Nayani Vijayaratnam

Analysis of Credits Used

I will be analyzing the credits used in the 2014 thriller (subgenres
include; mystery, crime and drama) film, Gone Girl.
A title sequence is the way in which films present their title,
production company, main production members and cast members.
It consists of both visuals and diegetic sound which helps establish

the setting and tone of the film.

These are the opening two shots of the title sequence from which
the audience is able to identify the two distribution companies that
produced and funded for the film. 2Oth Century Fox was displayed
first which suggests that it played a more significant role in the
production and funding of the film in comparison to Regency
Enterprises.
This is followed by a shot,
which shows the audience
the name of the two
distribution companies again
in case the audience did not
recognize their logos.

This shot tells us who the director of the

film is. David Fincher is an Oscar Academy
Award Nominee and has directed several
other popular films such as The Social
Nework (2010). Having such a well-known
name as one of the first shots to be shown
raises the expectations the audience may
have. From this the audience can infer that
David Finchers role was fundamental to
the production.

Nayani Vijayaratnam

This shot is used as a male

voice over speaks about his
wife. From the diegetic
dialogue the audience is able
to identify that the female
shown in the shot plays the
role of the wife. The voice over
and this shot of her head are
used to foreshadow the events
in the film as they both emphasize this enigma of what is the wife
thinking.
This shot is immediately after
the director, from this we
know that this person plays
an important role. Ben Affleck
is a well-known actor and
filmmaker who has won 2
Academy Awards and 3
Golden Globe Awards. This
will encourage people to
watch the film, as they would
think it is a good film because of the actor. Also, Ben Affleck is the
first name of the cast that we see, this connotes to the audience
that he is the male protagonist.

Rosamund Pike is a
well-known actress who has
won a BIFA award. She has
played many roles including
her most well known
character Jane Bennet in
Pride& Prejudice; this will
encourage more people to
watch the film. The fact that
her name is second to Affleck suggests that her character is less
central the Ben Afflecks character yet is still important in the film.
This is the title
card of the film
presenting the name

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of the film. The image suggests that it is in a quite town/location, as
it seems to be isolated and surrounded by greenery. The words
GONE GIRL fade away and disappear from the screen, which
suggests that something/someone fades away/disappears.

The title card is

followed by the
names of the rest of
the cast. The first
two names shown
are the names of the
supporting roles.
The fact that their
names are the first
two suggests that
their roles are not
too
insignificant/minor.

This is the third

name shown, which
suggests that it is
also important to the
narrative although
this role may not be
as significant as the
others. It is a female name, due to which the audience may assume
that her character plays a romantic interest for one of the male
characters.

These two shots

display the rest of
the cast members.
As they are

Nayani Vijayaratnam
grouped together
and are the last
names to be
shown, the
audience is able
to recognize that
these
actors/actresses
play minor roles
in the film.

The casting
director is named
in this shot, which
makes sense as it
comes after the
shots of the cast
names. The casting
director is the
person responsible
for choosing the
actors in the film.
This shot tells the
viewers who was in
charge of the
sound design.
Sound designing
involves the
manipulation of
previously
composed/recorded audio or dialogue, which is done to create a
particular mood or atmosphere within the scene/film.
This shot tells us
who was
responsible for the
music within the

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film. A lot of thought would have gone into this as, music is very
important in a film to help create set a particular scene/
mood/atmosphere.
From this shot the
audience are able
to recognize who
was responsible
of the clothes
which each of the
characters are
wearing. Costume
within a film is
very important,
as there are a lot
of connotations the audience can infer about a character just by
looking at what they are wearing. Due to this a lot of thought would
have gone into to choosing costumes for each of the characters.
This shot tells the
audience who was
responsible for
assembling the shots in
a coherent sequence.
The film editor, in
collaboration with the
director, has to ensure
that the narrative of the
film is clearly presented
to the audience.

This shot tells us the

name of the
individual who was
responsible for the
production design,
which is the visual
concept of a film.
The production
designer works
closely with the
director and the

Nayani Vijayaratnam
producer to identify a design/style for the different sets, locations,
graphics, props, lighting, camera angles and costumes.

The director of
photography is
displayed to the
audience in this
shot. It is this
persons
responsibility to
work with the
director, camera crew and lighting department in order to create the
visual identity of the film with the help of several other
departments.

This shot tell us

who the
executive
producers of the
film are. The fact
that Leslie
Dixons name is
above Bruna
Papandrea
suggests that she
has more authority out of the two. The role of the executive
producers is to oversee the work of the producer on behalf of the
studio and ensure that the film is completed on time, within the
budget, and is of a high standard in all aspects.
This shot tells the
audience the
producers. The
role of the
producer is to
oversee the
whole project and
ensure
everything is
running smoothly.

Nayani Vijayaratnam
They work closely with the director and other members of the
production team on a shoot. Reece Witherspoon is a well-known
actress, which increases the credibility of the film as the audience
would expect a film that she is working on to be good. This
encourages more people to watch the film.

A tilt is used to
present to the
audience the
clock tower in
the middle of a
town. The time
shown is
6.55am, which
suggests the beginning of the day and the film. From this the
audience can also infer that time is a main theme within the film.
This shot tells
the audience
the names of
two more
producers who
worked on the
film. Their
names are
second from
which the
audience can
infer that although their roles were vital, their contributions were
less significant than the contributions of Reece Witherspoon and
Arnon Milchan.

This shot tells

us that the film
is based of a
book written by
Gillian Flynn,
who is a fairly
popular author
and has won

Nayani Vijayaratnam
several awards for her writing. This will encourage more people to
watch it as they would expect the film to be good and if they have
read the novel they may be eager to see the film adaptation of it.
This is the first character we see which suggests that it is also the
most important. From this the audience can infer that it is likely to
be the male protagonist.

This shot tells us

who was
responsible for
the screenplay.
Gillian Flynn who
wrote the novel is
also responsible
for the
screenplay, which
makes sense, as
she would be able
to narrate the movements, actions, expressions and dialogues of the
characters clearly. In this shot the protagonist is shown to be waiting
or looking for something/someone, which may foreshadow his
actions within the film.

This shot tell the

audience the
director of the film.
The fact that it is
repeated and is the
last name the
audience see,
emphasizes to the
audience how
fundamental David Finchers role was to the production of the film.
In this shot the character is shown to be looking back at the house,
which suggests to the audience that the idea of having a home and
a family plays a huge part to this film.
This shot is used to
set the time and
place of the opening

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scene. We are able to see that the film begins on the morning of July
5th at the protagonists house. This shot links back to the shot of the
clock tower and emphasizes how time is an important
theme/element of the film.