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.

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

Film Opening Analysis

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Claude Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposites:-

• Monsters vs. children.
• Soft bed contrasts with sharp teeth and claws.
• Its quiet and peaceful, but monster enters and theres screaming (from monster and child).
• Fear of monster at first, but monster is comedic.
• Normality of bedroom and abnormality of monsters.
• Monster factory seems normal , until you see the workers.
• Order of room at first, but monster enters and wrecks the setting.
• Small room vs. large monster.-Room compared to the factory it is in.
• Normal children are being called "dangerous" by the monsters whereas humans would call the monsters dangerous.

Roland Barthes' Five Codes:-

Enigma Code:-

• Whats behind the door?
• Why is the monster scaring the child?
• Why is the monster scared of the child?
• Who are the other monsters?
• Who is the overgrown spider
• Why do they think that a child's touch will kill them?
• Does the touch of a child actually kill them?
• Who is James P. Sullivan?

Action Code:-

• Child to tucked into bed.
• Wardrobe door creaks open.
• Monster is underneath bed.
• Monster rises and looms over child.
• Child and monster scream at sight of each other.
• Monster trips backwards and wrecks room comically.
• Sirens blare and part of the wall rises to reveal a room full of monsters.
• The room appears to be some sort of testing facility.

Semiotic Code:-

• Toys; warm, homely, innocent, child like.
• Blue colours suggest calm and cool.
• Wardrobe; dark, you don't know whats lurking inside it.
• Glowing eyes; menacing, sinister, mysterious.
• Tripping over; comedic, clumsy.
• Suits imply wealth and authority.

Cultural Code:-

• Starts with a scene we all know, a child's bedroom full of toys.
• Plays with the way we percieve monsters.
• Shows the typical toys that a child might have had at that time.
• Spotlights suggest a stage, a show of some sort.
• Monsters wearing clothing, this is showing that they are "civilised" and equal to humans.

Symbolic Code:-

• Monster comes in from the shadows; dark, mysterious, may be hiding something.
• Monster wearing suits next to monsters wearing nothing show that they are of a higher class than most.
• Some of the monsters look like real life animals; spiders and sea creatures.

Photo Reflections

 

1) Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be described as representing your chosen genre.

This is a close up of a character's foot, stepping into shot, but also an extra long shot of the character in the background. Although the camera is focused on the shoe, the lack of people in the area and the centre positioning implies that the girl in the distance is also an important character. The photograph could be a still from a romance drama, with this scene being the one in which the protagonist first sees her love interest and it is "love at first sight". The shot is well lit with green, suggesting a moderately happy or neutral scene.

2) What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

For this shot I wanted to get as close to the ground as possible in order to gain a better sense of perspective, so I sat on the floor and took the photo from where I was sitting. I didn't want the protagonist's image to be blocked by the foot, yet I still wanted the whole shoe in the shot. So I had to pan the camera across till I found an angle that fitted both in.

3) Identify what is successful about your shot.

If I had to say what was most successful in this shot, I would the depth that was achieved. The person in the background is slightly blurred, although she catches your eye as she stands in the centre of the image. The foot in the foreground draws your attention at the same time, stepping in from the right side of the camera.

4) What would you do differently in hindsight?

It would be ideal if I asked the actor at the back to show a shocked expression, as it would give a deeper story to the currently simple shot. Another thing that could be changed is the setting. Instead of a garden, a street could be used, with a busy road in-between the space of the two characters. She could be easily picking out the boy from the clustered group of people.