ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - An Angel At My Table

An Angel At My Table (1990) - Jane Campion 

• An Angel at My Table is a 1990 New Zealand-Australian-British film directed by Jane Campion. The film is based on Janet Frame's three autobiographies, To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City(1984). 
• The opening begins with simple, yellow and black titles. Accompanying this, simple and quite archaic folk music plays throughout the titles.  
• Generally, the titles follow the usual structure of most films, however there are a few titles added such as 'Composer' and 'Sound Design' which wouldn't necessarily be seen in modern mainstream cinema. 
• The opening shots are mostly point of view shots of a baby looking at a mother and then their view as the mother picks her up and hugs her. Initially these interesting shots look quite dated, but I think they not only add the the character and quirkiness of the film but also allow the audience to grasp that it is a past event. 
• There is also no music at this point but it is replaced with diagetic sound of a baby gurgling and laughing, mostly this enhances the reality for the audience. 
• The next shot is the one shown below, showing a very wide shot of the New Zealand country side. The shot, taken on a crane, slowly moves down as the girl gets closer to the camera however this movement is incredibly subtle. 
• I think the most important part of this shot is the vivid contrast between the two different elements in the shots. Firstly you have the beautiful hills and long path and along it there is a girl. As the camera gets closer you see a short, chubby child with incredibly vibrant orange curly hair. She seems incredibly out of place which initially  creates some surprise within the audience and also foreshadows negativity in her life. 
• The music begins again as the crane moves down closer to her face, and a voice over also begins; revealing to the audience a little more about her character.