Film Opening Analysis

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Hot Fuzz (2007)

1) Identify the genre.

Action, comedy.

2) Who are the main characters?
Nicholas Angel, a police constable. It is very clear who the main character is as the entire opening follows him. There is also dialouge and short flashbacks telling/ showing us information about the protagonist, such as his education and training so far.

 3) How has narrative been constructed?
There are no obvious villians in the opening sequence but we can definitely tell who the main character is. The opening has the protagonist in focus at all times in order to introduce him clearly. We follow Nicholas Angel walking on his way to the Sergeant, as he walks we see flashbacks of his life with dialouge to make what is going on clear to the audience. He then arrives at the Sergeant's office, sits down and has a conversation with him. Characters with higher ranks are called in to discuss a problem and this eventually leaves Nicholas with no choice but to follow the orders given to him.

4) What is the key iconography and how does it signify the genre?
Action:-

• Police officers are often signify action in films.
• As the main character is highly trained, the audience would expect those skills become useful later on in the film.

Comedy:-

• Famous comedians such as Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan have roles.
• Repetitive dialouge between characters.
• Supposedly strict characters (inspector, chief inspector) are laid back and relaxed.

5) Identify the audience pleasures/expectations.

• Cop has to solve a problem and fight some villians at some point.
• Impressive fights/ stunts.
• Comedy mixed in with action and mystery.
• Possibly experience part of the protagonist's everyday life.
• Escapism into a police officer's life.
• Fans may watch the film because they want to support someone in the film, famous actors, comedians, directors etc.

Continuity Clip Analysis

The Social Network (2010)

To start off with, we have an over the shoulder shot, which brings us directly into the conversation without any sort of establishing shot. The character facing us, the lawyer, is speaking but the protagonist, Mark, is turned away so that the audience can see his face and so that he is not looking at the speaker. This shows his uninterest of the conversation. At 00:07  the scene cuts to one of a different scene, where the sentence is carried on by a different character, Eduardo. This signifies that the scene is a flashback or flashfoward. Both the cut in and out of the courtroom scene is a confusing for the audience and forces their minds to jump from one setting to another.

Match-on-action is used at 00:46 when Mark looks out of shot and it cuts to where he is looking. It is also used at 01:15 when Mark says "...sitting here listening to people lie" and then turns to look at one of the characters opposite him, obviously stating that he thinks that the clients are lying. The technique is used once more when the lawyer looks away and the camera cuts to show what he is looking at, which is the reaction of the people opposite him.

The 180 degrees rule is used continuously throughout the clip to follow the conversation, for example at 00:32 when the camera cuts from an over the shoulder shot of the lawyer to an over the shoulder shot of Mark in order to show that he is speaking.

Accident Sequence Reflections

1) Describe the sequence you planned to create and identify the 6 shots you used.

We planned to create an accident sequence following a person who runs down a hallway and attempts to go through a door, although he does not realise it is locked and slams into it. We used a long shot pan, a long to mid shot tilt, a medium long shot, a mid shot, a medium long shot and a mid shot.

2) In order to create a sequence that made sense, what did you actually have to do during production?

We had to create a sequence that was easy to follow with a smooth narrative flow, so we decided to keep it simple. To start with, we had a long shot pan of the corridor to establish the setting and where the character was in it.

3) What was your specific contribution to the activity?

During this activity I helped decided the setting and layout of the sequence, I filmed a few of the shots and I indicated to the actor/ camera(wo)man when to start filming or running as we were not allowed to edit the sequence at all, so the filming and actions had to be done right the first time.

4) Does your sequence work? ie does it make sense?

I think the sequence makes sense overall but the fifth shot is too short to get a of grasp what is going on. The fifth shot makes the sixth shot harder to follow. Another problem is that it is hard to tell where the door is in relation to the protagonist.

5) What improvements could you make?

The fifth shot could have been a bit longer, at least until he hits the floor. The second shot could show him turning, just about to run into the door, as that would have helped make the narrative flow easier to follow and show where the door actually is along the corridor.

Classwork Part2

3) Visit the Art of the Title sequence website and pick three opening sequences of the same genre/sub-genre.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Coraline (2009)

Juno (2007)

4) Identify a range of similarities and differences, thinking mainly about function and form/conventions of openings and genre signifiers.

Similarities:-

• All three are animated.
• Kung Fu Panda and Juno were animated traditionally.
• Coraline and Juno have credits in the opening sequence.
• Juno and Kung Fu Panda make it clear who the main character is.
• They all show the title at some point.
• Coraline and Juno both have music all the way through the opening sequence.
• Juno and Coraline are both slow paced in order to go through some of the credits.

Differences:-

• Kung Fu Panda has dialouge.
• Coraline was animated using stop motion.
• Kung Fu Panda uses bold colours; reds and yellows. Coraline uses dark colours. Juno uses calm colours; blues and greens.
• Kung Fu Panda has no credits in the opening sequence.
• Coraline does not show the main character but there is a reference to her.
• Two of the three play music throughout the scene, but Kung Fu Panda uses music only to emphiasise actions.
• Kung Fu Panda follows a dream. Coraline follows the process of making a doll. Juno follows the journey the protagonist takes.

Film Poster Analysis

V for Vendetta (2006)

Genre Conventions:-

• Thriller; slanted angle, masked face, black, white and red colour theme, shrouded main character
• Action; determined expression, raised knife, bold font, armed forces
• Political; burning House of Parliament, army, Guy Fawkes mask, motivational propaganda style slogan

Denotations and Connotations/ Iconography:-

• Army suggests authority and law, but the fact that they are turned away from our main character suggests he is not on the same side. This could draw in the audience as  they may want to know more about the movie.
• The main characters are shown in the foreground, male and female. This signifies some romance.
• Mask implies that the character has something to hide, possibly a dark past or a secret of some sort.
• House of Parliament on fire signifies destruction, corruption or breaking of law.
• Raised knife heavily violence and action.

Expections/ Audience Pleasures:-

• Escapism to an alternative world of action.
• Political issues raised in the film may interest some viewers.
• Audience may be expecting to see the face behind the mask at some point in the film.

Classwork Part1

1) Write a list of summary points about what you think the functions of an opening sequence are.

• Draw the audience's interest.
• Introduce the audience to the character(s).
• Establish the setting.
• Set up the genre of the film.
• Make the viewers think about what could happen later on in the film.
• State the major contributers in the film (credits).
• Establish an equilibrium that could be disrupted later on.

2) Write a list of summary points about the typical conventions of an opening sequence.  Can you identify different categories of openings?

• Credits
• Main characters
• Establishing shot
• Title
• Theme tune

Homework comments BLK

Excellent work Jeng. Your photo analysis work is particularly good, with a high level of media terminology used and a high level of learning demonstrated around framing/lighting. Well done! Your blog is great too, but don't forget to add your photo, and a few film-related links in your list would be ideal.