In this analysis, I will show the difference between the
openings in an Action Thriller and a Romantic Comedy. My first analysis was on
‘Mission Impossible 2’ which had energetic music and a possibly dangerous
scene. There was also only one key character that was shown to be doing a near
impossible feat of climbing the face of a vertical cliff without any climbing
equipment. In this analysis, it will be shown that the aspects of a RomCom are
very different to an Action Thriller.
Sound:
This is non-diegetic which means that the characters in the scene can’t
hear it. The voice over is used to give a bit of context to the start of the
story. It starts off with speaking about different types of love which tells the
audience that love is the main subject in the film. However, at the end of the
scene when the voice over is coming to an end, the speaker starts speaking
about their own experiences with love. This lets the audience know that the
speaker is a key character in the film. It also lets the audience know that the
character is feeling hurt about loving someone who won’t love them back. This
creates sympathy for the character and we hope that throughout the film their
feelings get better. The title implies that a holiday might help her.
Before the voice over comes on, there is non-diegetic music
during a romantic scene. As the scene is zoomed out, the music turns to
diegetic as we discover that the first key character we actually see is playing
the music for the scene on his computer screen. By changing the sound from
non-diegetic to diegetic sound, it gives the audience an idea to what the
character does for a job. This gives an insight to what the story around this
character is about. When the voice over starts, the music becomes non-diegetic
again as the main focus is no longer on him, but the speaker of the voice over.
After the first spoken paragraph of the voice over, the music
crescendos with the title. This could be used like that to emphasise the title.
The music has a lot of string instruments in it which is normally associated
with love. By making the music louder, this extenuates the theme of love in the
film.
Mise En Scene
In the opening sequence, all the main characters are revealed
along with a little bit of background to their story. As explained before, the
first key character is shown to be writing music for a romantic scene. This is
shown by the music being played but also the setting around him. There is a
keyboard below two computer screens, one which has the scene and one with a
music sheet. The character is playing the keyboard that is writing the music on
the music sheet as he plays. The next key character is shown in a big city in
an expensive car. This implies that they are wealthy and possibly American
because the city looks like New York or California. Then the next main
character is dressed in a jumper and in a traditional British pub. This shows
the audience that he could possibly be British and that is winter time where he
is. Finally the last main character is sitting at a desk. This shows that she
has a desk job but not necessarily an office job as she is not confined in a
small office. By showing these characters along with the voice over gives the
audience an idea to whom they are without knowing their names and their full
stories.
The character that is doing the voice over is the character that
has the most focus on them. By having this certain character as the main focus,
it gives a clear beginning to the story. If the story started with a different
character’s story, the voice over wouldn't make much sense and the scene wouldn't be as smooth as it is as the voice over matches with the actions of
the main focus character.
When we see
the main focus character, we can see that they are wrapping a present; this
shows that there is a celebration of some sort. The fact that they are wrapping
the gift in red and gold paper and ribbon tells the audience that this film is
set at Christmas as such colours are associated with that particular
celebration. As well as the main focus character wrapping a gift, there are
several people all in the same (possibly work) environment, holding glasses of
champagne. Champagne is general known to be drunk at celebrations and parties.
This could mean that the audience has the impression that everyone there is at
a work Christmas party.
As well as
having the setting for the other characters previously stated, where the main focus
character is, there are lots of Christmas reaves and other traditional
Christmas decorations. This just adds more of a festive feel to the setting and
could create a happy celebratory mood to the scene even though the voice over
speaker seems to be being negative. The decorations could also reflect everyone
else’s moods as everyone is laughing and being cheerful.
Editing
During all
through the opening sequence, the actor’s names and also the film maker’s names
come onto the screen quite subtly. The font used matches the font used for the
title in the film and also for any other media texts used to promote the film.
This keeps a consistency so that the audience doesn’t get too confused with
different fonts. If the editors used different fonts, this would be confusing
and may make the audience think that the film is going to confusing and
inconsistent as well. By adding the credits in subtly, the editors haven’t
taken the focus away from the scene but have made it clear to the audience
who’s in the film and who made it as well.
Before the scene starts, the production companies who helped
plan, fund and make the film are recognise with their logos. This is basically
to show the audience that this is a film they produced. The audience can then
associate a specific production company with making good films if they enjoy
the film.
As previously stated, the title is shown on a crescendo of the music to
build effect and make the title clear. Additionally to this, the title is shown
on a blurred background. This is to make sure that the audience sees the film
title and id not distracted by anything in the background. Once the title
fades, the scene comes back into focus as one of the key character drives into
shot with their car. This creates a smooth transition so that nothing seems
jumpy or confusing.
The title credit font is appropriate for the genere of film and matches the music in the background. The font is quite elegant which matches the elegant violin music. The font also has a slight comedic look to it because the letters of the title are different sizes. This connotes the the film will have differences within it
Camera
To start with, the camera is focused on a romantic
scene from a film which is most likely a period romantic drama because of how
the actors are dressed. From here, the camera zooms out to show that that scene
is not actually the film. By using a zoom out sets the scene for the rest of
the film but also gives the audience an insight into what the character does
for a hobby or for an occupation. A circular pan also gives a bigger perspective
on the characters surroundings as it shows all the equipment the character is
using.
When the
character first in the scene looks in front of him with a smile on his face,
the camera starts to zoom in on his expression. Without knowing who or what he
is looking at, the audience can infer that he is looking at someone who he
loves because the camera is zooming in on his expression. This has the connotation
of love because the camera makes it look like he is transfixed by the person in
front of him and that he is drawn in by them, like the camera is to him.
When the car first drives into shot, it looks like there is
only one character in the car. However, using the 180 degree rule, a second
shot is taken of the other character. Both shots only show a single person,
even though the audience knows they are both in the car. Then a medium long
shot is taken of both characters together as the male character looks away. The
camera focus is more on the female character at this point to draw the audience’s
attention to her reaction to the male character turning away from her. By using
these 3 different shots, the audience can infer that they aren't in love like
the previous characters were. By showing them separately could mean that they
are separating from each other in their relationship. This is opposite to what
the audience originally thinks may happen in the film and therefore encourages
them to carry on watching to see what happens to these two characters.
Once the voice over say “And then there’s me,” the
camera focuses on the back of a character so that we can’t see their face. This
could have been done to represent their feelings about how they are seen by the
person they love. By not showing their face straight away could imply that she
believes that they are invisible or faceless maybe to that one person she has
affections for.
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