Openings Analysis Guidance

Consider the following key questions about mise-en-scene and camera composition to analyse film openings:

What costume do characters wear and what are the key connotations?
What body language is used by characters and to what effect?
What are we shown by proxemics (how far apart characters are) and what is communicated to the audience?
How is lighting used and what effect does it have?
What settings are there and how are they established?
What is said and how does it make the audience think or feel?
What key shots are used and to what effect?

Aim to analyse three film openings using key terms and concepts learned in your G321 and G322 studies.

Camera shots used in the opening of saving private ryan

One of the main camera shots used is close ups. The first shot used in the scene is a close up of the main characters face, that then pulls out to show that he is standing in a landing craft surrounded by other soldiers. This tells us that he is an important character because he is the first one shown and is shown for the longest time during the opening shot. Using a close up as the first shot is different to most films as they would often start a scene with an establishing shot, normally a long range or birds eye. Close ups are used a lot during the whole opening, especially at the beginning when they are still in the landing craft. This is used to show the emotions of the soldiers while they are moving to the shore.

Over-the-shoulder shot

Another shot type that is used is an over the shoulder shot. This shot us taken over the shoulder of the German soldiers in the bunker shooting the machine gun. This shows the audience the shore line and how effective the machine guns are as they are killing most of the American soldiers. This shot is also taken at a high angle, looking down on the beach. This gives the impression that the american soldiers down on the beach are more venerable and inferior to the Germans in the bunker. 

Much of the opening scene is also shot without tracks or any equipment to keep the camera stable as they move up the beach. This makes the camera jerk about causing some of the footage to be blurry, making the audience feel like they are actually there on the beach among the confusion.

My favorite genres of film.

My Favorite Genres of film

Out of the many different genre of film my favorites are:

• War
• Action
• Spoof Horror

 Note that spoof horror is actually a sub-genre of Horror and not a full genre in its self, but i thought I would include it anyway as this list would be even more pathetically short if i didn't. I am going to explain why i like each of these genres and talk about some of the conventions of each.

 WAR 

One reason why war is my most favorite genre of film is because i have grown up with it. This is because my father is also a large fan of the genre. 

The first war film that i was shown (reluctantly at first) was The Battle of Britain, an old epic that as the name suggests is about the battle of Britain, where the Luftwaffe fought the RAF to try to gain control of the sky's of Britain in preparation for intended invasion of Britain. One reason that i like this film is that is historically accurate, while still being entertaining. For example, in one scene, Squadron Leader Canfield (Micheal Cane) is sitting in his plane waiting for orders to take off when he pulls out the line "The plane is overheating and so am I, we ether stand down or blow up!Which do you want?" I also admit that it make me feel patriotic at the end when the RAF wins! 

One convention of war films is that they often have an emotional climax, normally with the main character(s) getting killed. A good example of this the recent war film Fury. Fury demonstrates this convention the end of the film where all but one of the crew of the tank that the film is based around is killed in an epic final battle. Fury is another one of my favorite war films. This is because of the gritty realism of the combat that helps to give a picture of what it might have been like to be in WWII. I also like the demonstration of camaraderie or brotherhood shown by the crew of the tank.

Action

Action is one of those genres of film that everyone watches at some point in their lives. Action classics such as Die hard and Terminator are example of this as I have not come across anyone who hasn't seen one of these films. One convention of action films, explosions and car chases are why i like these films. Both die had and terminator are good examples of this convention as they contain many fast and exciting car chases normally ending in an explosion. One reason that I like these films in particular is because they have fun and engaging plots, mixed with thrilling gunfights.

Spoof Horror 

Like I mentioned before spoof horror is a sub-genre. My favorite film from this genre is Dog soldiers. Dog soldiers is a film about a platoon of British soldiers that are sent unknowingly as bait for a trap to catch a werewolf in the Scottish highlands. They are left cutoff from the world in a remote cottage, where they have to try to survive the night through the determined attacks from the were wolfs. I Like this film because of is great black humor and ridiculous plot that keeps me entertained the whole way through. My favorite bit is when 'Spoon' (one of the soldiers) is sent out of the window to act a diversion for one of the other soldiers to try to start the car so the can escape. Spoon achieves this by jumping out of the window and shouting the line "come and have a go if you think you are hard enough",followed by lighting a flare.

The Journey Begins...

Congratulations on starting your journey towards becoming a creative and reflective film producer! Start your journey by commenting on your favourite genres and your reasons for being a fan - aim to explore conventions of genre and profile a notable director!