Memento Opening Sequence.

As we know, the main purpose of a title sequence is to hook the viewers in and settle them into the film. Memento shows an immediate curiosity in its opening sequence by beginning the film with the end of the storyline. We are unaware what the film is about so the effect this has on the audience leaves us puzzled but also makes them want to find out how it got to that point, what is the reason behind it, therefore it is hooking us in and has our attention.

The title of the film is presented in blue text amongst a plain black backround. The colour blue is often associated with thrillers. In my opinion this colour is quite cold and unwelcoming. Blue can also be related to sadness and lonelyness, this emotion is reinforced in the seperation of each letter - being apart from eachother. These factors could depict the emotions that Leonard (the main character) is feeling because of his memory loss, he is unaware with who he knows and who he doesnt, in his mind he knows noone but his past self before his attack. This relation to lonelyness could also represent the loss of his wife, possibly the only person he was close to as we are shown no other possible family during the film.

The overall types of shots in the opening sequence are close ups. The effect of this stops us from seeing the full picture, the whole scene. Our view is restricted which emphasises this feeling of confusion and unawareness of what is going on, it is as if we want to move the camera ourself to different parts of the set. This technique of using close ups in the opening sequence evokes the key parts of what an opening sequence should be about - drawing us in and establishing our interest.

During the opening sequence the 'Memento' title fades into a polaroid picture. Straight away we are shown one of the main props of the film, a priority for Leonard to have in order to carry out the mission which he is trying to complete. These polaroids show photos of where he has been, and who he needs to find. In this opening sequence we are shown the polaroid devoloping, then being over exposed/developed which then leads the picture to fade untill it is nothing but a blank image. The fact that we see the image slowly fade untill it is no longer visible relates to the mental state of Leonard. He gets into the state of mind in which he realizes what he has to do and has gone through the process of looking at tattoos and photos to remember things. After a while his memories have faded again and he has no idea what he is doing or where he is. Leading him to then go through the process of remembering again. His memory is constaintly fading and short lasting. Like the poloroid photo, it doesnt take long for the photo to fade and the fact that it is a photo of someone he has killed reinforces the fact that it will soon fade in his mind, in other words, what is fading in the picture is also fading in his mind untill it is blank like the image ends up being.