Opening Sequence - Juno

I  looked at a number of different opening sequence from films of various genres. I research closely into the opening sequence of the 2007 film Juno directed by Jason Reitman.

In this cartoonist clip we see Juno walking down an empty street with no one else around, the colours are very bland and the illustrations undetailed. It makes us focus on the road ahead this could be some indication as to the type of person Juno is, very isolated and lonely. The road ahead of her could indicate a journey she’s about to face and when the road stop and it blends to the blue this could be a illustrational metaphor to show Juno is travelling into the unknown. There are production credits throughout the opening sequence, in very child like font, all displayed in various parts of the screen for instance in the clip the text is on the fence, a very child orientated way of displaying the writing almost something that you may see in a children’s book, to keep the child's attention.

This is a very bland screen shot, once again keeping within the illustration theme with a beige colour wash. In the shot Juno stands out as the main centre of focus due to the size of her she is in the foreground of the shot and by the bright colour jacket she is wearing. She is obviously meant to be looked at more closely in the shot. Yet in the background is a shop window with a sale sign on it, something which instinctively catches peoples attention, and the in the window are baby clothes and a teddy. Once again another strong indication to the child like theme the title sequence is following.

This clip also has many child like connotations, the way she looks like she’s playing a game, balancing on something with her arm stretched, typical behaviour of a child inventing their own games obvious to others around them. The setting for this scene is also in a park, all these indications are portraying a character that is still very young. She is walking on her own yet there are a group of joggers running past these highlights the contrast between their social group and her isolation to others.

This is a close up shot of Juno drinking a very large bottle of 'SunnyD'. It is obvious due to the size of the bottle that it is intended to be noticed which leave an enigma as to why she is drinking such a large amount, something that draws us into the main story line of the film. It also emphasises that fact she is still a child, 'SunnyD' is a typical kids drink.  Once again more credits are placed to the side of the illustration written in the same bold effect.

This illustration is taken from above, which gives wants to show the audience how small she actually is, which would be a reference to how young she is. The autumn leaves are falling which gives the audience some indication as to what season/weather the film is going to start off in. But also a more symbolic message could be portrayed the way the season is changing is almost like Juno having a change in her life, leaving the old and heading into something new.

Finally this last shot shows Juno leaving the illustrational fictional world back into reality. The cartoonist world representing her childhood and the real world representing her present situation. Almost as if in that opening sequence the audience felt like they followed Juno from childhood to adulthood.

The music used in this title sequence is very upbeat, catchy and once again very child like. The actual composer of the song is a man Barry Louis Polisar who is children’s entertainer. And the

Song is called "All I Want Is You". I don’t think the lyrics add much intrigue to the story but certain the bouncy up beat tempo of the songs grabs your attention right from the start.