1. ‘Run Lola Run’
Task A: Opening Sequence

2. What was your expectations of the
film based on the opening
sequence?

3. • Translation:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know place for the first time” T.S. Eliot.

4. • The sheer the fact the film opens with a quote suggests to me the film has
some importance to it, and could potentially be hard hitting and perhaps
based on a true story. This is because most films of those types listed are
the most common to open with an opening quote, and because this one
does, it suggests to me it has or features those elements. It also makes the
film look more intelligent because it is a confusing quote that is riddle like
which also helps suggest the film has a level of mystery or enigma which
will be solved in the film. This could perhaps be the plotline of the film.
• The line “we shall not cease from exploration” suggests that the film will be
constantly exploring and trying new things and perhaps exploring the
characters, because the words “shall not cease” suggests the entire film is
about exploration in one form or another.
• The line “and the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we
started” gives me the expectation that when the exploring mentioned
above is finished, it will finish at the point it started. This suggests to me
that it will be character exploration and that the character will be trying to
find something out about themselves but it turns out at the end of the
narrative they will already know what they were trying to find out.
• The line “and know place for the first time” strengthens my opinion that the
films narrative will centre around character exploration and makes me
further think that they will be trying to find something about themselves
because I think this line means that when they find out what they want to
know they feel whole and complete. I think the entire quote is a metaphor
for someone finding out something to complete their life.

6. • “After the Game is before the game” suggests to
me that the films narrative will involve something
to do with a game, perhaps more than one game
or that it could be set between a game and the
characters are preparing for the game. This would
mean the quote is literal because when a game
finishes, it is before the next game starts. This
also links in with my idea with exploration from
the previous quote because the game could
represent what they’re looking for, but the fact
after is before could be a metaphor for the fact
that they already knew it but they had to find out
what it was to find out they knew it.

7. • This is a pendulum and in the films opening
sequence it is licked with a strong ticking noise
and a strong swinging noise.

8. • The sound elements suggests expectations. The ticking sound to me
represents and strongly connotes time and the passing of time. I therefore
feel that the film will contain something to do with time, and because it is
in the opening sequence I feel time will be a very important theme in the
film. The swooping noise I feel is just to make the pendulum swinging
seem to have more verisimilitude, because when something like that is
swung it makes the swinging noise, so this I think, is just an element to
make it look more diegetic.
• The eyes of the pendulum look angry while the mouth looks happy. This
makes me expect the thoughts and emotions of the characters to be an
important part in the films narrative. I think this is represented best by the
multiple emotions on the pendulum. It could also suggest a multiple-
personality issue with one or more of the characters because each
emotion connotes a different personality and therefore suggesting a
character (or more) could suffer from multiple personality syndrome. Each
emotion could also be representative of all the different characters
suggesting that there is a happy character and an angry character in the
film.
• Pendulum’s are found on clocks, and this again strengthens my idea of
time being in the film because clocks tell the time.

9. • By this point the ticking noise has slowed down
and the clock hands are spinning. The mouth of
the clock also opens and the camera zooms into
it.

10. • The ticking noise slowing down makes me think the narrative of the film
will centre around a bomb threat because this is usually what happens in
film when there is a bomb, the ticking slows down. Because of the
opening being quite mysterious beforehand though I think this idea is a
metaphor of another idea. This other idea is that the bomb represents
mortal danger for one or more of the character’s because a bomb causes
death and destruction and this connotation could be about one of the
characters in the film’s narrative.
• The fact the hands are moving makes me feel even more certain about the
passing of time idea because, when a clock hand moves on a clock, time
passes and this is measured on a clock. The fact the hands are moving in
the opening sequence therefore shows time to be passing and because it
is in the opening sequence, which because is an important part of the film,
it will be a factor in the film.
• The face of the clock is quite monstrous and grotesque. This suggests that
the film is dark because the demonic face connotes darkness, and when
the clock’s mouth opens this could be the darkness engulfing one of the
characters and this makes me think that suicide and self harming will both
be involved in the narrative somehow because this is what commonly
happens when darkness takes over a person. The camera zooming into the
mouth strengthens this because it represents the audience to be the
suggested character and their going into the darkness.

11. Quote from the next shot of the film.
• Man... probably the most mysterious species on
our planet. A mystery of unanswered questions.
Who are we? Where do we come from? Where
are we going? How do we know what we think
we know? Why do we believe anything at all?
Countless questions in search of an answer... an
answer that will give rise to a new question... and
the next answer will give rise to the next question
and so on. But, in the end, isn't it always the
same question? And always the same answer?

12. • The quote is a riddle and this creates a
mystery in the viewers head. This suggests
that the narrative of the film will be about
solving a mystery because this quote has
created a mystery. It also suggests psychology
will be a theme in the film because the
questions posed are quite deep and
psychological which suggests that the mystery
could be in the mind for the characters and
this could be what leads to them exploring
themselves and them finding out things they
didn’t think they already knew.

13. • In this sequence, the camera is zooming past everyone
and stopping at certain people and makes them stand
out using a shallow depth of field and focus pull to put
only the character that should be standing out in focus.

14. • The fast camera movement suggests the
characters on screen will not be important in
the film until it slows down and focuses on
one individual (using the shallow depth of
field and focus pull) and this suggests to the
audience that those who have been focussed
on are likely to be main characters in the film
or play a big part in the film because it is the
only logical reason to why they would be the
people who are focussed on, so I think these
are going to be the protagonists and
antagonists of the narrative of the film.

15. • In this sequence the character above is
speaking the subtitled quote.

16. • The fact this character is the only one to speak
makes me think he will be the protagonist of the
film because he must be important if he is the
speaking character as speech is important to a
film and since he is the only one who is doing it,
it’s logical to guess that he is the protagonist.
• He says the game lasts “90 minutes”. This is the
average length of most films which suggests
games will be an important part of this film
because the use of “90 minutes” linking in with
film time could be a riddle for this film being
about a game or the film could actually be a
game. The character may literally be talking
about football, but I feel this is what the quote is
trying to connote.

17. • The people have all merged to make the film
title. A football has been kicked into the air to
get this birds eye view shot (via a tracking shot
of the ball) and the ball is falling back down.

18. • The fact that it’s only the police man character
that stands out further suggests he is the
protagonist as he is clearly an important
character since he is the one who stands out and
is not conforming with the others. This suggests
the plot could also be about being different and
individual because this is an example of what the
Police man character is doing.
• The tracking shot of the football further suggests
that the film has something to do with a game
because tracking shots are commonly used in
sports and this using one connotes that the film is
going to be about a game because it is using a
convention.

19. • A female character is running along a road inside
a vortex. The names of actors appear on screen in
the vortex, but she smashes them with her fist.
Bats also fly at her and attack her

20. • The fact that she is running in the opening
sequence suggests to me that running will be an
important part of the film because of the fact that
there is a lot of running during this sequence. This
prepares the audience for the film because it is
hinting at them that the film will contain a running
element.
• The vortex to me suggests an element of time
because vortex's are associated with time travel,
therefore I expect time to be in the film because of
this element suggested here by the vortex. This
links in with my idea on time from the clocks and
the ticking noise.

21. • She has ran into a clock that has led into a
monster which leads into another vortex, full
of other mouths and teeth.

22. • The fact she is running into something full of
teeth makes me think that the narrative of the
film will contain the darkness engulfing one of
the character. The mouth appears to be eating
her in this shot. I think the mouth represents
darkness and the mouth is engulfing her. This
makes me think that one of the characters will
end up self harming or suicide because of the
conventions previously explained about how
this leads into the darkness.
• The fact that it happens more than once
suggests the darkness grows stronger in the
narrative or I think it may happen to more
than one character in the narrative.

23. • She is now dodging swinging pendulums in a new
vortex (same transition as before). Another
transition is upcoming which leads to an upside
down vortex. She then gest sucked into the
vortex and spins drastically.

24. • The swinging pendulums again emphasise the
expectations of time to be in the film. The fact
that she has to run and dodge them makes me
think that in the film, the time will be a factor
against them and this could mean the bomb
threat the film is currently making me expect,
because in those situations time is against the
characters because if they don’t stop the
bomb in the time limit it would explode and it
would kill them.

25. • In the photo, there was side view, back view, side
view, front view snapshots taken (transition of a
flash), then the character name was written
underneath the photo with the actor’s name to
the side. This happens for all the main characters.

26. • The snapshots of different views of the
characters makes me think of prison photo’s.
This makes me think that the narrative will
involve a plot to do with the police because it
gives the image in the audience’s mind that an
arrest will be made in the film.
• The handwriting and actor’s name doesn’t
make me expect anything from the film, I think
they are just there to help the audience know
who plays the character and to help them
remember the character’s name.

27. The Music
• The music of the opening credits began slow
paced but quickly became very fast paced.
This created a sense of tension and that
tension only grew stronger as the credits
commenced. This suggests that rising tension
will be an important factor in the film’s
narrative as it has happened in the title
sequence and it could be preparing the
audience for tension.

28. Colours
• Most of the colours used were blue, black, dull
gold and red. These are all quite negative
colours as blue connotes sadness, black
connotes death, dull gold connotes rust and
red connotes blood. This suggests that the
films narrative will consist of negative and
dark elements as these are the common
connotation of the colours.

29. Did the film meet these
expectations?

30. • My first expectation was that the film
would contain some sort of mystery and
enigma. In a way the film did meet this
expectation. There was a mystery (like
how they kept restarting time from the
phone slamming down every 20
minutes), however in a way it was not
met because this was never solved in the
film and my expectation would be that
the narrative would be about solving that
enigma but because it didn’t my
expectation was not met.

31. • My second expectation was the character
exploration idea and that they would find
something out about themselves they already
knew. In a way the film did meet this expectation.
In the red bed scenes there was character
exploration where the two protagonists were
questioning their love for each other. They
discovered they loved each other and the love
between them is strong, but they knew this at the
start but didn’t know they know it. This meant
that they discovered something they already
knew but didn’t know they know it therefore
meeting my expectation.

32. • The element of time was strong in the film.
The film kept cutting back for the characters
to find out what the time was, and it was also
written in real time (the 20 minutes actually
lasted 20 minutes) therefore making time an
important theme. However, there was no
bomb threat, but there was duress for the
characters (if they didn’t get the money then
their boss would kill them). Also the ticking
sounds in the opening did represent a
countdown, it represented the 20 minute
countdown they had to get the money.

33. • Another expectation I had was that darkness
would engulf a character and lead them into
self harming. This was not present in the film.
• Another expectation I had was that all the
characters in the shallow depth of field, fast
moving shot would be important with the
Police Officer being the Protagonist. Those
characters were seen in the film, but because
they had a very small amount of screen time
they weren’t that important, and Lola and
Mani are the protagonists, not the Police
Officer.

34. • Another expectation I had was that the film
would be like a game. In a way it was because
the restart of the 20 minutes made it seem
like a game (because they had just lost the
level and were returning to the check point)
and this makes me feel that the 20 minute
restart were the characters dying (always
when the restart was) and therefore this could
be them returning to a checkpoint making me
feel like I was right about the narrative being
like a game.

35. • Another expectation I had was for prisons and
arrests to be present in the film, they weren’t.
• My final expectation was that the film would
contain running. Most of the film was Lola
(the protagonist) running from place to place
to try and get the money to save Mani (the
other protagonist) and this means running
was present in the film so it did meet my
expectation.