Evaluation of Opening Sequence of Hercules

Camera Shots:

• Establishing shot shows us a pan across to a long shot of the temple

• Shot is then zoomed closer into the pot

• Fade to close up of the pot where you can see the five women.

• Then have a medium shot of all of the women at different points.

• Quickly to long shot of them women climbing down the stairs and of the Titans.

• Quick flashes between medium and long shots of Zeus, The Women and The Titans.

• Close up of the flashing faces

• Long shot of the women in the plate and of pot of Zeus.

• Medium shot of all the women at same time.

• Quick flash to long shot of them beside the pot.

Lighting:

Because this film is an animation, the lighting is all done digitally, so it is a bit harder to pin point where the light is intended to be like that. Some bits of lighting that stand out, are at the very beginning when it is all very dark apart from one shaft of light on the pot of Hercules. Other main points of interest with the lighting, are when the bad characters come in, e.g. The Titans, the light goes very dark as if to emphasise the point that they are the villains. The main colour of lighting is a violet colour for the women. This can sometimes change but is mostly the same colour. One time when it is different, is when there are the disco lights on the faces of the women and there are lots of different colours. One final point of the lighting is when the story is being told, there is a more orange/brown light, as if the story is being told off of the pot.

Costume:

The costumes that are designed by the animators fit perfectly with the role of Ancient Greece, as the women are dressed in robes, traditional to the time period that the film is set. The characters that are on the pot, e.g. Zeus, are made to look like drawings, so they have no real costume to comment on. Apart from the heroes are drawn in a white stencil, whereas the villains are drawn in black stencil.

Actors:

All of the characters in this film are voice-overs. The opening narrator is made to have a deep booming voice, to make the film look like a traditional tale about Ancient Greece. When the women come in, they are made to sound much livelier and to make the story seem more fun and entertaining. This is because the opening narrator would soon bore children, but with the women singing, it makes the film much more entertaining for the younger viewers.

Hercules uses a lot of iconography, as the story is based on an ancient myth from Greece. The sequence contains a lot of material related to the original Ancient tale, to make the film seem like it fits perfectly with the period that it is meant to be set in. Also, by making the opening sequence lively and full of fun, the audience will instantly be hooked, as they want to see if there will be anymore songs etc. and what will happen in the film that, to a younger viewer, would seem very imaginative and exciting.