Drive Opening Scene Analysis

In the opening scene of drive straight away we hear some non-diegetic music, shortly after this we hear dialogue of the character (who’s face we cannot see) looking out the window talking to someone on the phone. Linking to mis en scene, from what the character is wearing it shows that he may not be the most normal person as nobody really dresses like that, this could also mean that he is not like anyone else in a good way, maybe the scorpion on his jacket is a trademark? The camera angle is a slow pan of the hotel room which he is staying in which could make us think that he is constantly on the move and never really wants to be tracked, this can also be showed by when he says “and you won’t be able to reach me on this phone again” this makes the character very suspicious yet mysterious at the same time. At the end of the scene the pan is interrupted by the window in the room, it pauses there for a second and then zooms in making us feel that, that is where the character is going to strike.

(video is in link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG8dp6UsluE

Batman Begins Opening Scene Analysis

In the first shot of the opening scene of batman begins there is a shot going sideward’s on a track dolly looking into a bush, this sets us with the pace of the children running in the next shot after this, there is then another sideward’s tracking shot of the boy running in the greenhouse, all through this part there is not diegetic sound of an orchestra in the background. There is then a short exchange of dialogue between the boy and the girl slowing down the pace before being sped back up by the boy snatching the object the girl was holding and running off with it again. As the boy falls into the well there is a low angle shot pointing up at the entrance of the well to exaggerate the height of it as well as get a good shot of the boy falling, there is then a quick close up of the boy’s face as he hits the bottom but then it goes back to the low angle pointing up to the top of the well where you can see the girls head leaning over. Throughout this part of the opening scene I noticed how the kids were dressed and where the scene was set, to me this gave the impression that they were both from a wealthy background. Another thing that is noticeable throughout this part of the opening scene is the non-diegetic sound of the orchestra in the background, it is quite fast paced until the boy falls down the well as it then starts to get quite eerie as there is a slow zoom into a cave in the well where loads of bats fly out and attack him, the amount of bats in this shot causes the viewer to become quite disorientated making him more interactive within the scene. After this we are then introduced to what seems to be the grown version of the boy in the same position as the boy was lying in the last frame. There is then a fight scene with diegetic sound as the punches that are thrown.

The Place Behind The Pines Opening Scene Analysis

The opening scene of the place behind the pines straight away features diegetic sound and is set in a room with low key lighting only showing the torso of the character and his prop which is a butterfly knife. The camera then continues to follow the character into a fairground which once again is lit by low key lighting; we still have not seen the characters face in any of the angles. The thing that makes the audience feel as if they are interacting with this opening scene is the fact that it is all one shot so it is almost like we are following this mysterious character to wherever he may be going. Linking to mis en scene, the contrast of what we perceive the character to be like from his clothes, the way he acts and his body shape compared to the fun and non-seriousness of the fairground is very strong this builds the character up to emphasise how masculine and serious he actually is. At one point in this scene the character walks underneath the advertisement for a fairground ride which is loads of flashing lighting, this lighting puts the spotlight on the character which makes us concentrate more on him than anything else in the shot, there is also some diegetic sound of kids on fairground rides. The character then walks into a tent which we can tell is the place he is heading because he walks through a crowd of people who cheer him, the way the camera has followed him through the crowd gives the audience a real in the moment feel to the scene, at this point there is some more diegetic sound which is the man on the microphone introducing the character we have just been following in the scene. At the last part of the opening scene we finally see the characters face it is a close up so it is more exiting as we have finally found out who he is, get on a motorbike and ride into a spherical cage, the way it has been filmed from a low angle emphasises how dangerous it is making the character out to be dangerous.

Seven Opening Scene Analysis

Sound-

In the opening scene of seven there is a lot of ambient sound in the background whilst the detective is in his apartment, this makes the audience focus more on what the detectives actions are rather than what is happening outside that scene. It also gives information about where the scene is set. It is also very eerie as when he is in the place the he starts to investigate there is very little sound. However the mechanical screechy sounds in the opening credits before the first scene is very disturbing.

Mis en scene-

The low key lighting in the opening scene makes the audience feel as if this is going to be quite a dark film or maybe quite sad. The way in which the detectives house is set out is very tidy and organised, this leads us to think that he may not have much going on in his life other than his work.

Editing-

 The slow cuts within the opening scene makes you pay more attention to the surroundings in each cut, it also gives more dominance to the character as he is in pretty much every shot.

Cinematography-

 The close ups involved in the opening credits of the film make us pay attention to the small details in which we would simply oversee if it was filmed from any further away, this could make the viewer feel like you have to pay close attention to the film to fully understand it as there are small but important details that you could miss out on.

Red Dragon Opening Scene Analysis

Sound

During the first few scenes of the film Red Dragon we hear orchestral music; this could show the upper class in which the main character Hannibal Lecter is based in, although this is the diegetic music in the scene it is still a key element to show the time and area in which the film is based.

The ambient sound builds up tension throughout the scene as it is contrapuntal, this can make the viewer feel quite uneasy.

Mise-en-scene

From the way the characters are dressed in the first scene we can automatically tell that they are wealthy people also because during the time the film was set not many poor people could get into orchestra shows.

The house in which they have their meal also shows their social status, this is also shown by the lighting as it has quite a golden tone to indicate wealth.

Cinematography

They get an established shot of hanibal to show the kind of person he is, the camera zooms into him very slowly to add tension. The same effect is given by the tracking shots towards him, it almost gives him power.

Editing  

There are fast cuts throughout the starting scene to make the scene flow fast as it fits in with the music better.

The fast tempo puts more of a focus on the musicians to keep the idea of hanibal being subtle within the crowd  as he does not want to be seen.

AS MEDIA: FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION

AS MEDIA: FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO

PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION

1.     What is the 180 degree rule?

The 180-degree rule is the rule that when you are filming a numerous amount of characters you have to stay on the same side of them so that the viewer does not get disorientated.

2.     What is a match on action?

A match of action is a continuous shot filmed from different angles, it is when you cut into a close up of an action to put emphasis on a key point in a scene. it is also used to show something small that is important that you otherwise would not be able to see from a normal angle.

3.     What is an eye line match?

An eye line match is when two characters are exchanging dialogue whilst starring at each other eye to eye this is used so that the audience know exactly who is talking to who.

4.

What is shot reverse shot?

Shot reverse shot is a series of shots between two characters that are exchanging dialogue, this shot clearly shows who is talking to at what point.

5.how did the film making process go in terms of filmmaking compared to the storyboard?

We stuck to the outline of the storyboard however we did go into more detail within our shots throughout the stages of filming.  I think this was for the best however as the whole video would have been very basic if we had not done this. As we had a lack of props we ended up using our surroundings to help us as a scene. we found that there was a lack of angles within the film so we added a variation of different ones to make the film more interesting.

6.

What did you learn from adobe premiere?

I learnt how to cut a film to make the scenes within it flow better rather than having pauses with no dialogue in each scene. I also learnt how to edit on match on action, I did this when James knocked on the door as I edited to cuts of the same action so it went to a close up to add effect.