Choose Opening Analysis - Chelsea Neil

Research #1 - Choose (2011)

This movie was released on the 23rd March 2011, it is known as the genres 'Crime, horror, drama, thriller'. I have analysed the beginning of the film (First 2 minutes):

Analysis

The beginning of this film starts with a girl on the screen talking to another teenager - They appear to be gossiping about girly things, this instantly makes you believe that this is a normal day to day thing and that everything is normal. Not only this, but the shot is of a girl talking on the screen, the reflection of the girl on the left hand side makes you realise that another girl is watching this.

In the second shot, more characters are introduced. There is a straight edit into a two shot to make it flow, not only this, but straight away you can tell that these two new characters are in fact the parents.





This is then followed by a close-up of the girl, it makes the audience know what she is feeling by her emotions and her facial expressions.

The mise-en-scene in this shot demonstrates the life of a typical teenager, the room is very girly and pink with everything around the girl, the colours on the girl make her blend into her bedroom. Not only this but the teenage girl is talking to her friends on her laptop which is a typical thing teenagers are known to be doing and is then disrupted by her parents walking into her room, telling her to go to bed. This shot is a two shot, which then moves onto a shot reverse shot between both the teenage girl and her father sitting on the bed and her mother standing near the door.

This two shot starts to open up and give the audience a view of the atmosphere they are in, from what this shot shows, it is clear they are in a large house - A wealthy family?

As the beginning of the film starts to progress, more and more characters are starting to be introduced. The mise-en-scene on this is a typical boys bedroom, it isn't overly messy and has a general mix of colours involved. From this point everything still looks like a completely normal household.

This shot creates a general mix of questions - Who is it, why is there a light on, where are they, are they doing something wrong?

I like how this shot doesn't reveal the character, but gives the audience a small type of tension. It gives a close up of a boy with a torch reading something, making us wonder why he is hiding under the covers.

The extreme close up of the boy gives us an idea of what he is feeling and tells us who it is and what he is doing, however it does not answer the question of why.

The way this camera shot is shown makes the teenage girl walking out of her room with the phone makes her almost seem like a prey, the fact that the shot makes the house seem so big with hardly any lights make you instantly think that someone is watching her. Not only this, but as the lights are all turned off, it makes you wonder if she is meant to be out of her room and what she is doing.

The way the camera shot is angled makes you wonder what the girl is walking to, it seems that as she is near the window she is in the light, however the further she goes down the stairs the dimmer the lighting gets. This automatically makes things wander through your head - Is something bad going to happen?

The way the shot focuses on the girl walking through the house, turning on the various light switches and the fact that her voice talking onto the phone is a constant reminder that she is there throughout the shot makes it seems as if she is a target as she seems to be the focus. Not only this but there is an ambient sound of the wildlife outside just in the background, there is a slow zoom in of the house, making you think that something is watching her.

I especially like how this shot is done, the way the stairs spiral round is exactly how the camera is angled - The camera spins round as she is walking back up the spiral stairs. The camera spinning represents dizziness and disorientation, something is awaiting for her.

I like how this shot is in the exact same place as on which was previously of her walking down the stairs, it is almost a sense of deja vu.

This shot of the lamp shining bright out the window, then suddenly going back ultimately gives us the impression that something bad is about to happen.

I really like the use of replicating some of the shots in this film opening, it almost gives you a sense that something bad is going to happen throughout the whole opening - It started with brightness and lighting, then faded to darkness with the girl walking around the house.





Unknown- Opening Analysis

Unknown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs0tSoF5rLc

The film starts off with a black screen with white writing at the bottom to show who the film was produced by etc, as it changes scene it then shows the main actors and who is featuring in the film.

The change of scene slowly fades in with vertical stripes and goes into a really messy office. which makes you wonder what has happened there.

The camera then zooms and tracks towards the phone to create tension and make yo wonder what might or what is going to happen. It then fades out to a back screen.

The scene then changes again and the camera is tracing along the pipes on the roof, the it fades out.

It the moves to an empty room and it is as though someone is walking through the room holding a camera. Then it fades out again.

 

 

Then there's a traking shot along some of the lockers in the builing, makes you think if theyre in an old school? Which is the moved into the toilets and a close up of a tap dripping.

It then finally gets to a place where a man then sits up in shock and is looking around trying to see where he is. He then see three other men who are all dead a tied up or hannging from somewhere.

Return to Sleepaway Camp Opening Analysis

Return to Sleepaway Camp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nSygEl5nOQ&feature=related

Analysis

Close up of a poster about the camp. It says that it'll be 'A summer you'll NEVER forget' which can either mean in a good way or a bad way. This shows that something bad might be happening or has happened in the camp before. The camera pans down the poster and slowly zooms in on the writing to emphasise it.

The camera pans across quickly to show other articles about death and bad things that have happened. This make you think that something bad has happened and will happen furtehr on in the film. Randomly over the writing is blood splatters which also adds to the effect of something bad happening.



In the opening the people starring in the film name's are shown and the producers etc. Also with the blood splatters to carry on the effect.

The camera carrys on moving across the pages showing other stories.

The background then turns red which relates to the blood splatters on the pages. Red is also associated with danger and death. 

The movie title writing then slowly fades on onto the background, this is also red and blood like which carries on the thought of someone dying or being killed.

The scene then moves to a slightly tilted to the side view of a house and it then slowly movoes towards the house. This is shoing that the scene is likely to be about the huose or that the next scene will be inside the house next.

The scene then moves to the house/cabin and there are a group of boys messing around with fire and another boy walks in who seems to think that he is better than the rest of them.

The boy then threatens the other boys and then he joins in with what they were doing.

He then gets an aerosol can and sprays that at a flame to create a massive flame to scare away the other boys.

A man then comes in an pulls the boy away from the other boys and hold him there. This shows that he is no longer the 'bigger' person in the room.



The Collector Opening Analysis

The Collector

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbrgnsvAc4 

Analysis

It opens with a tracking shot of a large house, which sets the scene which shows that there maybe someone outside watching the house.

  There’s slow non-diegetic music in the background. there’s a ‘crime scene do not cross’ tape around the tree which adds to the affect of mise-en-scene creating the atmosphere for the film.

A car pulls up at the house and the camera slowly stops to focus on the car. 

The scene then moves into the house with a straight edit. There’s a two shot to show the main characters at this point. Outside it looks like very dark and gloomy night which sets the scene.

 The lighting inside the house is also very dark and gloomy (mise-en-scene).

In the house you cant really see the faces of the people its just dark silhouettes, this creates a spooky atmosphere.

There’s a tracking shot of the woman walking through the house and walking up the stairs.

 

There’s a close up of the man getting something out of the cupboard downstairs and looking at some letters. Which is odd because people normally look at their letters in the morning.  There’s a tilt shot down and then up.

 Then there’s a close up of just his face, this shows that he heard the woman shout/scream and he is going to see what's going on. Then the camera shows what he’s looking at.

  Then there is a close up of the women’s lips because she has shouted something to the man.

 Then there’s a tracking shot of the man running up the stairs. Showing that he is going to see what the woman was shouting about.

 An over the shoulder shot to show where he’s going and who's there. A two shot is used to show who’s in the scene looking at the red box.

There’s a main problem/mystery (the red box) in the scene. it's also a main focus from now on.

A zoom shot is used to get closer to the box/ note. A note is used to also create a sense of mystery.

the house.