Director
Quite obviously the directors name is shown to tell the audience who directed the film, how ever this could be a selling point for the film if the director is known or acclaimed. The font is quite stylish, quite modern and the colour is off white, almost a faded beige, this connotes that the film will be quite stylish, with a nice finish and that it will be soft, as beige is a less contrasting colour than white on a black background.
Introducing Characters
Quite a few characters are shown in this opening sequence, the main ones are these two, played by Ryan Goslin and Michelle Williams. They have the majority of the screen time this connotes that they will be the main characters in the film and the chosen pictures of them are all either hugs, kisses or lifts. All are quite intimate and emotional, this symbolises to the audience that the film will be about their relationship. And so allows them to set their expectations.
Actors
The main actors names are mentioned, Ryan Gosling is the key selling cast in this film as he was also an executive producer for it as well. The actors names are used to inform the audience who's in the film, this may even be one of the main reasons someone might go to see the film, this makes naming the actors quite an important convention to include. The audience would set up expectations for the film due to type casting, for example, if you see that Jason Statham is in a film, there's a good chance there won't be a lot of romance but you would expect a lot of action and fighting. Ryan Gosling is known for quite serious films, usually dramas mixed with romance.
Film Title
The title of the film is shown for obvious reasons, to tell the audience the title of the film. This title allows the audience to set expectations for the film. Valentine is linked with love, so there will almost certainly be a love story however Blue isn't the colour we would usually link with love, we'd usually use red and so this connotes that this might not be a happy love story but one with a sad underlying tone. Again set in off white to create a softer effect and written in what looks to be Helvetica, typical stylish font, typically hip, connotes style and trendiness.
Producers
This is to let the audience know who the producers were for the film, this again can be used as a selling point if not purely informational or for credibility. If a producer is fairly well known then he or she will most probably have a genre that they are known for and so the audience will set up an expectation of the film based on the usual work of a certain producer.
Introduce Themes/Ideology
The dancing position along with the eye contact, smile and red roses connote that a main theme in this film will be love and romance. This establishes the genre as it hints quite loudly that the main theme is love, the audience would pick up on this genre and then create expectations from it. The colour palette is a lovely golden orange/yellow, it's all very low lit romanticism and really quite stylish.
Super Imposed Graphics
This title and the majority of the others are super imposed on to images in the background, these images are then masked cleverly by the sparks of CGI fireworks. The images on the back ground is a still image with a very light ken burns effect applied to it, the super imposed titles are also still however by the movement of the 'fireworks' the whole shot becomes very alive whilst maintaining a calm, slow build. Again conforming to the pace and style of the romantic genre.
Intrigue/Enigma
There are many different images of different people hugging each other, kissing, embracing and crashed out on the floor. With no words intrigue is created and our brains start to work out who loves who and what caused this relationship to happen or to fall apart. The masking fireworks effect is a big help in creating this intrigue too as you never see the full image only parts and so are left trying to work out the rest of the image. Already the audience is trying to piece together a puzzle, this creates the expectation that this film will be a bit of a puzzle itself.
Engaging Music
The song played is called Alligator by a band called Grizzly Bear. Jim Elton, the Editor, said "Everything about this song was right, from the tone to the lyrics to the cinematic quality it lends to the sequence." And he's right, it's a strange piece of music, it has almost a dream like quality, like something you would hear as you were falling in to a deep sleep. It's unnatural but has many major lifts and beautiful romantic chords. However it's not all beautiful and straight which is why it works so well. The audience would feel both unnerved by the music whilst finding it quite pleasant, I would think.
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