The first thing we see in the opening credits is a few titles they move across the screen like a car giving us the connotations that they are in a way cars also the sound that is made as the titles go past the scene is like a car on a motorway or going past you as it makes the sound as if a car is speeding past you and beeping its horn which is a nice touch as the connotation straight away is we are near or in a car.
The next shot we see is a a blank screen giving us what time it is and where it is, then suddenly we get a close up shot of Ray Liotta and other people who are in a car the camera looks as if it is on the dashboard allowing the audience to feel as if they are spying or looking into these people's life's the establishing image we get is that it is three grown men driving to or from wherever they are trying to get to. By the performance of Ray Liotta and the two other men they look tired as if they have had a busy day then suddenly we hear a bang or a pop a constant tapping the connotations of this is that a tire has popped or they have hit something, the three men act as if they have no idea what is going on again giving the connotations of a seemingly harmless blown tire or roadkill.
Suddenly the men pull over the shot then goes into a mid shot again as if we are peering into their lives, and we see the three men head towards the boot of their car to the source of this noise again the connotations as if they have found the source of the banging.The camera starts zooming in on the boot as if taunting the audience setting us up with enigmas about what could possibly be in the boot, the camera goes back to a mid shot of the men and one of them has a shovel straight away this gives connotations that this is something much more sinister than a blown out tire, one of the men nods towards the other as if signalling something as he reaches for his keys the other unsheathes a knife and we can tell that something bad is going to happen the audience get a sense of foreboding, the next shot is Ray Liotta opening the boot as he does our fears are bought to life as a half dead man lays lifelessly in the boot, it then cuts to the smaller man calling the guy a "fucking pieace of shit" showing either a deep hate or no rspect as he stabs away we realise he may be the slightly more wild and untamed of the three men, we then see one of the mens face and we see no remorse showing they mean buissness we can hear the sharp stabby sounds of the man being killed in the background tht sound horrifically real, the man who seems to be the boss then unsheaths a pistol and kills the man, Ray Liotta then slowly moves forward and closes the boot showing that these men are killers and gangsters we also know this as a voice over say "as far back as i can remember i wanted to be a gangster".
It then cuts away to the titles moving like they were in the beggingng and the title Goodfellas is shown showing us the film is starting there is a contripunttal sound as there is happy 40's music which contrasts the horrific murder we just witnessed.
A good title sequence needs to follow a few simple codes and conventions.
- It needs to establish a time period.
- It needs to establish a setting.
- It needs to introduce the characters.
- The overarching themes.
- Who stars in it.
- And to introduce the genre.
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