One movie that falls within the crime genre is The Wolf of Wall Street. I decided to complete a shot-by-shot analysis of the opening title sequence, so that I could better understand the components of a title sequence in this genre.
Mise-en-scene
The costuming of the characters in this opening sequence is very professional. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is dressed in a black suit, which is a symbol of his wealth, power, and authority. At the end of the clip, the other men in the office are wearing similar outfits that he is wearing, so it shows that they all have an important role in their work.
The props used in this title sequence are very important in establishing the crime genre. As I researched before the genre conventions of crime movies, many common props include, drugs, money, and weapons. Drugs are clearly present throughout this video, as well as money.
Shots of these props take up a majority of the title sequence, placing importance on this to the storyline. Another prop that emphasized his wealth was the limo. He has his own chauffeur to drive him to work in an expensive car, which reveals more about his character and personality.
Cinematography
In the beginning as DiCaprio’s character is descending down the stairs, a high angle shot is put in this scene. This immediately establishes his status as very high-up and authoritative.
There is also a few extreme close-ups throughout the title sequence. The most noticeable one was on the cocaine. Drugs are a very prominent part of the crime genre, so having the focus averted to drugs in the shot helps to establish which genre the audience is watching. Another close-up follows shortly after of the $100 bill that DiCaprio used to inhale the drugs. This emphasizes that he has great wealth that he is using it so casually for other purposes. An extremely brief close-up is present on the basket of crumpled up hundred dollar bills. Obviously, this also represents him being very rich because he has an entire wastebasket full of money that he tosses in there.
A tracking shot is used to follow DiCaprio’s movements from his office to the general area where the others are. This places the center of attention on him because the story is following from his point of view.
A long shot, or crowd shot, is placed to show all of the people working for him being very admirable towards him. They are praising him and applauding for him when he leaves his office to see the other men.
Editing
These two pictures below show a match cut. DiCaprio’s character was walking out of the door and then it cuts to him walking out of the door with another shot. Match cuts such as these work to preserve continuity throughout the movie so that it flow well and does not disorient the viewer.
Sound
This clip had some instances of dialogue, which is an example of diegetic sound. There was also some background music, which would be considered non-diegetic sound because it originated from outside the film’s world. It added an effect of representation for DiCaprio’s character because it was classy music and he is a very wealthy man.
Into the Truth 