Film Opening Analysis

Forest Gump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7voy1vit6Y "Paramount Pictures" is presented to us before the opening to the film is delivered, he fade into the film and view a white feather blowing in the wind in the sky. We start panning as we follow the feather as it drifts through the sky, our focus is on the feather but we over look the city that the film is set in. On top of the opening, we have the opening credits taking place where we introduce the production team and the film's name. There is very soft, calming music that well suits the floating feather, it is very dreamy and light which keeps the audience interested because it almost reflects the way the object moves. The panning is supposed to almost represent the breeze because we move with the feather, where it goes, we also do. It travels in all directions covering all of the space available to make the audience watch it closely and pay attention. This is a good way to make the audience familiar with the area because we unknowingly view all areas from a good distance without being personally introduced or shown directly. The panning continues all the way through but we do get different distances away which can count as different shots, (close up, medium, long distance shots). As the music starts to reach its end, we get closer to the ground where we can now make out people in detail. The audience is almost in suspense to see where this captivating feather will land now it has made a long journey down, it must land somewhere exciting. We continue to pan as we come to a figure where the feather very nearly lands, but as he takes a step forward the feather blows away and the music picks up again telling the audience that this is not the ending point. Finally the feather lands against a very bland, normal looking pair of shoes. A hand reaches down to pick it up from a close shot and we follow the feather up to his face where we are first introduced to him aesthetically. The whole of the opening is one pan shot where we do not use different shots, we do this to resemble the movement of the feather but also create fluidity and a calm mood.The man opens his very orderly suitcase up and places the feather inside a book, then closes the case again. The music stops once the feather is out of sight, we then cut to our first shot that is disconnected from the panning (long shot) where we see our subject sitting on a bus stop bench and a bus pulling up in front of him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIdcJ0MClQ0 Breakfast club

We enter the movie with a long shot of the entrance to a high school, where our film is set. We open with lively, upbeat, current (to the time) music and then we have a voice over introduce the date and setting of our film, he then recites a letter. We then jump from shot to shot of various different typical things we find in a high school. These include a ticking clock, hallways, canteens, lockers, awards, graffiti ect. They are all moving images but are still because there are no people there to disrupt the shot, this emphasises how quite the school is and not in use, so the audience can guess that it is a weekend (accompanied by the voice over telling us). The voice over sort of tells us the narrative/story of what we are about to watch. We then pan upwards on a medium shot to reveal a car with a father and daughter sitting inside. We then go to a medium-close up shot to get more personal with the characters, the daughter talks first, we then cut to an over the shoulder shot to show the conversation between the two characters. We see the daughter leave the car at a medium-long shot as she walks up towards her school. We then cut to a close up of a mother with her daughter and son in the car next to her, We are looking over her shoulder from an angle to show how we is talking down directly to the son and showing him further away than we originally may have realised, this is because she is angry so does not want to seem close to him. Over the shoulder shots are used again to show conversation, and similarity between the characters before. We then see another medium long shot of the boy exiting the car to go to school, we can see a car behind the one he just left. As the door slams we cut to the next car (as we presume) to a son and father, they do not talk with an over the shoulder shot because the boy does not wish to converse with his father so instead we get an angled shot from both sides to still show connection between them while they talk; we then get a medium shot of him leaving the car an it driving off.As the car drives away, it reveals a boy walking up to school who looks straight forward not noticing the car that nearly drives into him. Out of that car walks out a girl who looks uneasy and awkward. We see her from a long shot as the car suddenly drives off without any goodbye. This makes her look isolated and lonely. The last two characters are different to the first because they didn't have a farewell from their parents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yXSVgCQ9Y4 Submarine is a British film ,we first see "UK Film Council" and we are introduced by Film 4. We enter the film already panning, as if the movie had started before we first started watching/ start cut off. We find our way smoothly around a boy’s bedroom, the sound of crashing waves fades in, we then suddenly cut to a cut in of some starting credits. We then get the sound of seagulls entering as we start to pan again in the bedroom, giving us an almost panorama of the room. We cut away to credits again before panning more and discovering a boy looking out the window. We then get a voice over, of presumably him, he introduces his thoughts and then himself. We then get a quick jump to a medium-close up, and then suddenly to a close up, and then his eyes dart towards us. Mysterious, calm music starts as we jump from clip to clip of different settings and views of the sea, we then get a shot of only water and "Submarine" comes up. We then view another medium-close up of the boy who was in the bedroom (as if we are standing behind him), then a close up but in the same position, making the audience feel more comfortable with him. mother with her daughter and son in the car next to her, We are looking over her shoulder from an angle to show how we is talking down directly to the son and showing him further away than we originally may have realised, this is because she is angry so does not want to seem close to him. Over the shoulder shots are used again to show conversation, and similarity between the characters before. We then see another medium long shot of the boy exiting the car to go to school, we can see a car behind the one he just left. As the door slams we cut to the next car (as we presume) to a son and father, they do not talk with an over the shoulder shot because the boy does not wish to converse with his father so instead we get an angled shot from both sides to still show connection between them while they talk; we then get a medium shot of him leaving the car and it driving off. As the car drives away, it reveals a boy walking up to school who looks straight forward not noticing the car that nearly drives into him. Out of that car walks out a girl who looks uneasy and awkward. We see her from a long shot as the car suddenly drives off without any goodbye. This makes her look isolated and lonely. The last two characters are different to the first because they didn't have a farewell from their parents. The same position, making the audience feel more comfortable with him.

Wild Child (0:00 -3:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTATXutXN_Q The first thing we see is "Working Titles" and we enter the beginning of the film, we enter to a sea view (LS) with "Universal Pictures" - which is brightly lighted, with dreamy, calming music which makes the viewer’s feel relaxed and drawn in. An overlapping effect occurs/fade out and we fade into the scenery in which the film starts off, we overlook a girl in bed, in presumably her room because she looks comfortable and at ease, the music adds to the idea that this is a calm environment. We slowly zoom closer in pace to the music as the girl wakes up, which gives the viewer the impression that we are slowly waking her up. The music stops as she awakens from her slumber, as this dreamy, light start comes to an end we have our first piece of dialogue. The girl look's surprised as she exclaims "Sh*t!", more current music plays as though we enter this girls life from here on.A cut in takes place where we view her forwards as she scrambles out of bed, and we quickly enter another shot (MLS) so we can see her prance round her bed and runs up to the wall. We enter an Over the Shoulder close shot where we gaze at the calendar where a certain date is highlighted, so we can presume that today is this date, it gets even closer as she repeats "Sh*t!" again as we cut to a Medium-close up of another character (Molly) wearing headphones where the music sounds more contained and less clear. We then get a cut in of what this character is doing (making a sandwich) which informs us of her actions, meanwhile the first character (Poppy) is shouting her name to get her attention, and when she gets close enough we enter over the shoulder shots again to focus on their conversation about the date today. We come to know the story through their conversation as we switch between each other’s over the shoulder shots, it is broken up by some cut ins to make the conversation more interesting. We change time of day, and open the new scene with a cutaway of the delivery-truck man opening the doors, and people flooding out of the house behind Poppy at a medium shot to show how many people are there. We switch in-between the drivers and teenagers to show some tension before Poppy say's "help yourselves!" to when everybody runs in and unloads the van. The camera follows us round the house with the stream of people from a high angled shot to make us seem like we are not part of the mischief, but then we cut scenes and are at a low angle looking up to Molly saying "You've really done it this time" and we feel as though she is at a higher power than us, like we are in the wrong. There are lots of cut in's to allow us to see all the action all over the house and exaggerates the amount of people that are here. We then go to a medium long shot into a very long shot where we play back and forwards between Poppy running off and her friends laughing and talking to when she surprisingly jumps off the balcony overlooking cliffs where the music stops for extra suspense. We see her falling at an extreme long shot to exaggerate the drop that she jumped from into the sea, we then cut to a high angle shot looking down to the water to further exaggerate the drop. As her friends run over and glance over the edge, we look up at them to once again make it seem as though the distance Poppy has fallen is extreme, we look down again to when she surfaces the water and the music carries on so we know she is safe and okay. From the opening lines, music, setting ect we can clearly tell this is a "chick-flick", romance and comedy film.