Annotation - Opening Credits

The opening credits take up half of the 2 minutes, they are placed on a montage of cloud and landscape shots. After the logo's have finished the first shot the audience see is a shot of clouds with a transition to another cloud shot. As it does our first credit appears on screen: 'Midnight Pictures presents'. The text is in plain black writing in a bold text, emphasising the production company. The credit is also placed centre screen as there are no other visual aspects on screen.

The sequence then transitions into a long shot of two radio masts, this is when the audio track comes into the scene. The idea behind it was to show it is a radio broadcast by showing radio masts, also the radio masts look slightly sinister. The next shot is one of my favourite, it is an example of foreshortening. This is when a shot conveys a 3D image by layering items on the picture plane. This is effective as it gives an interesting shot to the sequence, making it more effective than just having simple shots.

As the credits continue to appear the shots change angles around the various radio masts, creating a sense of familiarity for the audience. The shots also continue to give an air of mystery with the shadows and dark colours. The next good shot was the manual focus pull, this is where the shot was concentrated on the radio mast then pulled foreward to the barbed wire. This is effective as it goes from a neutral shot to a dangerous and mysterious shot.

The evacuation sign then provides a little insight into the film as the nuclear plant would have caused an evacuation. However the sign is fades and worn down - suggesting some time has passed since the incidence. As well as this it provides a thrill for the eyes as it is different from clouds or radio masts.

Shortly after this there is the transition between the opening credits and the interrogation. This is significant as it links the two sequences together. It does this by a fade from a circular dish on the radio mast to a circular light in the interrogation. This is effective as it transitions between the two without breaking the visual aspects of the sequence.