Notes on Film Openings

Layer Cake




- Camera merges between scenes, long slow panning shots, slow motion.
- British markers (cobble stones, zebra crossing)
- Modern
- Theme, crime and drug industry,
- Main character is smartly dressed but not enough to stand out in a crowd.
- Camera constantly moving in the opening scenes which creates a smoothness in the scenes.
- Camera shots used to try and include the audience,
- Voiceover makes the audience feel close to the main character, film noir convention.
- Lighting used to draw audience attention to specific people and objects such as the table which two of the characters are working on.
- Lighting with the main character is warm, lighting on drugs is detatched and clinical.

The main character has a sense of humour and has all the qualities of a good person, except he isn't. These qualities make his relatable to the audience and the danger aspect of his job makes him seem exciting and adventurous.

Most of the lighting in the opening is natural in daylight which is not a convention of film noir as film noir is generally the opposite.