From this opening scene we begin to see the these of danger and it is very tense. The narrative shows a man in space who is climbing down a large structure then there is an explosion and he falls towards earth. From the scene, I think it sets up the narrative for the rest of the film as being about the danger of space and maybe trying to achieve something to do with the structure, such as fixing it or rescuing the people. We can tell that the man is in space from his costume, the setting and the way he is walking, therefore we know that this is probably going to be what the rest of the film is about. The first shot is looking over out of the space station down to earth showing the man climbing down a ladder, this shot exaggerates how small he is compared to the world and highlights his insignificance. We then see him from straight above and we can see how high up he is which makes us scared for him and scared that he will fall.
As the scene goes on we see how big this structure is and how in danger he is of falling.
I think that the target audience for this film would be young adults, and people who are interested in space and science fiction.
The genre is set up due to the setting, the danger and atmosphere presented in this scene. The use of space is stereotypical for a sci-fi movie.
We are only introduced to one character, who we assume to be the main character of the film, then we also hear some people through the radio of the astronaut who seem to be down on earth and are controlling whatever mission they are completing.
The technical aspects such as camera angles show the importance of this character, such as eye-line matches, tracking shots.
The sound used created tension, for example the diegetic sound effects of the operators voices, who are getting more and more panicked as the man stops replying.
The eye-line match from the man to the person falling from the top of the structure shows his fear about the danger he is in. I think that this is a successful opening scene as it created tension so the audience want to know what happens. However we are only introduced to one character which doesn't tell us much about what will happen in the film.
Main Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford
The scene is set with a man alone in the dark, which sets the narrative that something bad is about to happen.
This is a stereotypical scene for the beginning of a horror movie as we associate the dark with the unknown and therefore it is seen as scary. There is no soundtrack on the only sound we can hear is the diegetic sound of the man on the phone with a few other sound effects in the background like dogs barking. When he puts the phone down there is not much sound until we see a car driving towards him. From the man's reaction to the car we can tell that he's scared and something is going to happen. He then gets tackled and taken into the car. we can assume that the rest of the film will be about him trying to escape from these people or something along those lines. The target audience for this film will be an older audience or young adults, this is as it is quite tense and scary so not suitable for children.
We are introduced to three characters, firstly, the man who is walking around the suburb. The camera is tracking as he walks and seems to be following him around, it also circles around him. We can connote that he is of importance due to this. He is presented as being a protagonist as he is the one that seems scared and like he will be the victim. He is the only person that we see his face, therefore we think that he is not hiding anything and is innocent. We also hear to the person that he is on the phone with, we can guess that this is his wife/girlfriend and that she will make an appearance later on in the film. We are also introduced to the antagonist Who is the person in the car who kidnaps the man. We only ever see him as a silhouette and do not see his face which creates a sense of Mystery and reinforcing unknown. When is is put into the car, the camera is still tracking it, showing that the action is following the main character wherever he goes, which gives us the impression that the rest of the film will be about him.
The music as the man is being kidnapped is quite upbeat, so is contrapuntal to what is going on, this makes the scene a lot more creepy. Then as the car stops it stops and we hear violins playing getting faster and faster, which created tension and we begin to realise what has just happened.
An editing technique that is used is the use of a continuous shot all the way through this scene, there are no cuts can if the camera changes angle it is jus moved. This creates tension as it feels like the scene is long and drawn out and we are waiting for something to happen.
I think that this scene is very effective, mainly due to the lighting used and the sound, especially the switch from diegetic music in the car to the non diegetic soundtrack of the same song, and this gives the effect that the kidnapper has taken over and is now in control, whereas before he was just contained in his car like the music.
Main Cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey
From the beginning shot of this scene we are presented with the theme of violence and suffering. We expect the rest of the film to be based of violence and war as well because of the first scene where we are shown dead soldiers covered in blood. We know that the film will not hide any aspects of gore or try and make it look less shocking than it is. As right from the beginning the audience is shocked by the terrors of what the war holds. I think that the rest of the film will also involve a lot of death, this is due to the fact from the first few seconds we see 7 dead bodies and it doesn't seem like anyone cares about them or is taking the bodies away, so therefore is a normal thing amongst these soldiers, meaning it has happened a lot and will continue to have a lot more deaths. Following this, we also see a lot more people being blown up and on fire flying across the field so the lack of value for human life is definitely portrayed.
The first shot is unreserved and is not sugarcoating anything, so therefore shows it would be for an older audience due to the gore and how straightforward and direst it is with showing this right from the beginning. We also can tell that it is for an older audience from the quite dull colours used as this usually wouldn't interest children very much.
The genre of the film is set up as this first scene is shown on the front lines of a war-field. We see explosions, fire and injuries. All of these things are associated with war so therefore we can quickly make the connotation that the film is about war. Another thing that sets up the genre is the costumes that the characters are wearing. They are wearing typical things that soldiers would wear in the war, therefore giving us a clear picture of what is happening.
In this opening scene, we aren't introduced to any specific character, other than one, and we just see a lot of different people on the battlefield. I think this highlights the fact these soldiers lives were treated and seen as quite insignificant and it shows how people struggle to see then as personal individuals, and just as a group of soldiers. We hardly see any of their faces, which adds to this illusion that all the soldiers are just a group of people taking part in the war, and not separate people with individual personalities. However the people we do see are shown as being quite strong, as most of them are running through a field of bombs and fire. We are only really introduced to one individual for a few seconds, were we firstly see a shot of him being carried on a stretcher, then it cuts to a POV shot through his eyes of him lying on the stretcher. About a minute later it goes back to him and we see his face and his injured leg as he is being carried. We can guess that from this he may go on the be the main character of this film.
As we see the point of view of the man on the stretcher there is a diegetic sound effect of his heart beat, this makes the audience feel more connected to him and helps us get a sense of his fear and emotions. We also know his name as right at the end, one of the people carrying him says 'hang on Desmond'. This contrasts to the other soldiers as we do not get any factors to help us see their emotions at all.
The whole of this opening sequence is in slow motion, this puts emphasis on what is going on as when dramatic things such as bombs going off happen, it feels like to us that it is happening in slow motion. It also wouldn't be ad effective in usual speed as it would be over in a few seconds, therefore having it in slow motion gives us more time to process and think about it.
I think one of the most key moments in this scene is when we see the soldiers stumbling towards the camera as they are on fire, showing moments before their death. As we see them, the camera does a fast motion pan to show what else is happening, which shows us how much is going on and this is only one of the many shocking things to occur.
Throughout the scene we hear a diegetic soundtrack which is very dramatic and consists of violins playing slowly underneath the diegetic sounds of the war and screams of the soldiers in slow motion. About one minute in we hear a diegetic voice over which sounds like an old man. It sounds hopeful and is talking about if you have hope in the lord then they will win the war.
The editing techniques that have been used are the contrast in colours, especially in this moment with the fire. As throughout the scene, all of the people and the surroundings are very dull colours. The only colour we really see is the fire and the blood which are very bright. This draws our eyes to them and highlights the pain.
I think that this is a successful opening scene as it is very shocking and engaging and we can find out a lot about the film from this first few minutes.
Research into Charlies Angels (2000) Opening scene
Charlies Angels (2000) was directed by McG.
It stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Li.
I think that this film could be aimed at younger women as it is very empowering to women and female led. This is implied in the opening scene as the three main characters we are introduced to be the protagonists, and we find out near the end that they are all female. We get the impression that they are saving the world.
The genre of the film in introduced when we see the bomb attached to the man. Immediately this presents violence. From this point there is tension throughout the scene as we know there is a bomb ticking and are not sure what will happen and when it will go off.
The first main character that is introduced is what seems to be a male, who looks very confident and powerful. This is presented through the way he is walking and the camera angle, the camera is tracking as he walks and following him, whilst he is walking we don't see his face, and it is just focused on below his shoulders. This presents him as very mysterious and intimidating.
As he is walking down the isles a lot of peoples heads turn, and some people move out of the way as he is walking, showing that he is being noticed and the people seem to be intimidated by him as they look at him, therefore connoting he has a lot of power over them.
When this character tries to enter the first class area he is looked down on by the flight steward, showing that he is doubting the mans importance and thinks that he is not a first class passenger. From the way the flight steward looks at the man, we can connote that he is judging him by what he is wearing, we know this as from the over the shoulder shot, we can see that he looks the man up and down when he is denying him access to the first class.
When he walks in and sits down we see his importance from how unfazed he is, he is sitting very upright and looking straight forward. This shows dominance, especially next to the person who is slouching and looking intimidated.
The camera techniques show his importance, for example the tracking behind him shows that the action is following him.
Another key moment of camera work is when the bomb is shown for the first time, and the camera suddenly cuts to a close up of it, this adds tension as it makes us shocked at how dramatic and suddenly we see this. The soundtrack is quite calm, and quite constant, showing their mood is staying the same throughout. It presents the characters as being quite sly as they are relaxed about the fact one of them has drugs and the other has a bomb.
The shot of them before and during jumping out the plane is a very long shot, and instead of cutting it shows the camera turning around. This presents more tension as it makes it more long and drawn out therefore making us want to know what will happen next and when it will cut to something else.
In conclusion, I think that this is a successful opening scene as it creates tension very well, therefore hooking the audience and making them want to know what is going to happen.
Genre is the main category that a film is put into, based on the similarities in the narrative or emotional response to different films.
Genre is used to match different audiences to the right films for them. You can find the genre of a film in any description of it. The institution use genre to aim their films at different audiences, and will advertise them in different ways in order for different people to see it.
A sub genre is a category within a genre, they are more specific and give us more information about the film. They are used to give the consumer a deeper understanding.
A hybrid genre is when, instead of just being described by one genre, a film is described with two or more genres blended. It is used to attract more audience as it is a bit more of a broader description, therefore the institution would make more money if more people like the film.
Examples of genres and what we associate with them:
Action
Weapons, physical, running, intense
An example of an action film is Disney's Mulan (2020)
It was directed by Niki Caro and Filmed by Walt Disney Pictures
Horror
Monsters, haunting, violence, blood, gore
An example of a horror film is the Conjuring (2013)
It was directed by James Wan and filmed by New Line Cinema and The Safran Company Evergreen Media Group
Thriller
Crime, violence, blood, exiting, surprise
An example of a thriller is Inheritance (2020)
It was directed by Vaughn Stein and filmed by Vertical Entertainment
Romance
Love, lust, relationships, passion, idealisation,
An example of a romance film is Me Before You (2016)
It was directed by Thea Sharrock and filmed by New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at at Pinewood Studios
Western
Cowboys, horses, guns, gang plots, crime
An example of a western film is The Sisters Brothers (2018)
It was directed by Jacques Audiard and filmed by Annapurna Pictures and Why Not Productions
Production is the process of making the film. It includes Pre-production, production and post production.
- Pre production includes the planning of the film: coming up with the title and scope of the film, storyboarding, sequence of instructions, writing the voice over script and a script review.
This plan for a battlefield fight is an example of the kind of things that would be included in pre production.
- Production includes: Rehearsal, Video shoot, Voice over recording and reshoots.
- Post production includes: Rough cut review, review of the voice over, retakes, final cut reviews, picture and sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects. This is a behind the scenes video of the Last Jedi production and post production. The last Jedi was produced by Lucasfilm.
Marketing
Marketing is the process of making the film known and creating hype for it.
Film promotion usually includes franchising, merchandising, interviews with key people involved in the film, advertising campaigns, press releases, printed media (newspaper/magazines ect)
An example is this front cover of a star wars magazine which is advertising the Last Jedi.
Another example would be that in the UK Royal mail released a set of 8 promotional stamps on October 12, 2017. This would build awareness and hype for the film as it is getting people exited for it a months before it has been released. There were also stamps released in Australia which would build international hype and therefore increase the profit of the film.
Exhibition
Exhibition refers to the retail side of film making, it includes public screening, usually in cinemas for paying customers. The poster below is an example of the type of exhibition that took place.
Distribution
Distribution is the selling of films and making it available to the audience. The distribution chain shows us the order in which films are released into different areas usually. However not all films stick to this and some, for example, are released straight onto VOD. This is the distribution chain:
Cinema
↓
Blu ray & DVD & VOD
↓
Rental
↓
Streaming
↓
Pay for view/Network
↓
TV
The Last Jedi was distributed by Walt Disney studio Motion Pictures. It had its world premiere at the Shrine auditorium and the European premier was in the Royal Albert hall. Its release was on December 15 2017, and then 5 months later it was released to home video.
