Opening two minutes of the Vow

The beginning to the Vow starts of with romantic and slow non- diegetic music, which suggests straight away that this is a romance and about love. We then see a two shot of what seem to be a young couple coming out of a cinema, which relate to the conventions of a romance film as they are normally set in places like cinemas, cafes and lakes. A mid shot is used showing the couple holding arms in the snow, another convention as one of the most romantic seasons is Christmas and a snowy setting. To make sure the audience get a idea of the setting an establishing shot is used to make the audience familiar with the setting, the man then kisses his girlfriend or wife on the head showing us that they are in love which is typically found in a romance.

A close up of the woman in the car is shown, emphasising the fact she is cold as he nose and cheeks are red, through mise- en -scene denotations are shown, of a coat, scarf and hats which connote the fact that it is winter and icy. The camera shows two close up shots of the man and woman both smiling showing how happy they are together, and as this is emphasised so much this could mean that there may be a problem that they are going to have to over come later on the film.

A two shot is uses showing the man warming up and kissing the girls hands and showing how they are in love and being affectionate. We are shown the car driving away from a low angle, showing us the the sky and the lights from the street lamps once again showing the audience the snowy setting and as we seem him pull away from the curb it shows the car skid, so we infer that the roads are icy and dangerous. As the man drives away we hear diegtic music from the radio, and he turns it up and starts singing along, showing a close up of the woman's face looking confused and saying "you don't like this song" which means that hes turned it up and started to sing that song for a certain reason. The lines to the song that he sings are 'i will do anything for love' which relates to the genre of the film. They start laughing and smiling together showing the audience how happy they are together, and has he starts dancing she mentions the fact that they are married, which shows the audience how close they are and are able to embarrass them selves in front of one another.

As the car comes to a stop the woman unbolts her seat belt as she leans over to the man and starts kissing him, as this is happening we are shown a two shot of them both kissing and in the background we see headlights of another vehicle, which is effective as it makes the audience panic and worry if it will hit the car as we are shown a close up of the seat belt being undone so straight away we suggest that something is about to happen. We then hear a voice over from Channing Tatum telling the audience of his theory of moments of impact, and as he says this the lorry behind them goes straight into the back of their car creating an 'impact'. This is a typical thing in a romance film as there are always things that go wrong where both the man and women have to try and overcome it and sort it out.

In the film the two main characters that are used to play the man and woman in love are Channing Tatum and Rachel Mc Adams who are both good looking which attracts people to the film as it has well know actors and actresses in. Its common in romance films to have a couple that are attractive as they are known as the 'perfect couple', and engages the audience more as they are mainly female so typically they need a good looking man and to have a good looking woman also in the film and putting them together makes sense, however people would question the fact if he was with a woman less attractive than him.

Love Actually Opening

The scene opens with soft and slow non-diegetic music, showing a couple in a crowded place hugging as if they haven't seen each other in a long time, these denotations could connate that they may be in an airport and meeting each other again as the woman had a rucksack on her back which tells the audience that she may of been away travelling. The music gets happier when the couple start to kiss and when we start seeing other families and couples see each other after a long time.

A voice over by Hugh Grant comes into the opening as he starts to discuss the fact that all of these clips of people are all reactions to families and couples at Heathrow airport and trying to show the audience that 'love is everywhere'. The voice over by Hugh Grant is effective to the audience as he is a well known actor so therefore him speaking in the voice over gets your attention. The voice over is also effective as it shows the typical conventions of the film being a romance, as there is non-diegetic ballet music playing and shows love and happiness at a stereotypical such as an airport where most scenes in love films end, however this film subverts this as it is opening with the scene.

You are shown close ups of different people showing different kinds of love such as old couples, young couples, husbands and wives, mother and daughter and father and son. Hugh emphasises on the phrase 'love actually is all around' which relates to the title of the film and genre 'love actually'. The effects of all the close ups used show the audience the emotion on peoples faces, of happiness, love and joy which are all stereotypically related to a love film such as a romance. The voice over is again also effective as it also makes the clips of the people at Heathrow more special and shows the importance of love because if you didn't have the voice over explaining the meaning of 'love' and what was going on then you wouldn't get the same effect as it  in captures you as the audience into the opening which makes you want to keep watching the film to the end.

codes and conventions of romance

Skyfall Opening

The Opening scene to Skyfall starts with non diegetic music that sounds slightly sinister, which starts straight away. The denotations are of a male black silhouette, gun in hand, in a dark corridor, all of these connote that due to the fact the man has a gun it could mean that we may be about to see some action which gives a sense of danger, the camera shot used for the opening scene is a long shot showing a figure at the end of a long corridor. As the figure starts to walk closer to the camera the music starts to build up the closer he gets creating tension as if something is about to happen. It is unclear on what gender the figure is, however as they walk closer to the camera you can start to tell that it is a man, as you get a close up shot, the music suddenly bursts out with a loud sound of a sharp knife being pulled out of its sheath. As this happens the man eyes are shown through a beam of light which shows the face of he mysterious figure who happens to be 'James Bond'  which straight away would attract the audience as he is a well known actor. When the noise of the sharp knifes occurs he hears something and pulls out his gun, which gives a sense of danger as he is using it as a defence.

We then get shown an over the shoulder shot of what is to believe the main character, this enables the audience to see the end of the corridor and what he is walking towards. The music is still sinister and keeping that sense of tension the closer he reaches the door at the end. The door look to be open, either someone is there or someone has tried to get in, this makes the audience unaware as to what is behind the door and in that room which entices them into the film even more. When he looks around the room to find a dead body lying in blood the music starts to get faster and more interesting as if some kind of action is about to take place, as the camera turns around you get a close up of another body lying face down on the floor of a bathroom, this suggests that there is a murderer and that the man was expecting this as he had his gun at the ready.

we then hear dialogue, which sounds technical as if the man is on some sort of mission to get a 'hard dive' as he states when talking through a head piece to a women who he seem to be reporting back, so that suggests that he may be working for her. In the background there is a big open window with light beaming down on  man slouched over an arm chair suggesting he is in pain and has also been shot. The women then tells the man through the heard piece that he needs to "go after him" however he ignores that instruction as he tried to save a man who we believe to also be working with them as he called him' Ronson' so he knows his name, she tells him to leave him as they don't have time which means that the 'hard drive' they are after must be very important as they had to leave one of their own people to die. A low angle and two shot camera angle are used which shows you both of the characters and then the effect of the low angle shot makes them both look venerable to what might be in the other room. The room he walks into is pitch black, and the non- diegetic music becomes sinister again and gives out a sense of danger, the ma is also pointing his gun out toward the end of the room in case anything is going to happen.

The non-diegetic music gets louder the closer he is to leaving the room and starts to get creepier an high pitched, however as he reaches he end the music starts to gain a beat and becomes faster and interesting as he then enters the street ahead of him. As he is now outside you can finally see what he is wearing, which is a suit, the suit is still clean and tidy as if nothing has just happened and his hands are clean even though he was just pressing a rag against the other mans chest were he was bleeding. A car then speeds around the corner, barely stopping as the man then jumps in and as he shuts the door the car pulls away quickly with both characters saying nothing to each other, which suggests that the man was expecting the woman to come.

 

Dear John Analysis

The opening to Dear John subverts a normal stereotypical romance as it shows a lot of action and war scenes, however they do normally have some kind of 'hero' in the film and the soldier that is lying on the ground may represent this.

At the beginning to the opening it starts off with non- diegetic music which is slow and creates a sense of sadness to scene. whilst the music is playing the screen goes from black to then an image of a young soldier lying on the ground. You hear diegetic sounds of gun shots which suggests they are in war and that some sort of action has taken place or is about to and can also mean that the guy on the ground may of been shot which is suggested by the fact a close up angle used where you see that the soldiers eyes are closed, the camera then goes into a high angle shot showing the audience that there is also another soldier helping the man and as this is happening the voice who we believe to be the man on the ground continues talking to audience about his thoughts as he blacked out and became unconscious.

Non - diegetic music of falling coins start as the man tells the audience that coins were the one of the things that he remembered. A close up angle of a young boy is displayed suggesting this is a flash back of the man when he was younger, this is inferred when the man says "I'm eight years again".
The camera shots flow fluently from different close ups of the coins as the man describes how they are made. The camera goes back onto the scene of the soldiers showing a low angle shot  of the solider trying to help him, emphasising the panic, worry and helplessness on his face with the use of a close up shot.

The man on the ground starts relating himself to the coin as he says" I am a coin in the US army" and that he now has " two small holes in him" telling the audience he has been shot. Straight away from the denotations of the army clothing, helmets, guns and shooting, connotations are made that this may be a war film involving action. However, from the way the man is speaking it could be some sort of letter he reading out to someone he loves as in many love films people do this as the person may dying, all of this is suggested as he says " the last thing that entered my mind was...... you"

 

 

The Raiders of the Lost Ark

In  the opening two minutes of the Raiders of he Lost Ark, non diegetic music is played setting the mysterious mood of the scene. You are then shown an establishing shot of the jungle, which then follows on with diegetic music of the sound of birds tweeting which relate to the setting of the jungle. The music starts straight away showing us the genre of the film before any of the acting starts, the music also fits in well with the scene and entices you in even more. Through Mise- en- scene the characters are shown to be explorers or in some sort of tribe, we see this through the denotations of the characters such as beige shorts, hats, tops, parker jackets and then walking boots, the stereotypical 'explorer', these all connote the fact that that they may be on some sort of a journey or quest somewhere 'exotic' due to their tribal like clothes as well. The characters clothes are also torn and dirty which may suggest they have just been in some sort of fight or have been walking for a while and had the branches of the trees or bushes get caught on their clothes, all of these denotations could also suggest that later on in the film there may be some action.

We then get a mid shot of the characters through the foliage making the setting look quite sinister as if something may be behind the trees and bushes , and then to create even more suspense the characters are constantly looking behind their shoulders creating a sense of fear and curiosity as if they are expecting someone to be there. As we get another shot of the characters walking through the jungle we can see there is an obvious leader or hero as they are the only one with the better clothes on making them different to everyone else, another reason that leads to me thinking that he is the leader is due to the fact he is at the front and leading the way.

We hear a sudden change in he music which turns from mysterious to sinister in a disjointed way as they approach the face of the wall. Diegetic music is used again when you hear the rustle of the leaves drawn away from the wall. When the character looks at the wall you are presented with an over the shoulder shot to make the viewer feel as if you are there with him and part of the crew. As the leaves and bushes are drawn away from the wall bats fly out which again is a diegetic sound creating a spooky effect. Bats are normally associated with dark, scary caves or houses, so from this you can connote that behind this wall could lead to somewhere dark, secret and creepy. The disjointed music also becomes a lot lower creating a different mood to before when it was sinister. A two shot of two men is shown of them looking behind them as if something may be there.

Just to familiarise the audience and viewers again an establishing shot is used to show the setting of the scene of the jungle so that they do not get confused. To end the last two minutes we are shown a close up shot of an arrow in a tree, the use of this shot is to emphasise the object as it may have a significant meaning later on in the film and may suggest some sort of action or danger.

horror genre

 

 

Horror genre

Horror can be split into sub genres:

The monster scare

Psychological thrillers

Slasher…

·         Split into sub genres-often hybrids

·         Primary target audience –male, 16-24

·         15 or 18 certification (promises of pleasure)- debates  on passive consumption

·         Extensive use of narrative enigmas

·         Slow pace of editing, builds tension. Long takes.

Codes and conventions

·         Three act narrative structure

·         Predictable narrative content (follows format)

·         Clear binary oppositions e.g. good v evil

·         Use low key lighting, use of CGI, FX

·         Dominant representation of gender: male villain, the female victim

·         Extensive use of close up, points of view shots, long angle view shots

·         Young/ teenage characters

·         Use of hand- held camera: audience identification/realism

 

associations with a horror film:

• isolated house
• dark lighting
• murder
• gore
• scary music
• victim and villains

 

 

Target Audience

• male audience if there are a lot of gorey/ violent scenes
• ages from 15-25
• exciting and thrilling
• dramatic scenes
• plessure of being scared
• women often play victaim which attracts the men
 
 

 

 

 

Scream 4

Two minute opening to the film scream 4            

As the opening to the film starts we are presented with what we believe a medium shot of the main character from behind. The denotations in the opening scene are of a girl leaning over the banister with her back turned and a light hanging low from the ceiling, these are all connotations to the fact she may be looking for someone and that she isn't alone as the light outside of the room she was in was turned on may suggests that someone was downstairs. The women then shouts out a name telling us that someone else is expected to be in the house maybe a family member or friend.

straight away from the slight angled shot of the character running down the stairs you can see that the house is pretty dark as you are able to see into the other rooms and see there are no other lights on which connotes the fact that something may be hiding in the dark rooms or that whoever was downstairs no longer is. The way the women runs down the stairs creates a sense of panic and worry, this has an effect on the audience as it builds up the tension as to what's about to happen and if she will enter them rooms. The house is quiet which emphasises her fear and the dogs barking in the background makes the scene creepier as it makes you think the dogs outside have seen something from the house.

A close up shot is used to show the audience an object laying on the floor which I believe is some sort of pot or vase, the effect of this could connote a significance towards that specific object later on in the film. The way that the pot was laying there could mean that someone could of knocked it off in a hurry or on purpose as you would normally pick something up like that and put it back if you had knocked it over.

Suddenly there is a change in setting and mood which we are shown by using an establishing shot to let the audience know the room the character is in has changed, and by doing this it also shows us that two doors at the back of the room have been left open. shorty after a close up of the woman's face is shown expressing her emotion of shock.From this emotion connotations that someone may of broken in are presented as it tells us that them doors are obviously not normally left open especially at night. once again the use of this shot carries the feel of tension on as you are led to believe some one else is now in the house with her.

As the camera moves into a low angle shot of the woman looking behind the sofa it creates a feeling that someone or something is beneath her and this expresses the anxiety on her face ,the camera moves into a close up emphasising the fear on the women's face even more. Over the shoulder shots are used quite a lot in the opening and one of them is used when the woman is looking down on the floor to see her friend laying there laughing, the use of that shot is used to frame the image of the friend and that one shot makes you focus even more on that one character. Five more over the shoulder shots are used when the two characters are having a discussion to show which one is speaking.

As commonly used after an over the shoulder shot is an establishing shot to just redirect the the audience back into the room so that they are aware of the setting. The scene then starts to become a lot scarier after what we thought as a murder was only a joke made by the friend as we are then presented with a long shot to encapsulate a wide spaced area of the room and with both characters in two different places. You are then shown the face of 'scream' behind the fridge door in a long shot, this creates an effect on the audience as you can see the two characters clueless as to what is in the room with them. Shortly after, another other over the shoulder shot is shown showing a two shot of the woman and 'scream', this shot catches the audiences eye as the women turned around to see a close up of 'scream' behind her friend. The attention is now on the 'new character' scream, the denotations of this character are a long black cloak, white mask and a knife in his hand these all connote a sense of murders in the film.

To end the opening a low shot angle is used which is also combined with a close up of the character 'scream' the angle of this shot makes the woman on the floor vulnerable to what he is about to do and makes the audience wonder what is about to happen next.