CORALINE - Opening Sequence Analysis

How does the director use media techniques to make the “Coraline” opening sequence effective? 

The mise-en-scene of this opening sequence plays a huge role in making it effective for the audience. To begin, the opening titles are a sewn font, which automatically makes the audience compare the film to children because sewing and knitting can relate to dolls of some sort. As well as this, the font is bold and easy to read; this is effective because it makes the connection to children for the audience and supports the certificate of the film, which is a PG. When the name of the film is shown, the 'O' is replaced with a button, which adds to the film's effectiveness because buttons are often associated with dolls as well. The lighting of the opening is also low key, which can relate to a night light and also supports the genre of the film because it related to night time and children sleeping; the genre is fantasy. 

Furthermore, when the scene starts, the audience sees a doll float into the room with a background of a night sky as the establishing shot. This connotes a dream as well because of the setting being night and filled with stars. As well as this, the doll floats into the room, which may interest the audience as they will most likely be young children. Therefore, this is a pleasant sight for the audience and is an effective technique for capturing the audience's interest. Additionally, the colours used within the sequence may also be attractive because they are very light and involve light pinks and browns, which aren't very harsh colours. However, the opening gives a somewhat creepy tone because the doll is being taken apart by a hand made of sewing needles. This could connote that there will be danger within the film or a child may come to harm. This could concern the audience and create enigma because they do not know who, or what, is actually controlling the doll and redecorating it.  

The room that the doll is in looks very old and as if it has not been used in a long time. This is because the room is filled with cobwebs and the fact that the lighting is low key could suggest that the light is weak because it has been on for a long time. To support this, when the doll is first introduced, it wears an outdated doll dress and when it leaves, it has a more modern look. These characteristics make the setting of the scene effective because it adds to the creepy factor and also create enigma codes because the audience may wonder how long it has been since the room was used and where this room is.  

Regarding the editing of the film, it is shown in animation. This makes the film effective straight away because it automatically appeals to kids and interests them in this new fantasy world that does not exist. This effectively helps the audience become immersed in the film and enjoy it more. The editing is also slow paced and compares to a story being told with the doll but through a film instead; time is taken to make the doll look perfect. During the opening sequence, a close-up is also shown of the button that is sewn onto the doll. This connotes that the button is an important part of the film and may be of significance later on in the film. Therefore, the audience wants to know more about the button and why it is an important factor of the film. 

Overall, all of these factors make the opening sequence of the film effective, but the sound of the film is one of the biggest factors of all. Although it is subtle, the non-diegetic asynchronous music being played gives a child-like effect. This is because children are heard singing, in a different language, and the song resembles a nursery rhyme. If the audience do not understand this language, enigma is created because they may wonder what is actually being said in the song. The singers also have very soft voices, which makes the audience relate the film more to a story because of the fact it sounds like the voices are singing to a child. Therefore, altogether the use of factors such as colour, and the pace of the sequence help to make it effective for the audience so they can gage what is going on in the sequence.