Research:Analysis of an opening(Romance) - Love actually and The Notebook

Love Actually

The narrator (Hugh Grant) speaks in a British accent, and is appropriate as an audience will immediately know who is speaking. What we see in this opening is not so significant, but instead the audience is focused on the narration. The opening scene reveals none of the characters; however it decides that it is more vital to emphasis the audience on the main idea which is love. He talks about things that the audience would not usually think of. This subverts the audience's expectation.

The shots in this opening are very well done. On each of the shots of people kissing and/or showing love to each other, while leaving everything else around it out of focus, concentrating the audience's attention on the lovers. In most of the shots the lovers may not be obvious 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 engaged is the slow-motion when people are moving at a fast pace, for instance someone is being lifted up in the air. This might be the effect that the film is working for that love is perfect and its great.

At the end, the text comes up on screen saying 'love actually is all around', in time to the narrator saying it. This would make the audience read it and listen to it, making the audience remember it and put it into their heads. Looking back on the scene the audience can see how it all relates to the point through the dialogue, and it all just slots nicely together.

The Notebook

The movie focuses on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story he reads follows two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet one evening at a carnival. But they are separated by Allie’s parents who disapprove of Noah’s unwealthy family, and move Allie away. After waiting for Noah to write her for several years, Allie meets and gets engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon. Allie, then, with her love for Noah still alive, stops by Noah’s 200-year-old home that he restored for her, “to see if he’s okay”. It is evident that they still have feelings for each other, and Allie has to choose between her fiancé and her first love.

The trailer opens with a soft tune from a piano creating a happy calm atmosphere, which is well suited to the setting of the white house which overlooks the lake. It carries on through the trailer creating an idyllic picture of their lives.

The diegetic sound of the bicycle bell and the teenagers laughing shows the young, childlike characteristics they still possess.

There is a voiceover introducing the characters and explaining their relationships, the voiceover also gives the audience a summary of the plot.

However part of this voiceover comes from one of the main characters played by James Garner, who reads the same story to his wife, who is suffering from dementia, in a bid that she will remember that the couple in the book, was actually him and her. When he’s coming to the end of the story, the Elder version of Annie asks the question that all the audience will want to know the answer to “who does she choose?” this creates excitement and makes the audience want to see who she finally chose.

The trailer moves slowly from one clip to another, fading into each clip makes it seem like the perfect love story, going to the present time when they are older reminiscing back to when they were young and fell in love.

Within this trailer we see the struggle they went through to be together but still holding the question who did she choose. Problems like social class are shown where they are sat around the dinner table talking about how much they earn, Noah the lead male is dressed in a black shirt making him stand out and be seen as different compared to the other characters in this scene who are dressed in white.

It then has a shot of the title of the film, it’s a brown and black background with handwriting in the back ground, “the Notebook” appears in the centre of the shot and has a white light behind it making it stand out more to the audience. The font of the title and the background writing gives the impression of someone has written the story in their notebook.

Comparison

Both films had strong beginnings, and both gave the audience something to think about. 'Love Actually' and 'The Notebook' start the audience off with a positive, happy frame of mind. Although, 'The Notebook' ends 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.

Research:Analysis of an Opening(Comedy) - The Anchorman and Step Brothers

The Anchorman

The opening of Anchorman uses a serious sounding voice over with a serious looking scene of a helicopter flying over a city. This is in complete contrast with the personality of the protagonist, (a very cocky and arrogant person) the fact that he gets his pilot to land the helicopter in the middle of a road - right on a junction - shows that the protagonist thinks very highly of himself, and looks down on the rest of society. This contrast of the serious video and serious voice over and the funny looking arrogant person that is the protagonist emphasises just how cocky he is.

The camera angles that are used means that the protagonist gets most screen time, making him the centre of attention to the audience. In fact the protagonist is in almost every single shot. The music that is played over the video is happy feel good music, showing that the protagonist is in a good mood whilst also giving off a good vibe to the audience - which is important in a comedy film. The opening two minutes also uses techniques like match on action and jump cuts. The jump cuts are used to speed up the films tempo a little, however the tempo of the opening two minutes is rather slow and mellow.

The protagonist's personality and the way he looks gives the audience an indication of what the character is like, stereotyping him by the way he looks and acts before the film goes on to more depth about the character. The common cliché of the cocky protagonist is evident in the opening two minutes to this film.

Step Brothers

Step Brothers is a 2008 American buddy slapstick comedy film starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.

The plot of step brothers is two unemployed, middle-aged and spoilt men who still live with and are reliant on their parents. They have no intention of moving out or finding jobs and behave childishly. Brennan's mother Nancy and Dale's father Robert marry. Furthermore Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. Their parents warn them that they must find jobs within a month or else be forced out of the house. When Brennan's younger brother Derek - Adam Scott comes to visit with his oddly perfect family, he too mocks them and entices Dale to punch him in the face. Brennan is awed that Dale was able to stand up to Derek. Meanwhile, Brennan's sister in law (Alice) who is also resentful of Derek, finds Dale's courage a turn on. Brennan and Dale discover their many shared interests and develop a strong personal bond.

Within the first two minutes of the film you can see that it’s going to be a 

comedy as we see two middle aged men who have to become step-brothers and live together as their parents get married. The two middle aged men are seen to be in their late 30's, which links to it being a comedy film as it is not shown as serious. We also see one of the sons who makes coco pops and nachos which is a stereotype of a youth more so than a late 30s man who you wouldn't imagine to see having a bowl of coco pops. 

Additionally, we see the other son who is playing guitar hero which is stereotypically a younger generations game and you would see a man of that age playing it with their kids or for fun with their family, not by themselves taking it seriously. 

Mis-en-scene is used during the film. The costumes of the boys are quite childlike and more suited for a younger generation and you wouldn't expect a late 30 year old man to wear them. 

The location of the film shows the house where they are all going to live so it gives the audience an indication of where the film is going to based. 

Overall, the first 2 minutes of the film shows where the film is going to be based, located, who's involved in the film, what type of characters they are and what the narrative is going to lead to. This infers to the audience the storyline.

Comparison

The openings on both films are very comical, both have a happy tune to it and are quite similar as they are the same genre - comedy. Both films have been introduced as Slapstick like, with a lot of humour and based on adult audience.

Research:Analysis of an Opening(Horror) - Hide & Seek and the Ring

Hide and Seek

This trailer starts off with informing the audience about the institution of the film, 20th century fox. This could attract fans of the 20th century fox company. At the start of the trailer, two adults are talking about a girl called Emily. This initiates how Emily may be one of the main characters and this is later proven throughout the trailer. The discussion between the two adults introduces the narrative of the film by hinting the death of a partner, which causes the need to move away.

The lighting through out the trailer is fairly dull which sets the mysterious and sinister mood of the film. The first half of the trailer contains slow music in the background as this half of the trailer is setting the story. The tone then changes in the middle of the trailer with a big bang noise and all the creepy and scary behaviours of the girl are shown. This shows how the movie is more than just about relationships and a troubled family - it has elements of horror, fear and suspense.

This film has a great emphasis on children and child-like behaviours. The aspect which makes the story scary is: children are usually associated with innocence by making them evil, it creates a frightening story. The title of the film ‘Hide and Seek’ contributes to the emphasis of child like behaviours as hide and seek is a very popular children’s game. Many parts of the trailer are connected to this title such as the counting of numbers, which is echoed in the background and the reference to the word ‘game’ which is used by Emily. Also at the end of the trailer Emily uses the typical phrase ‘come out come out wherever you are’, which is used in the standard hide and seek game. However, in this context this phrase does not seem innocent due to the narrative we have been told during the trailer about the Emily’s strange behaviours.

Emily in this trailer is sometimes shown with a doll. This doll is a signifier and signified horror, as dolls are used in many successful movies such as 'Child Plays' to scare audiences. Also the writing written in blood on the bathroom tiles connotes death and horror - as death and horror are associated with blood. Also the knife being taking out the holder by someone creates mystery, as we are unaware of who is doing this and what their plans are. The knife also signifies terror and death as knifes are associated with killings.

The trailer ends with lots of fast shots and music building to an explosion. Once the explosion occurs the films name ‘Hide and Seek’ takes the screen, informing readers about the title of the movie. After this Emily is shown again reflecting her major role in the film. This is followed by the release date of the film to inform audiences when the film is available to view. The films name and release date could have been purposely placed at the end of the trailer so that audiences would be able to remember this important information. 

The Ring

Immediately, in this scene, we see a medium shot gradually turning into a close up of a character. As she takes a few steps, we see the light of a TV and sound in the background. It is effective to feature all of these events in one shot, because we can feel what the character is feeling. We almost see it from her perspective. 

Match on action is used to show her turning her head from two angles. An extreme close up is used here. This is very effective, because we can see her expression very clearly. The audience is shown the fear the character is feeling. The camera pans around the corner and shows a turned-on TV. We are virtually seeing it from the character's eyes. "Quit being a b***h. Where's the remote?" is followed by a cross-cut to the remote lying on the sofa. This cut answers the speaker's question, so that no dialogue is needed. Match on action is used when the character presses a button on the remote. We see the TV turn off in the next shot.

When the TV turns on again, the camera very slowly zooms into the character. A sense of suspense lingers almost as if something is going to jump out at us. We then see a close up of the characters face almost pressed against the fridge. Though blurred out, a significant amount of room, in the shot, is left for the audience to wonder what's going to come out down the corridor. Our suspicions are verified when the character also senses something down the corridor and quickly turns the head. The blurriness fades and we now have full visibility of the corridor.

A high-angle shot is used to show the character approaching the staircase. This makes the character appear vulnerable to whatever may be up there. Throughout the scene, mise-en-scene is used effectively. The lighting is constantly slightly dimmed and has a slight blue tinge to it. Darkness is commonly associated with fear and the blue tinge makes the audience feel strangely cold whilst watching it. Effective lighting. 

Comparison

Both film openings have terrified the audience by scaring them within the opening, setting the mood for the film, and showing them what will be featured. Both are strong openings.

Research:Analysis of an opening(Drama) - Kidulthood and Adulthood

The Kidulthood

Kidulthood is an urban drama film written by Noel Clarke based in inner West London.

It deals with drugs, alcohol, violence and gangs, which stereotypically is what teenagers are thought to be involved in.

The Trailer starts off with Distributor Company Revolver Entertainment logo and then immediately goes into flashing scenes in a very fast paced rate along with rap music in the background and some speech from characters. Throughout the opening of the opening scene, there is non-diegetic sound (low sound, high paced music) for effect. This sound is effective for helping establish the genre of the film because it helps engage the audience instantly to the film. It helps to develop some tensity of the scene which would give the audience a sense of something significant to expect to happen shortly later on in the film. This type of sound is sound that is effective for these type of films as it relates well to the context of particular moments in the film which is why the sound is effective in setting the urban genre of the film.

Immediately you can see that this film is dealing with gang related violence and includes alcohol/drugs, gangs, relationships and bullying etc..

We know that this is a teenage drama film as the characters are portrayed as young gangsters with some of the clips showing them still in high school. The trailer shows their challenges as they go through this stage of their lives such as relationships and gang related problems.

The trailer shows how the film has used the unfortunate stereotype where the black characters are the violent ones and are associated with drugs and weapons and in most of the violent scenes these characters are having arguments/physical fights or are holding a gun or knife with intent to do something.

There is no text during the trailer apart from at the end where the music is nearing its end and it says “Before Adulthood” flashes out “Comes” and then it shows some final scenes and “Kidulthood” is displayed.

The editing is mainly formed of quick cuts from one scene to another in a fast paced motion with some cuts including fades/flashes. The main sound is the music used in the background and some diegetic speech.

The particular language (slang words etc.) used by some characters (in particular the tough and aggressive) also is used for effect and meaning of the scene as it helps to set the urban genre by the audience acknowledging that it's set in London as they use London slang. This and all the points help to set up the urban genre of the film.

In terms of the plot, not much happens in terms of narrative in the film because in the opening two minutes the film attempts to set the scene instead of rather revealing too much narrative of the film. This is effective because if a lot happened in the opening scene or so then it would mean that the audience wouldn't be as likely to watch the rest of the film's plot etc. which is why it's better to do this. The plot helps to set the urban genre because it's a plot which involves rivalry of two anti-social groups in London which contains negativity which are all associated with films of the urban drama genre which is why the plot helps to set this genre, even though it doesn't reveal much in the opening scene of the film. The main storyline and enigma gained from the trailer would be that it is a film about rough teenage life in London and what the teenagers get up to and their struggles and clashes and the enigma being the audience wanting to discover more about what these teens get up to.

In conclusion the trailer is formed of fast paced quick cuts that shows the lives of these 7 Main characters and how they are friends or how they clash and the way they spend their time such as drugs and violence.

The Adulthood

The trailer does not start like a usual trailer with a title, the trailer jumps straight into action with a couple lying in bed and the zoom on the camera gets closer into the woman, who is speaking.

When the film reverts to its present time, there is immediate sound (diegetic) of typical grime/garage music that builds in volume as it shows the outdoor rave next to a street. This helps set the urban drama genre of the film because this type of music is associated to this type of film due to its location and people associated to the film (both the characters and the target audience) so this helps to appeal to its target audience. The use of no music in the flashback 6 years before is effective because it helps make the event more significant and helps it stand out, as with no music and no use of sound effects for a sound created - in example a punch - help to engage the audience closely to viewing of the scene rather than including music as well. This effectively links to and compliments the plot of the film which helps set the genre of the film because it displays tense and violent moments to help set the gripping side of it being an urban drama.

After the flashback, their isn't much evidence of the plot of the actual filming the opening two minutes. This is mainly because the film uses the flashback and it wouldn't reveal much in the opening because that would be pointless as it's trying to make the audience watch the rest of the film to make it a better film.

In the opening of the film, there is a good use and range of ways that mise-en-scene is used for effect of setting the genre in the opening of the film. In terms of costume, the characters are wearing hoodies, trainers, , tracksuits, snapbacks and characters smoking etc for the overall meaning of the scene as it's rave in London so this helps it to be effective.

In terms of acting and language, there is high use of slang and representation of characters being tough and 'hard' as characters are using typical london slang to communicate to others and the display of tough, rough acting helps to enforce mise-en-scene and the the genre of the film as it's set in a ghetto within inner London, this and all the the other aspects of mise-en-scene used in the film helps to set the genre of the film being a British urban drama type of film.

Comparison:

Both come across very similarly as they are sequel films. Both can be seen as working class and aimed at similar audience.

Research:Analysis of an Opening(Action) - The Dark Knight and The Expendables

The Dark Knight 

The Dark Knight is an action sequence, which immediately grabs the audience's attention and follows the conventions of an action/crime drama that is stranded in reality. It's a story about the comic book hero Batman. The Dark Knight begins with a bank heist, The Joker takes centre stage in this scene along with 5 other men who wear clown masks and slowly get killed off one by one throughout the clip.

The opening titles of the film have been altered to try and set the scene of the film; all the production companies involved usual opening title colours have been replaced with much more dark and gloomy colours. This shows a clear attempt to try and introduce the film as a Thriller, a mysterious film. This takes a good effect as it does succeed to set the scene and gives the audience acknowledgement of the type of film.

This opening scene starts with no diegetic sounds which appear to add to the dark opening of the film. The next scene starts with an extreme long shot which establishes the scene of a busy Gotham City centre. The scene is shot using a helicopter which crabs sideways towards a skyscraper with dark tinted windows to centralise the audience's focus on the buildings. There is still no use of dialogue of in this scene but there is use of a non-diegetic soundtrack building in the background. The soundtrack appears to start soft and quiet which could connote of a peaceful, tranquil city, but as Batman readers would realise this is never the case.

The first bit of diegetic sound the film uses is when two characters dressed with clown masks fire a gun through a window. This answers why there was an explosion. The scene is shot using a medium close up from behind the two characters.

As the scene goes on, more mysteries are created; the bank manager yells 'Do you know who you're stealing from? You guys are dead'. While picking up and shot gun and walking towards the robbers angrily. They each kill each other off quietly in order to get more money off the portion which is being stolen, the director of the film has used a very clever way to present it, as mysteries keep the audience confused but would be kept interested in watching on.

The contracts of the action genre are made very clear through many features, such as the use of guns, the exploding window, and the bus going through the wall, but especially the music. The music is very subtle, without any definitive melody, but just a bass that plays over the images and pushes the action. The sound levels go up and down according to whether there is dialogue, or action. There are a few moments where the music picks up a bit and adds even more to the scene, when the men are going across the grapple, there are three hits on a drum, bringing out the danger which the men are putting themselves in, to put in more tension and drama.

The Expendables

The way that the film trailer is edited is another convention. The pace of the “cuts” are quick and snappy to generate a fast pace. The sound effects of gun fire and explosions feature heavily and clips of explosions and gun-fire is at the forefront of film trailers for action movies.

In this trailer there is the dramatic voice-over, which doesn't feature so often in modern film trailers, but was widely used in films of the 1980s. This maybe a reference to the era that Stallone, Lundgren, Willis and Schwarzenegger featured in big budget action movies.

The film trailer will also have the production company and the studio of who and where the film was made and also the film’s distributor. The names of the cast members will also appear but, unlike on a movie poster, the “name” will be last. This is because the audience will remember the last name of a movie trailer and very rarely the first, which is normally reserved for the lesser known cast member.

The film trailer is also presented to us that this is a movie about good versus evil and this is done by the “American mercenaries” being calm which is in contrast of the “bad guy character” being depicted by someone who is shouting wildly in an aggressive manner.

At the end of the film trailer the producers have attempted to add a slight comedic element to end the trailer on “high”.

Comparison:

Both films have very strong openings, which establish character and setting through a narrator, and both of them make good use of mystery and plot. The audience hooks onto this mystery and it is what pulls them in, causing both films to have very strong openings.