Opening Sequence: Layer Cake

Layer Cake is a very different type of opening for a film as they use very different techniques for editing and camera shots to bring together a very good and appealing film opening.

Camera shots: The opening of Layer cake is packed with lots of different camera shots but the camera shots are not the main part to the opening. The shots of the van at the start bring the audience straight into the film. Then the close up of the people smoking drugs then give the audience an idea of how the film may pan out which then leads into a pan of the jail. The use of close ups of the bottles in the chemist which have been changed to be well known recreational  drugs in the bottles but they then change to be over the counter drugs. the close ups of the men changing the drugs in the house shows they are having to prepare the drugs very carefully with masks on and gloves. Also there are shots of another number of character which are not involved in the film until later on but these are introduced.  

Editing: The use of a number of techniques which allow the editing to be very good for the opening of a film allows the film to be very good. the use of graphic matches with all of the medication bottles in the chemist and the way the flash backs of the different eras like the the cops and robbers and the summer of love have transitions which link then together. There is also  a graphic match with the police car moving in the street in London and then then it moves to the back of a police car in Amsterdam giving a fast pace to the start of the film. 

Sound: The sound is very different to many films as they have used a voice over all of the way through the voice over speaks in the past tense to start with and then he speaks as if you are having a conversation. The use of the Monologue as a voice allows the audience to get the back story of the character and also to be straight on the side of the character who is speaking.  

Character: We are introduce to XXXX (Played by Daniel Craig)the main character in the start he is the man who is doing the voice over and then Morty, Terry, Clarkie and then the other who are the 'end users' of the drugs which are in Amsterdam. 

Leading into the plot: There are clues to the plot but the plot isn't given fully the clues are the drugs which the character is involved in. And that Amsterdam is used as the film has the parts of the way the film unfolds.