Title Sequence: Bridget Jones' Diary

For our summer assignment, we were asked to watch any film of our choice and then draw a timeline of the title sequence. 

After this, we had to copy down the order of the cast and the production team as they make up the beginning credits of the film. 

Next we had to write down the timings which each text appeared during the opening sequence of the film. I chose to use Bridget Jones' Diary...

In the film Bridget Jones’s Diary filmed in 2002, the opening film sequence plays an important role in portraying the genre of the film. Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) stars in the film sequence beginning to end, whilst Celine Dion’s ‘all by myself’ plays for two minutes, a drunken chain smoking Bridget picks up her original rolled up magazine -microphone and dramatically starts miming the words to the well-known song. Because this is a comedic opening sequence, it introduces the film to be funny and amusing to a wider audience and makes the genre clearer. Other actions such as downing half a pint of red wine and being in her pyjamas adds to the comedic effect of the opening film sequence. Because of her humorous appearance and actions, the film sequence immediately sets the scene that the film is about a drunken woman whom is amusingly struggling with situations in life; such as men, love, addictions and money. The title sequence shows that a lot of people were involved with the production and creativity of Bridget Jones’s Diary; therefore it must be a successful film. Nevertheless, the title sequence is successful as it is already making people laugh and it is only two minutes into the film, this builds up good expectations for the rest of the film. To conclude, the opening sequence for the modern 2002 film is humorous, witty and entertaining which already drags the audience in and persuades the audience to keep watching the film to find out what the plot is and what is yet to come.

9 Frame Title Sequence Design Sequence

This screenshot has the title of 'Renée Zellweger'. This is the first screenshot. This screenshot shows that Bridget Jones is a lonely and miserable character, perhaps due to love, life and work as this is a long shot to emphasise her loneliness. She is also on her own, with sad emotions portrayed.

This screenshot has the title of 'Colin Firth'. This is the second screenshot. This screenshot shows that she is upset and emotional about a certain subject due to her smoking and the depressing expression conveyed through her face. She is also lounged about on the sofa, this suggests she is lazy.

This screenshot has the title of 'Jim Broadbent'. This is the third screenshot. Due to her consecutive drinking, this suggests she is also depressed due to resulting to drinking. The camera angle (long shot) also portrays loneliness and depression.

This screenshot has the title of 'Gemma Jones'. This is the fourth screenshot. This is a closer shot, this shows that she is still drinking as it is a zoomed in shot, this emphasises the amount she is drinking.

This screenshot has no title. This is the fifth screenshot. Because she is holding a magazine and pretending to play the guitar to it, it shows it is a comedy as it adds a sense of humour to the atmosphere.

This screenshot has the title of 'Exectutive Producer Helen Fielding'. This is the sixth screenshot. The image shows she is mid-way through singing which adds a comedic mood when the scene is supposed to be sad. This attracts the audience as the genre is already exposed; a comedy.

This screenshot has the title of 'Based on the novel by Helen Fielding'. This is the seventh screenshot. Due to her mouth being open and her wide actions with her hands, it shows she is singing and the music of 'All by myself' shows that the film is a comedy as she is mimicking and miming the lyrics.

This screenshot has the title of 'Screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies, Richard Curtis'. This is the eighth screenshot. This is a long shot to show she no longer feels depressed and lonely as her arm actions shows it is a comedy. The long shot also shows she is still singing and still crying, in a humorous way.