to the viewer and makes them feel
like they are being included in the film and
makes it feel more personal to them and they
also understand the story more because they
feel like they are in it. The shot is again a low
angle shot looking up at the titanic which
makes it seem that much more colossal once
again. The colour looks like when you rub a
teabag on paper which creates an old effect
like it is a thing of the past and they are
reminiscing or remembering their experience
of the ship. The music in the background is like
an angelic humming by a lady and is quite soft
maybe making it seem quite sad or even
beautiful maybe symbolising the titanic as
 42 seconds into the opening, credits are starting to
be introduced and it is showing the companies which
produced the film even though they were already
mentioned at the beginning showing that they would
like to reiterate their involvement in the production
of this film probably because they feel like it will be
quite popular and successful and they want their
companies to be automatically remembered when
people think of the film because this would increase
the chances of people looking for more films they
have produced to watch, or even just to watch a film
in cinema purely because of their production
company producing the film.
53 seconds into the film they are still introducing
production companies and here they are
introducing another but as their logo was not
shown at the beginning it means that this
company is less known and less popular so their
involvement in the production of this film wouldnt
encourage people to watch it so they are less
important than the other production companies

1 min 10 seconds into the opening the title

page is shown. The white of the title actually
reminds the viewer of the white from the actual
Titanic showing it is symbolic of the titanic.
Linking colours in films help to bring together
ideas and make it flow. The fact that the title is
just Titanic shows just how colossal the titanic
was that it literally only needs one word to
define it. As the title page is actually shown
quite late into the film this shows it is quite a
slow steady film that will gradually ease into
the story like it is doing with the opening. The
title stays on the page for 9 seconds because it

As soon as the title page is shown they start

showing the actual film and introducing the
plot. This has been the layout for many films
they seem to introduce everything and then
start the plot. Here we can see submarines
underwater and we can still hear the melodic,
calm music in the background to indicate that
this is the still the opening but it is just
transitioning into the starting of the film which
will also have a calm introduction in order to

In the opening 2 minutes of the Titanic gets right into the film without having an opening narration or anyone talking.
Because its such a famous story in history, everyone knows the story of it that why the movie isnt about the actual
titanic but more about the lives of the people on the Titanic. The film starts with people waving on the boat which just
sets the whole film so we as viewers understand it will be about the boat. We the see archaeologists in a submarine
under the sea so it isnt hard to realise that this is going to be about the crash of the Titanic even though in the first 2
minutes we dont actually see the wreckage of the titanic. This is good because it shows that the plot doesnt have to
be explained so thoroughly and it can just get straight into the story without needing to set the scene so much.
This shot shows the zoom out that the camera did
from the clear close up images of the submarine.
It slowly zoomed out and then it turned into a blue
blur eventually. The zoom out showed the
enormity of the sea and how huge it is and it
emphasised the small size of the submarines. This
sort of option to show the difference in sizing just
makes it look really cool to the viewer and
interesting because it seems quite dangerous and
mysterious. The use of the colour blue symbolises
cold and sad so it is very representative of the film
and the feelings the film might cause.

This shot is from the side so that we can see both

of the submarines simultaneously in the same
shot. The camera angle is low and the effect of
this is that it makes the submarine the dominant
focus on the screen and it shows that it is the
main thing to be watching and it has importance.
This sort of shot makes the reader feel like they
are standing on the floor of the sea and this
makes it feel like they are there. This helps to
make the film feel more real life like as the viewer
gets so drawn into the film that they feel so in
touch with it. This is all because low close shot
angles make you feel closer to what is happening

This is a point of view shot from inside the

submarine looking out of the windows. The point
of view shot makes the viewer feel more in touch
with the film and the plot because in shots like
these it is literally from what their point of view
would be if they were there. This helps to
understand the plot more if you can see what the
characters see because it helps to set the setting
and the scene and it helps to show what is
happening around the characters at that time. The
camera seems to be angled slightly down like a
very subtle birds eye view which helps to show
the floor making the reader understand how low
they are and how deep they are in the sea. . It
also helps to show the positioning of the
submarine and characters and makes the point of
view shot more accurate because if you were in
the submarine looking out you would have to look
down to see the ground. This just helps to make
the film more lifelike. The gradient of the colour
shows how restricted the light is creating a
gloomy, dull atmosphere. The use of the colour
 00:00-1:10

Up until 1 minute 10 seconds into 01:10-02:00

the film all that is shown is a In the space of 50 seconds all that was
background scene of people shown was the setting up of the plot.
waving to the people who are on However, no plot or setting was shown
board the titanic. The screen is because even the wrecked Titanic at
brown to emphasise how old it is the bottom of the sea wasnt shown
almost like when you see old yet so it isnt clear to the reader that
documents that look brown and the ship sank even though everyone
decayed. As this background scene knows the history of the Titanic so we
is playing, the opening credits are know what will eventually happen. No
being played in the background. flashbacks are shown yet either so it
The fact that it takes roughly a isnt clear that this will be a story of
minute to show the credits shows the past and the Titanics crash
how important they are to the because at this stage it could easily be
1:10-
opening of a film. The layout is about uncovering the treasures of the
1:19
different to the Titanic because wrecked Titanic so this shows no
some films start a little bit of the relevant plot has been shown in the
opening 2 minutes. The opening 2
movie first and then do the credits
minutes have mainly been credits, Tile
whereas in the Titanic the credits
page, and then setting the scene and
are shown first. This is because big
setting up the film to show the plot

01:10-01:19

The title is the next thing shown after the

credits because this is just the way that
paramount and 21st century productions lay
out their film. The title is shown for 9 seconds
on the screen because it is an important part
of the film and production. The film usually
gives a hint to the plot and it also intrigues
people to watch the film because as much as
people shouldnt judge a book by its cover,
they do, and its the same for films. The
name, trailer and even DVD covers of films
has the power to intrigue viewers but to also
put them off of watching or purchasing the
film. The title is shown at this time because
this means they can start to actually show
the film whereas if they put the title after
playing some of the film the viewer might get
confused as to the importance of anything
before the title as the title is known to be the