The Goodfellas
'Goodfellas' is one of the great post-Godfather gangster films that is thought by many to be Scorsese's finest work. It shows one mans rise and fall in a 'family', so this subject matter demanded a strong, relevant opening.
The first shots are the opening credits, which try to reflect the setting of the opening scene of a road by having the writing pass across the screen with a car sound effect. Back when it was filmed this would have seemed very classy and clever, but nowadays it seems a bit cheap. The writing is white on black to try and make the genre seem more 'high-brow', increasing the production value and involving a wider audience. The credits are also in a very tactical order, to show the audience that the film has a very strong cast and crew, such as Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. This pulls the audience straight in and makes them realise that it is probably going to be a very good film as they trust the cast and crew. At the end of these credits it says 'This film is based on a true story.' which draws the audience in by making them intrigued as to why it is being shown.
The first live action shot follows nicely on from the opening credits by showing a car. This theme was introduced in the opening credits, and now the audience is able to see why there was a car sound in the credits. The car is a very stylish one for the time, so this conforms to the conventions of the gangster/crime genre by showing them as rich and stylish. The camera moves around the car and gets a bit ahead of it showing the road ahead. This framing is very interesting as it shows that there is more to the scene that is coming. By the end of the shot the car is in the lower right third of the shot, which is not the most important part of the shot where the audience is drawn to. The most powerful place in shot composition is the upper left third, which here is being filled by the road ahead. Therefore Scorsese is showing them this third for a reason, and the reason is most probably that there is something is about to happen there. Of course, by the next shot we know that nothing does happen in that third, so instead the audience's perspective of the road being in that third changes so they realise something is going to happen later down the road. Framing is key in giving a message, such as in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', the use of off central framing in the shower scene creates tension and later in the scene, the upper left third is finally filled with the killer. Hitchcock pioneered the use of this unconventional framing in many of his suspense films, and we can see that it is applied here as well to create intrigue. Despite it not being an obvious enigma, it certainly is one, but just one that the audience is subconciously aware of, making it an extremely clever shot.
'New York, 1970' then appears on screen, to orientate the audience to the time era. We will see this technique used in one of Scorsese's later films - 'The Departed'. The title is done in a very interesting way, in order to try and appear more 'high-brow'. It is in white on black again, which I have already discussed, but there is also an odd use of the comma between 'New York' and '1970'. This is how it would have been written in a book, and is also the correct way to write it, but in many films they miss out the comma in favour of impact. Most films do not want the comma as it is used as a breath, and they do not want the audience to pause when they read it. They want impact, and a fast, snappy title, so the audience is not drawn away from the film for too long, and it makes the film seem more 'epic'. However here the comma is used almost casually, and it seems oddly stylish to have the title written 'correctly'. There is also a slight fade into the title which slows the title even more. It builds the suspense from the previous shot with the off-central framing, and the contrast of tense framing and relaxed titles works well to lull the audience into a false sense of security that will be destroyed later in the scene.
After this we are introduced to the characters in the car. We are introduced to a few obvious enigmas with the hammering in the boot and the characters at first not knowing what it was, and then their sudden realisation. The acting is very naturalistic and they all seem to know what the other one means, like they're all in something together. There is some swearing in this exchange as well which again fits in with the conventions of a gangster movie. This is all in one shot which is effective as it continues with the laid back feeling of the opening, and in its relaxation builds suspense as to what the scene is building towards. The characters get out of the car and one of them pulls a knife out of their suit pocket, showing the character as violent and always ready to kill people. The scene is lit with a very red light from the back lights of the car, and this helps make it seem more bloody and violent. At last we are shown what the banging was, and that it was in the boot of the car. An injured man covered in blood is lying in there, and the gangsters kill him brutally while swearing. This appeals hugely to the conventions of a gangster film through violence and swearing. Enigmas are set up through the dead man in the boot, as the audience are left wondering who they are and what they did to deserve death. Finally, at the end of the scene the audience is presented with another enigma as there is a freeze frame on one of the gangsters while a voice over says: 'I've always wanted to be a gangster'. BUT WHY?
The Departed
The opening to 'The Departed' is very similar to the opening to 'Goodfellas' for the simple reason that it is the same director - Martin Scorsese. 'Goodfellas' had just missed out on the oscar for Best Picture, but this time round Scorsese was more successful and won it. So clearly this time he did something better than he had done in 'Goodfellas'...
From the first frame we can clearly see the similarities between 'The Departed' and 'Goodfellas' by the text 'BOSTON Some years ago'. Once again the title is white on black, but this time it is a lot more casual. By saying 'some years ago' instead of an exact date, the film is given a more laid back feel than 'Goodfellas' and perhaps this reflects the status of the gangsters portrayed in it. It is trying to set up the audience in a more casual setting, and is trying to fit in more with the dialect.
In this opening we are presented clearly with a character and a setting. The character narrates the history of the setting, with his own twists in accordance with his opinion, which neatly kills two birds with one stone. The audience is shown the progression of Boston through old fake documentary film, and Nicholson's character guides them through this by saying what the society has relied on. In the end it all comes down to the point that he has the power - what all gangsters crave. This is a clear convention of the gangster/crime genre as most gangster dons like to assert their power through baseball bats, piano lids and horses heads. The point is, as far as Hollywood is concerned, when it comes to gangsters, it's all about power, and that is what Nicholson's character has. To further this sense of power, Nicholson's opening monologue sounds like the character knows the society and he knows what he's talking about. For most people, the opening narration is quite hard to understand and get their head around on first viewing, but that is the point, as Scorsese doesn't want you to understand THAT, he wants you to understand that the main antagonist is clever, powerful and knows what he is doing. The fact that in the opening few shots the audience relies on the narration gives a further indication of how much power he has, as for the first few minutes what he says is what we believe. It may not be entirely true, but we have to believe it.
The first shot of the main antagonist is in silhouette, which is a very clever technique for showing the audience only what you want to show them. In this case, what we can see of the character is that he's smoking and he's wearing sunglasses, immediately gangster stereotypes come to mind. As this silhouette comes in, more swearing comes into the narration, as if the character has suddenly become more informal. He is also very racist, and talks a lot about divides in ethnicities...from the outset we can see that ethnic tension is going to be an issue in this film. Finally at the end of the narration he says: 'No one gives it to you...you have to take it'. Immediately the audience is thrown into a very hostile environment where you don't make friends, you make alliances. Taking is a much more violent verb than giving, especially when they're used in the same sentence, and this is really brought out, not just through the writing, but also the emphasis the actor puts on the word 'take'. Stealing becomes a prominent theme.
Both films have very strong openings, and both conform to the conventions of gangster/crime films through violence, power and swearing. 'Goodfellas' centres its effectiveness on the enigmas it introduces, whilst 'The Departed' centres its effectiveness on the character and setting it introduces. Personally I prefer the opening to 'The Departed', as the voice over leaves a lot of holes to fill in, and the lead antagonist seems more interesting.
Showing posts with label Analysis of an Opening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Analysis of an Opening. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Analysis of an Opening - 'Love Actually' and 'Love Story'
Love Actually
'Love Actually' is a dearly loved, star-studded, sweeping, British rom-com that is cherished by many people, British or not. The opening scene to this is very thoughtful and provocative, introducing the main subject matter, which is, of course - love.
The visuals in this opening are not so important, but instead the audience is focused on the narration. The opening scene reveals none of the main characters, plot lines or famous actors, but instead it decides that it is more important to focus the audience on the main idea of 'love'. This is narrated by Hugh Grant, in his very recognisable British accent, and is appropriate as an audience will immediately know who is speaking. He brings up a lot of points that we, as an audience would not necessarily think of, such as the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport, and the twin towers. This subverts the audience's expectation, cheers them up, and prepares them for a film that is going to be heart-warming and provocative.
The beginning also links to the end of the film, where at the beginning we see strangers at the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport, at the end we see this scene with characters we have learnt to love and cherish. This has a far more emotional impact than the first scene, as we know the characters' stories, how they got there, what their love is and we can relate to them a lot more then the complete strangers that we are presented with at the beginning. It gives the film a rounded, cyclical feel to it, and comes back to the point that 'love actually is all around', which is the main theme the film is trying to communicate. Of course, I'm not supposed to be analysing the end, but to analyse the beginning of this film, the end is a natural place to jump to.
Onto the visuals! The shots in this opening are very stylistically done. It may be an unoriginal, overused type of stylising, but it is stylised none the less! On each of the shots of people embracing, kissing or lifting up a small child the camera focuses on them, while leaving everything else around it out of focus, centralising the audience's attention on the lovers. In a lot of the shots the lovers may not be noticeable if the camera hadn't made everyone else out of focus, and this helps with the concept that 'love actually is all around'. Another effect which is employed is the slow-motion when people are moving at a fast pace, such as when children are running to their mother, or someone is being hoisted up in the air. This creates a very cheesy effect, and not one that I am a particular fan of, as I don't believe slow motion should be used on humans because it diminishes the reality. However this might be the effect that 'Love Actually' is going for - it may want to take a step back from reality and just believe that love is always perfect and eternal.
The most obvious impact which the scene has is right at the end, when the text comes up on screen saying 'love actually IS all around', in time to Hugh Grant saying it. Throughout the scene it was obvious there was going to be a final thought, and this was it. Looking back on the scene you can see how it all relates to the point through the dialogue, and it all just slots nicely together. Overall it is a very strong opening scene as it establishes the main theme of the film...although I still hate slow-motion people...
Love Story
'Love Story' is a classic love story with a very interesting opening, full of enigmas! The film is a great, critically acclaimed film that won an oscar for Best Original Score and was nominated for another six, including Best Lead Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, Writing and most prominently Best Picture. In other words, it was nominated for all the biggest awards, but only won one of the lesser ones.
The opening scene to 'Love Story' is beautiful and touching. The dialogue is emotive and pulls at all the heartstrings. The camera-work is smooth and simple. The narration is tear-jerking and brilliant, the setting picturesque and reminiscent, and the music is outstanding. 'Love Story' shows how such a simple scene is so effective and beautiful, and by the end of the first scene the audience is already attached to the lovers through sympathy and an understanding that they do not have. It is so connectable and yet so distant. The audience long to have an understanding of the pain; in a strange way they almost long for something so dramatic to happen in their life, yet at the same time they hate the thought of it happening. This is the impact of the opening to 'Love Story'.
The music is very very beautiful, and one of the big factors in the success of this scene. It is classical piano music accompanied by an orchestra, and it adopts the minor key in order to evoke a feeling of melancholy and reminiscence. Being classical music, it relates to the line of dialogue 'she loved Mozart and Bach', and it also foreshadows one of the main features of the film - Jenny's musical talent. It is filled with passion, and really brings the scene forward in it's beauty and effectiveness. The pianist plays with true emotion as if they are one of the lovers, and this shows through in the soundtrack. You can see why it won the award for Best Original Score!
Cinematography-wise, the camera work is kept very simple, so it does not intrude in the scene or the story. It is all one shot, panning down from a town in the snow to a man sitting on the floor facing away. This keeps an element of continuity about the scene, and is the best way to present the scene, as fancy cinematography would take away the raw emotion of the scene.
The acting is incredible. So much passion is put into the voice-over, and you can hear that the character is struggling to retell a story with so much pain in it. There are pauses in just the right places, and you hear the character talk as if talking through tears. It hits it's high point right on the pause before he says '...and me', which is simply beautiful.
'What can you say about a 25 year old girl who died, that she was beautiful and brilliant, that she loved Mozart and Bach, the Beatles...and me'
It is also successful as it presents the audience with a number of enigmas. They want to know why she dies, who she was, what their story was, and what course the film is going to take next. These make the audience want to watch on, if only to find out the answers to these questions. The opening obeys a few of the conventions of the romance genre, such as the idea of 'doomed love', which is used in many romance films such as 'Titanic' and 'A Walk to Remember'.
Overall the opening scene was truly brilliant, and would make some people cry before they even see the film. Right from the first piece of dialogue the film has connected the audience to the characters, and they already empathise with them.
Both films had strong beginnings, and both gave the audience something to think about. 'Love Actually' starts the audience off with a positive, happy frame of mind, whereas 'Love Story' starts them off in tears! Both techniques work well for the films they are a part of, and both set up the mood of the film very clearly.
'Love Actually' is a dearly loved, star-studded, sweeping, British rom-com that is cherished by many people, British or not. The opening scene to this is very thoughtful and provocative, introducing the main subject matter, which is, of course - love.
The visuals in this opening are not so important, but instead the audience is focused on the narration. The opening scene reveals none of the main characters, plot lines or famous actors, but instead it decides that it is more important to focus the audience on the main idea of 'love'. This is narrated by Hugh Grant, in his very recognisable British accent, and is appropriate as an audience will immediately know who is speaking. He brings up a lot of points that we, as an audience would not necessarily think of, such as the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport, and the twin towers. This subverts the audience's expectation, cheers them up, and prepares them for a film that is going to be heart-warming and provocative.
The beginning also links to the end of the film, where at the beginning we see strangers at the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport, at the end we see this scene with characters we have learnt to love and cherish. This has a far more emotional impact than the first scene, as we know the characters' stories, how they got there, what their love is and we can relate to them a lot more then the complete strangers that we are presented with at the beginning. It gives the film a rounded, cyclical feel to it, and comes back to the point that 'love actually is all around', which is the main theme the film is trying to communicate. Of course, I'm not supposed to be analysing the end, but to analyse the beginning of this film, the end is a natural place to jump to.
Onto the visuals! The shots in this opening are very stylistically done. It may be an unoriginal, overused type of stylising, but it is stylised none the less! On each of the shots of people embracing, kissing or lifting up a small child the camera focuses on them, while leaving everything else around it out of focus, centralising the audience's attention on the lovers. In a lot of the shots the lovers may not be noticeable if the camera hadn't made everyone else out of focus, and this helps with the concept that 'love actually is all around'. Another effect which is employed is the slow-motion when people are moving at a fast pace, such as when children are running to their mother, or someone is being hoisted up in the air. This creates a very cheesy effect, and not one that I am a particular fan of, as I don't believe slow motion should be used on humans because it diminishes the reality. However this might be the effect that 'Love Actually' is going for - it may want to take a step back from reality and just believe that love is always perfect and eternal.
The most obvious impact which the scene has is right at the end, when the text comes up on screen saying 'love actually IS all around', in time to Hugh Grant saying it. Throughout the scene it was obvious there was going to be a final thought, and this was it. Looking back on the scene you can see how it all relates to the point through the dialogue, and it all just slots nicely together. Overall it is a very strong opening scene as it establishes the main theme of the film...although I still hate slow-motion people...
Love Story
'Love Story' is a classic love story with a very interesting opening, full of enigmas! The film is a great, critically acclaimed film that won an oscar for Best Original Score and was nominated for another six, including Best Lead Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, Writing and most prominently Best Picture. In other words, it was nominated for all the biggest awards, but only won one of the lesser ones.
The opening scene to 'Love Story' is beautiful and touching. The dialogue is emotive and pulls at all the heartstrings. The camera-work is smooth and simple. The narration is tear-jerking and brilliant, the setting picturesque and reminiscent, and the music is outstanding. 'Love Story' shows how such a simple scene is so effective and beautiful, and by the end of the first scene the audience is already attached to the lovers through sympathy and an understanding that they do not have. It is so connectable and yet so distant. The audience long to have an understanding of the pain; in a strange way they almost long for something so dramatic to happen in their life, yet at the same time they hate the thought of it happening. This is the impact of the opening to 'Love Story'.
The music is very very beautiful, and one of the big factors in the success of this scene. It is classical piano music accompanied by an orchestra, and it adopts the minor key in order to evoke a feeling of melancholy and reminiscence. Being classical music, it relates to the line of dialogue 'she loved Mozart and Bach', and it also foreshadows one of the main features of the film - Jenny's musical talent. It is filled with passion, and really brings the scene forward in it's beauty and effectiveness. The pianist plays with true emotion as if they are one of the lovers, and this shows through in the soundtrack. You can see why it won the award for Best Original Score!
Cinematography-wise, the camera work is kept very simple, so it does not intrude in the scene or the story. It is all one shot, panning down from a town in the snow to a man sitting on the floor facing away. This keeps an element of continuity about the scene, and is the best way to present the scene, as fancy cinematography would take away the raw emotion of the scene.
The acting is incredible. So much passion is put into the voice-over, and you can hear that the character is struggling to retell a story with so much pain in it. There are pauses in just the right places, and you hear the character talk as if talking through tears. It hits it's high point right on the pause before he says '...and me', which is simply beautiful.
'What can you say about a 25 year old girl who died, that she was beautiful and brilliant, that she loved Mozart and Bach, the Beatles...and me'
It is also successful as it presents the audience with a number of enigmas. They want to know why she dies, who she was, what their story was, and what course the film is going to take next. These make the audience want to watch on, if only to find out the answers to these questions. The opening obeys a few of the conventions of the romance genre, such as the idea of 'doomed love', which is used in many romance films such as 'Titanic' and 'A Walk to Remember'.
Overall the opening scene was truly brilliant, and would make some people cry before they even see the film. Right from the first piece of dialogue the film has connected the audience to the characters, and they already empathise with them.
Both films had strong beginnings, and both gave the audience something to think about. 'Love Actually' starts the audience off with a positive, happy frame of mind, whereas 'Love Story' starts them off in tears! Both techniques work well for the films they are a part of, and both set up the mood of the film very clearly.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Analysis of an Opening - 'High School Musical' and 'Phantom of the Opera (1925)'
High School Musical
For this analysis, I decided to analyse two completely different styles of opening against each other, both in the romance genre, in order to see what impact each style has.
'High School Musical' is a romance film that covers every romance cliche known to mankind, as it is aimed at a younger audience who enjoy watching films with predictable, yet warm-hearted plot lines. The film as a whole is clearly aimed at a young audience, and the first scene makes this very clear from the outset, by starting the love story in a very idealistic, too-good-to-be-true fashion.
The first shot is an establishing shot of a ski resort, and the text on the screen tells us that it is New Years Eve. This starts off the idealistic feel to the film, as New Years Eve can signify the start of something new (as is made clear in the first song) and it is also close to Christmas, which is the favourite time of the year for many young people. The text that appears on screen is very bland and uninteresting, however does have a glowing edge. For an older audience this could seem a bit childish, but for the younger audience, at which it is aimed, the text choice is perfect. For we must remember that to give this film opening a fair analysis we must remember that it is aimed at a much younger audience, who have far different tastes to adult films.
After this first establishing shot we are brought closer to the action and what is going on inside the resort. The audience is guided around a party scene, with teenagers wearing odd, fancy dress hats, colourful balloons and fairy lights. Again we can see that this is a very idealistic outlook on teenagers, and a film aimed at an older audience would probably present teenagers smoking, drinking and taking drugs. However here the teenagers are shaking hands and making friends and getting along very nicely while drinking what is, presumably, orange squash.
After this scene we are shown the lead female character who is bowing to the age old romance convention of being vulnerable, a bit geeky, and quiet. This cliche is seen in many other romance films such as 'Love Actually' and 'A Walk to Remember'. She is shown to follow this criteria by avidly reading a book on New Years Eve instead of going to parties or hanging out with her family. Not only is this good because it keeps the young viewers hooked on the film through the cliches, but it also encourages young people to read more, and not be worried about what people may think. Parents of the children would want to use this, so they would buy their child the film in the hope that it would inspire them to read more.
The next short scene is of the male lead playing basketball, which is a very American male sport, which shows him as 'the sporty, popular one', another cliche of the romance genre. As an audience we know from the rules of the romance genre that he will fall in love with the female lead, as they have completely opposite personalities and this leads to the idea of almost 'forbidden' or unlikely love. The male lead is played by Zac Efron who is a traditionally 'good-looking' actor who appeals to a young audience. In this scene the acting is very melodramatic and over-the-top to make it easier for a younger audience to follow. Their actions are exaggerated and their lines are very very cliche. This is, however, a good thing, as a younger audience would enjoy it more than deadly serious acting.
The production design as a whole is very colourful and vibrant, once again appealing to the target audience. Every location has a lot of colour, which helps the children feel safe and comforted in the environment in which the film is set. There is no litter or graffiti or anything negative about the scenes, and this presents an appriate setting for a childrens film.
Overall I think it is a strong opening for the film, as it appeals to the target audience, presents them with a safe and familiar environment, and follows the standard conventions of a romance movie. If it had been aimed at an adult audience then it would not have been good at all, but it was good for what it was.
Phantom of the Opera (1925)
'The Phantom of the Opera' was one of the first great silent movies at the beginning of the 20th Century, and so, needless to say, it relies more on images than dialogue. It is also in black and white, so colour could not be changed either, and even the cameras weren't high-quality so image quality couldn't be a factor. The standard fps was lower, resulting in the images moving slightly faster then normal, and lighting and editing were not nearly as advanced as today. With this in mind 'Phantom of the Opera' must be analysed according to the limitations of the time, and what it did with what it had.
The opening two minutes (starting at 00:01:00) is a long shot of the inside of an underground crypt, with arches and old architecture. A man with a lantern walks in and stands around for a bit, before ducking behind a pillar as athe shadow of a man walks past. Then the man walks back into shot and stands around for a bit with horror chords blasting before exiting. The shadow of the man follows him.
Despite being a gothic romance film, it follows no romance conventions whatsoever, instead it seems to follow the conventions of a horror film, with gothic architecture and mysterious shadows. Perhaps it does not want to set up romance as a happy, wonderful thing, but rather as a dark mysterious venture into the unknown. The lead male is shown as a man who is hiding underneath an opera house in torture chamber, hiding from people coming downstairs - hardly the popular, sporty jock that is shown in 'High School Musical'. The opening also gives the idea of forbidden love, as the man is hiding and secretive, and is perhaps unsuitable for the lead woman who we have not met yet
The key to this opening is in the enigmas that it brings up. It drags the audience in through asking them questions about who the man is, why he is hiding, and why there are horror chords whenever he walks into the centre of the shot. This encourages the audience to carry on watching as they don't know how this is going to link to the romance genre, and they want to know all about this man and his past.
The lighting is very unlike any film lighting that would be used nowadays. Nowadays the lighting would be intricately set up, with three point lighting and many filters, although in this opening, the lighting is very minimalistic, and is only lit from the lights that are availible to the character, in this case - a lantern. Although this would have been the standard thing to do at the time, it doesn't work at all. We can't see the character clearly, or anything else on screen, and this is not a stylistic choice, but it's just bad lighting...sometimes you can just tell the difference. Admittedly this would have been because the cinematographer would not have been able to play back the footage afterwards and check it, nor would he have been able to see properly what was going to come out of it.
I think that the opening to 'High School Musical' is far stronger than the 'Phantom of the Opera' opening as you can actually tell what is happening, instead of having to watch meticulously over and over until you work it out. Despite the obvious handicap of being silent, the film should have been able to hold the story together. The lighting ruins the scene. 'High School Musical' however has a strong opening for the audience it is aimed at, and obeys the rules of its genre.
For this analysis, I decided to analyse two completely different styles of opening against each other, both in the romance genre, in order to see what impact each style has.
'High School Musical' is a romance film that covers every romance cliche known to mankind, as it is aimed at a younger audience who enjoy watching films with predictable, yet warm-hearted plot lines. The film as a whole is clearly aimed at a young audience, and the first scene makes this very clear from the outset, by starting the love story in a very idealistic, too-good-to-be-true fashion.
The first shot is an establishing shot of a ski resort, and the text on the screen tells us that it is New Years Eve. This starts off the idealistic feel to the film, as New Years Eve can signify the start of something new (as is made clear in the first song) and it is also close to Christmas, which is the favourite time of the year for many young people. The text that appears on screen is very bland and uninteresting, however does have a glowing edge. For an older audience this could seem a bit childish, but for the younger audience, at which it is aimed, the text choice is perfect. For we must remember that to give this film opening a fair analysis we must remember that it is aimed at a much younger audience, who have far different tastes to adult films.
After this first establishing shot we are brought closer to the action and what is going on inside the resort. The audience is guided around a party scene, with teenagers wearing odd, fancy dress hats, colourful balloons and fairy lights. Again we can see that this is a very idealistic outlook on teenagers, and a film aimed at an older audience would probably present teenagers smoking, drinking and taking drugs. However here the teenagers are shaking hands and making friends and getting along very nicely while drinking what is, presumably, orange squash.
After this scene we are shown the lead female character who is bowing to the age old romance convention of being vulnerable, a bit geeky, and quiet. This cliche is seen in many other romance films such as 'Love Actually' and 'A Walk to Remember'. She is shown to follow this criteria by avidly reading a book on New Years Eve instead of going to parties or hanging out with her family. Not only is this good because it keeps the young viewers hooked on the film through the cliches, but it also encourages young people to read more, and not be worried about what people may think. Parents of the children would want to use this, so they would buy their child the film in the hope that it would inspire them to read more.
The next short scene is of the male lead playing basketball, which is a very American male sport, which shows him as 'the sporty, popular one', another cliche of the romance genre. As an audience we know from the rules of the romance genre that he will fall in love with the female lead, as they have completely opposite personalities and this leads to the idea of almost 'forbidden' or unlikely love. The male lead is played by Zac Efron who is a traditionally 'good-looking' actor who appeals to a young audience. In this scene the acting is very melodramatic and over-the-top to make it easier for a younger audience to follow. Their actions are exaggerated and their lines are very very cliche. This is, however, a good thing, as a younger audience would enjoy it more than deadly serious acting.
The production design as a whole is very colourful and vibrant, once again appealing to the target audience. Every location has a lot of colour, which helps the children feel safe and comforted in the environment in which the film is set. There is no litter or graffiti or anything negative about the scenes, and this presents an appriate setting for a childrens film.
Overall I think it is a strong opening for the film, as it appeals to the target audience, presents them with a safe and familiar environment, and follows the standard conventions of a romance movie. If it had been aimed at an adult audience then it would not have been good at all, but it was good for what it was.
Phantom of the Opera (1925)
'The Phantom of the Opera' was one of the first great silent movies at the beginning of the 20th Century, and so, needless to say, it relies more on images than dialogue. It is also in black and white, so colour could not be changed either, and even the cameras weren't high-quality so image quality couldn't be a factor. The standard fps was lower, resulting in the images moving slightly faster then normal, and lighting and editing were not nearly as advanced as today. With this in mind 'Phantom of the Opera' must be analysed according to the limitations of the time, and what it did with what it had.
The opening two minutes (starting at 00:01:00) is a long shot of the inside of an underground crypt, with arches and old architecture. A man with a lantern walks in and stands around for a bit, before ducking behind a pillar as athe shadow of a man walks past. Then the man walks back into shot and stands around for a bit with horror chords blasting before exiting. The shadow of the man follows him.
Despite being a gothic romance film, it follows no romance conventions whatsoever, instead it seems to follow the conventions of a horror film, with gothic architecture and mysterious shadows. Perhaps it does not want to set up romance as a happy, wonderful thing, but rather as a dark mysterious venture into the unknown. The lead male is shown as a man who is hiding underneath an opera house in torture chamber, hiding from people coming downstairs - hardly the popular, sporty jock that is shown in 'High School Musical'. The opening also gives the idea of forbidden love, as the man is hiding and secretive, and is perhaps unsuitable for the lead woman who we have not met yet
The key to this opening is in the enigmas that it brings up. It drags the audience in through asking them questions about who the man is, why he is hiding, and why there are horror chords whenever he walks into the centre of the shot. This encourages the audience to carry on watching as they don't know how this is going to link to the romance genre, and they want to know all about this man and his past.
The lighting is very unlike any film lighting that would be used nowadays. Nowadays the lighting would be intricately set up, with three point lighting and many filters, although in this opening, the lighting is very minimalistic, and is only lit from the lights that are availible to the character, in this case - a lantern. Although this would have been the standard thing to do at the time, it doesn't work at all. We can't see the character clearly, or anything else on screen, and this is not a stylistic choice, but it's just bad lighting...sometimes you can just tell the difference. Admittedly this would have been because the cinematographer would not have been able to play back the footage afterwards and check it, nor would he have been able to see properly what was going to come out of it.
I think that the opening to 'High School Musical' is far stronger than the 'Phantom of the Opera' opening as you can actually tell what is happening, instead of having to watch meticulously over and over until you work it out. Despite the obvious handicap of being silent, the film should have been able to hold the story together. The lighting ruins the scene. 'High School Musical' however has a strong opening for the audience it is aimed at, and obeys the rules of its genre.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Analysis of an Opening - 'The Untouchables' and 'The Dark Knight'
The Untouchables
'The Untouchables' begins with intoducing the main antagonist of the film - Al Capone. This is done to establish right from the start that there is an element of threat, and that threat has power.
'The Dark Knight' opens with an action sequence, which immediately grabs the audience's attention and obeys the conventions of an action/crime drama. In the build up to the release of 'The Dark Knight' there was a tremendous amount of advertising and publicity, from Harvey Dent elections to real live recruitment into the Joker's 'army' via cellphones hidden in cakes. After this intensive advertising campaign the filmmakers knew that they had to deliver, and so to start off with a large scale action scene was the best way to go about this. The audience get what they expect, and are immediately drawn in. Another strength of this opening is the introduction of the main antagonist. This is an area which the director holds back on, as he knows that fans of the Batman comics will be very excited to see how the joker is portrayed. He lets them see an action sequence to keep them happy, but then he makes the characters talk about the Joker without revealing him to keep them guessing. For the people who are not fans of the comic, Nolan presents them with an enigma as to who the Joker is. This keeps them interested as they want to know who he is, why he is associated with the robbery, and what sort of a villain he will turn out to be.
The opening shot is an establishing shot of Gotham City, and the audience knows straight away that it is a big budget film. This shot swoops in on a skyscraper to centralise the audience's focus on on building and then one windowpane, as it shatters open from the inside by some sort of explosion. From one shot the audience is aware of many things: it is a high budget film, it is an action film, it takes place in a rich city and something big is about to happen. What 'is about to happen' is the bank robbery which commences immediately.
The next shot answers the enigma of what the explosion was, but then it raises more questions. It shows us that there are two men in the building who blew out one windowpane in order to fire a grapple hook across to the adjacent building, but then why are the men wearing clown masks? And why are they so determined to get across to the opposite building? Nolan can't help but add to the enigmas!
As the scene goes on, more enigmas are introduced, but more are created. The conversation about who the Joker is adds enigmas, as does the scene where the bank manager yells 'do you know who you're stealing from? You guys are dead'. Yet enigmas are solved as we find out that the characters are robbing a bank, and want to kill each other off in order to have a larger portion of the share. This is all presented very cleverly, as it presents the enigmas subtly without detracting from the fun of the action, or making the audience feel too confused.
The conventions of the action genre are made very clear through many aspects, such as the use of guns, the exploding window, and the bus going through the wall, but I think that what really brings out the action is the musical score. This was composed by acclaimed film composer Hans Zimmer. The music is very subtle, without any definitive melody, but just a bass undercurrent that hangs over the images and pushes the action forwards. What is very impressive is the way the sound levels go up and down according to whether there is dialogue, or action or whatever else is going on. The movement is immaculate, and unless examined closely is very hard to pick up on, but nevertheless adds another dimension to the scene. There are, of course, a few moments where the music picks up a bit and adds even more to the scene, such as at 1:40 when the men are going across the grapple, there are three hits on some form of drum, bringing out the danger which the men are putting themselves in, in order to heighten the drama.
'The Dark Knight' opening is very different to the opening to 'The Untouchables' as 'The Dark Knight' relies more on the idea that actions speak louder then words when it comes to presenting an antagonist. On the other hand 'The Untouchables' shows the antagonist speaking, but it is based on the idea of a lying, deceitful antagonist, and the audience are shown what he is like, not by what he says, but by following the opposite of what he says. Both of these openings present equal enigmas. In 'The Dark Knight' the audience is not shown the antagonist, but they learn things about him, whereas in 'The Untouchables' they are shown the antagonist, but they are shown almost nothing about him, and they have to read between the lines. It is very interesting seeing how this works, as it defies the belief that to learn about a character you have to see them. Despite them both being very good openings, I think that the opening to 'The Dark Knight' is more iconic and memorable, as the action is fast paced and exciting, whereas 'The Untouchables' starts slightly low-key, but it builds up the pace. Both of course did very well, and you can't complain with that!
'The Untouchables' begins with intoducing the main antagonist of the film - Al Capone. This is done to establish right from the start that there is an element of threat, and that threat has power.
From the first shot of the opening scene,
this power and money is shown through his luxurious
house and his many servants. The scene takes place while he is shaving, again
showing his immense power by the way he is so laid back in an interview. He
knows that whatever he says the press will make it sound good, and that is read
power.
The opening shot is a birds-eye view shot
of Al Capone being shaved. The camera is at an angle that shows Capone the
right way up, while looking down on the rest of the room. This reflects
Capone’s power, as the camera will go out of its way to show Capone in the
right way. The birds-eye view shot is also called the ‘God Shot’ as it shots
the world from the perspective of God looking down on the scene. By using this
technique for this scene it is as if Al Capone is looking back up at God, and
it puts them on the same level. Another reason for this shot is to reflect the
grandeur of the room, and thus excelling the grandeur of the person who owns
it. As the camera comes down it rotates
slightly, to frame Capone better. It didn’t do this at the beginning as the
room had to be framed correctly. But in addition to this, the camera work does
look very grand and impressive.
An interesting point in relation to the
cinematography is that there are only 3 shots and 6 cuts in the entire opening.
Most of the time the camera is strictly focused on Capone, and only cuts to
very short clips of the people he is talking to a few times. Clearly this is to
centralize Capone as the main antagonist of the film, and not to let the
audience get distracted from him. Also it
once again shows his absolute power in the scene, where the camera is
captivated by him.
But the technicalities behind this scene are not as important as what happens in the scene itself. De Palma doesn't want the audience distracted by clever tricks or visual effects, he wants the scene to focus on Capone, and he wants Capone to have the power, not the camera.
So with the technicalities of the scene stripped away, Brian De Palma is giving a clear message to the audience that the scene is about Capone. Capone is introduced as a business man, or a man who is very high in society, yet the audience knows that he is not as good as he sounds. The audience knows that Al Capone was a ruthless gangster in 1920's America, and with this in mind the scene is given a new meaning. Capone says he's a businessman with good intentions, but we know that he's a gangster with selfish motives. This adds a lot of depth to the scene, there are layers which the audience has to look through, and this draws them in. Even if they did not know that Capone was a gangster, there are various hints throughout the scene, such as when the man shaving him accidentally cuts him and then suddenly looks terrified that his life might be at risk. Also the newspaper reporters claim that he uses violence, and Capone admits that in the neighbourhood he grew up in violence had been the way of doing things. These hints show his true character, and make it blatantly obvious that despite his attempts to cover up, in the end he is the antagonist of the film. This sets up the film very neatly, by showing the antagonist, his power, his personality and draws the audience in through their wonder at how someone could overcome such a powerful man.
The Dark Knight
'The Dark Knight' opens with an action sequence, which immediately grabs the audience's attention and obeys the conventions of an action/crime drama. In the build up to the release of 'The Dark Knight' there was a tremendous amount of advertising and publicity, from Harvey Dent elections to real live recruitment into the Joker's 'army' via cellphones hidden in cakes. After this intensive advertising campaign the filmmakers knew that they had to deliver, and so to start off with a large scale action scene was the best way to go about this. The audience get what they expect, and are immediately drawn in. Another strength of this opening is the introduction of the main antagonist. This is an area which the director holds back on, as he knows that fans of the Batman comics will be very excited to see how the joker is portrayed. He lets them see an action sequence to keep them happy, but then he makes the characters talk about the Joker without revealing him to keep them guessing. For the people who are not fans of the comic, Nolan presents them with an enigma as to who the Joker is. This keeps them interested as they want to know who he is, why he is associated with the robbery, and what sort of a villain he will turn out to be.
The opening shot is an establishing shot of Gotham City, and the audience knows straight away that it is a big budget film. This shot swoops in on a skyscraper to centralise the audience's focus on on building and then one windowpane, as it shatters open from the inside by some sort of explosion. From one shot the audience is aware of many things: it is a high budget film, it is an action film, it takes place in a rich city and something big is about to happen. What 'is about to happen' is the bank robbery which commences immediately.
The next shot answers the enigma of what the explosion was, but then it raises more questions. It shows us that there are two men in the building who blew out one windowpane in order to fire a grapple hook across to the adjacent building, but then why are the men wearing clown masks? And why are they so determined to get across to the opposite building? Nolan can't help but add to the enigmas!
As the scene goes on, more enigmas are introduced, but more are created. The conversation about who the Joker is adds enigmas, as does the scene where the bank manager yells 'do you know who you're stealing from? You guys are dead'. Yet enigmas are solved as we find out that the characters are robbing a bank, and want to kill each other off in order to have a larger portion of the share. This is all presented very cleverly, as it presents the enigmas subtly without detracting from the fun of the action, or making the audience feel too confused.
The conventions of the action genre are made very clear through many aspects, such as the use of guns, the exploding window, and the bus going through the wall, but I think that what really brings out the action is the musical score. This was composed by acclaimed film composer Hans Zimmer. The music is very subtle, without any definitive melody, but just a bass undercurrent that hangs over the images and pushes the action forwards. What is very impressive is the way the sound levels go up and down according to whether there is dialogue, or action or whatever else is going on. The movement is immaculate, and unless examined closely is very hard to pick up on, but nevertheless adds another dimension to the scene. There are, of course, a few moments where the music picks up a bit and adds even more to the scene, such as at 1:40 when the men are going across the grapple, there are three hits on some form of drum, bringing out the danger which the men are putting themselves in, in order to heighten the drama.
'The Dark Knight' opening is very different to the opening to 'The Untouchables' as 'The Dark Knight' relies more on the idea that actions speak louder then words when it comes to presenting an antagonist. On the other hand 'The Untouchables' shows the antagonist speaking, but it is based on the idea of a lying, deceitful antagonist, and the audience are shown what he is like, not by what he says, but by following the opposite of what he says. Both of these openings present equal enigmas. In 'The Dark Knight' the audience is not shown the antagonist, but they learn things about him, whereas in 'The Untouchables' they are shown the antagonist, but they are shown almost nothing about him, and they have to read between the lines. It is very interesting seeing how this works, as it defies the belief that to learn about a character you have to see them. Despite them both being very good openings, I think that the opening to 'The Dark Knight' is more iconic and memorable, as the action is fast paced and exciting, whereas 'The Untouchables' starts slightly low-key, but it builds up the pace. Both of course did very well, and you can't complain with that!
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Analysis of an Opening - 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Sherlock Holmes (2009)'
Quantum of Solace
The latest film in the James Bond franchise - Quantum of Solace - opens the way James Bond films have traditionally opened...with an action sequence. Starting a film with an action sequence immediately draws in the audience, and sets up the film as an action film from the outset. If done well this is an almost foolproof way to draw in audiences, as it is exciting and shows the film to be fast paced.
The first thing that sets up the opening scene is the music. The music is very low-pitched and tense, creating suspence and letting the audience know that something is about to happen. There is an establishing shot of a mountain tunnel road by a lake, with the camera panning towards the road, probably taken using a helicopter. This shot keeps reoccuring for the first thirty seconds, intercutting with shots of cars in the tunnel. The cinematography is in a very dark style, using the light from the tunnel windows to reveal only the parts of the shot which the cinematographer wanted to show, and the lights travel across the shot to reflect the movement of the vehicles. The lighting also allows the subjects to fade in and out of shot naturally, without the use of cheap fade effects. By only revealing only small parts of the action at a time more and more suspense is built up, as the audience wants to see the scene as a whole. There is a shot of a magazine being loaded into a rifle, building the suspence even more by showing there is an element of danger and violence.There is also a shot of James Bond's eyes, revealing the main character to be in the danger, and we know he is not the one holding the gun as James Bond traditionally uses a Walther PPK.
Finally the establishing shot gets close to the tunnel, and the music suddenly stops, to expose the viceral, hardened sound of the cars engines and machine gun fire, and the fast paced action sequence.
The editing is fast paced, shots lasting only a fraction of a second to reflect the pace of the sequence.
The sound design is very prominent over the next twenty seconds, as the sound is in place of a soundtrack, and has to hold the audiences interest. To do this every sound is boosted up, especially the sound of the cars engines and the machine gun fire, to bring out the main elements of the scene. An interesting part of the sound editing is when the lorry hits the wall of the tunnel, and instead of having the expected screeching of metal on concrete, the editor has put in a deep thudding noise to increase the proportions of the scene and give it a more 'epic' feel. If the sound of screeching had been added then it would have been unpleasant to the ear, as well as would have made the lorry seem lighter, and less of a danger. On top of this he added the obvious glass shattering sound effect to the end of it to show the destruction that the crash had caused. Another triumph in the sound editing department is the way it makes the audience feel like it is in the scene. This is achieved through having the sound effect of the cars driving past at a fast pace, not just as they pass other cars, but as they pass the camera as well. Presuming this sound was recorded by a foley artist in post, it is probably intentional. Through this the audience is made to feel as if they are standing where the camera is positioned and they can hear the car driving past them. An example of this is at 1:26. This design is used to its full potential when heard through a surround sound system, as the sound of the car passing would go across the speakers in relation to the action, involving the audience to a new level.
Overall, 'Quantum of Solace' drags its audience in through a fast paced action scene, and by trying to get the audience as close to the action as possible. The close proximity camera work makes you feel closer to the action and more on edge, while the sound design heightens the proportions and helps to place the viewer in the scene.
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Sherlock Holmes, as with Quantum of Solace, opens with an action sequence. It also begins by bringing the audience in through suspense and intrigue, through tense music, and darkened shots.
One of the parts of this opening that stands out are the institution logos at the beginning. These are done very stylistically, as they are designed to look like part of the pavement which the camera pans along. This is an excellent technique, as in many films the mood can be spoilt by the numerous company logos at the beginning, which detracts from the artistry and points towards the money. However in this case, the logos are presented as a part of the film, and are built into both the scene and the mood, to set the scene from the outset. By starting the music on the first logo, the audience is made aware that the film is starting at that point, and not after the logos, as if the logos were something that demanded attention as much as the rest of the film. The companies also benefit from this arrangement, as the audience would actually take notice of the logos if they were done in an interesting way, so it helps both the company and the film.
These logos are made in post-production, and through careful analysis a viewer can see the CG pavement mould into the live action pavement at 0:24, as at this moment you can see a distinct difference in the pavement, and the camera is steady. The pavement which had the logos on moulds into the live action pavement very neatly, and with a slight camera disturbance at the beginning of the live action sequence, the effect is sold. This shot is then held on right up to 0:51, giving the impression that the shot is in fact 51 seconds long, and the logos are part of it. Shots this long can be very rare in films, and are only used for particular effects. In this case, the camera follows the audiences curiosity, by catching up with the carriage, and revealing the people inside. The desired effect is to arouse the audience's intrigue, and make them start to think about who the people are, and why they are so important that the camera chooses to focus on them. This train of thought is stemmed from the mysterious music that is playing in the background, which enhances the scene, and automatically tells the viewer that what they're watching is unusual and mysterious. The camera then cuts to a shots of the two characters in the carriage loading their guns, foreshadowing violence.
After this a parrelel timeline comes into play, with Sherlock Holmes running through the streets of London. The two scenes inter-cut with one another to create a feeling of a lot going on, and as if the film is really comign alive. The cinematographer employs some creative techniques to heighten the drama of it, such as using dutch tilts to give it a very rushed look. An important shot in this opening sequence is at 1:22, when Shelock Holmes does a forward roll which ends with his face in a close up, to establish his character.
As with Quantum of Solace, sound design is very important in creating the effect of mystery and intrigue. At 1:12 there is a crow sound effect, which is typical of the horror genre. Despite it not being a horror film, the crow still adds intrigue to the scene, and makes the audience sense an impending danger. At 0:24 there is also a sound of a horse whinnying, and matched with the crow at 1:24 creates a feeling of danger through the natural sounds of animals sensing the danger. Sound design is used differently than in Quantum of Solace, as in Sherlock Holmes it is used for mystery, whereas in Quantum of Solace it is relied on a lot more as there isn't music.
Overall, Sherlock Holmes's opening pulls in the audience through the mystery of it, whereas Quantum of Solace pulls in the audence through a fast paced, high budget action sequence.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Analysis of an Opening - 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' and 'American Beauty'
A narrator guides the audience through the first few shots to introduce them to the lead character in the film. It starts off by describing him as a normal man, and then slowly starts making him seem more mysterious and elusive, finally culminating in the narrator revealing that he has committed 17 murders and numerous bank robberies. This brings the audience into the film through the mystery of it. They'll want to know who the man is, why he has killed so many people, why he leads a double life, and most importantly, what will happen to him next that requires a film to be made about him. This final point is what will ultimately cause the audience to carry on watching, and determine the success of the film.
This differs from the opening to 'Jesse James' as in 'American Beauty' the narrator tells the audience their opinion, whereas in 'Jesse James' the audience is presented with facts. 'Jesse James' is a biopic, and therefore this is more appropriate, as one of the aims of the film is to inform about the last few months of Jesse James's life. However 'American Beauty' is a fictional drama, and this different approach is taken to invite the audience into the films setting. It establishes the characters and the community very quickly. Another distinct difference between the two is the fact that in 'American Beauty' it is the main character speaking, whereas in 'Jesse James' it is an external voice. This once again grounds Jesse James in reality, while drags the audience into the world in which 'American Beauty' is set. The voice in Jesse James is academic, and as if it has studied the subject and knows what it's talking about, whereas the voice in American Beauty talks from personal experience.
Both films have very strong openings, which establish character and setting through a narrator, and both of them make good use of mystery and intrigue. The audience hooks onto this mystery and it is what pulls them in, causing both films to have very strong openings.
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