How does the director use media techniques to make the “Life Of Pi” Opening Sequence effective?
Life Of Pi begins with the Production Company (20th Century Fox), which automatically gives the impression that the film is due to be of a high quality, with excellent graphics and great content; due to the large budget of the company. The non-diegetic asynchronous sound that is played in the background whilst further titles appear, entices the audience that much more, especially younger viewers as the theme tune would be familiar to them.
The Opening Scene consists of an establishing shot of what appears to be a zoo, with a giraffe chewing on the leaves of a tree. Several more animals are also portrayed shortly after, each and every one known to be of a friendly nature. The mise-en-scene of these scenes that were edited together undoubtably attract animal lovers and children, promising more of the same kind throughout the narrative. The calm non-diegetic Indian music also contributes to the effectiveness of the scene, allowing the audience to comfortably settle into the film.
The zoo in which the animals are kept seems to be very open and well looked after, connoting that the animals have a lot of freedom. This enables the audience to feel better about the fact that they are being held captive. With the help of the bright colours and various different types of animals, there is something for everyone - maintaining the interest of the target audience.
The continuity editing remains slow throughout, which allows the viewers to take in the content on the screen. The fact that the camera focusses more on animals as opposed to anything else, suggests that they play a huge role in the parts of the film to come. Despite this, they are all framed in low angles throughout, giving the impression that they are inferior to something to come. A species that isn't seen until later on in the narrative.
Later on in the sequence, the tempo of the music speeds up, and the pace in which the animals move do so too. After having the audience explore the zoo until the main action is introduced, allows for a more dramatic scene to follow up from. This is proven when we see a tiger walking alongside a pond from the refection of the water. The fact it wasn't officially shown, and that we only saw the reflection implies that there is more to come of this character later. This shot was very effective, as it adds to the suspense of the sequence.
Overall I believe that the media techniques in which the director portrayed were extremely effective, as they managed to build up the suspense of the sequence just before the film developed even further. In my opinion the continuity editing was one of the most effective aspects, as it allowed the audience to really take in the content which was provided; drawing them in and encouraging them to continue watching.
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