Spiderwick Chronicles Analysis

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

Wallander Analysis

Bridget Jones Diary Analysis

Bridget Jones Diary ( 2001, UK, Sharon Maguire)

In the opening sequence of Bright Jones Diary, we are first introduced to the main character Bridget. From the mise-en-scene aspect, we make various assumptions about her as a character. First of all, her outfit/costume is a bright red colour and obviously festive (the film is set around Christmas time), which suggests that she is quite a fun, bubbly character due to her nature to get involved with the spirit of Christmas. In addition to this, the whole 'bubbly' aspect of her character is reinforced by her facial expressions, as she seems reasonably happy despite the contrasting scene we see afterwards.

After the very first scene, we are brought into Bridget's home. It becomes immediately apparent that she lives alone due to the layout of the room. There is nothing in the room except the basics, there's lots of furniture and it's very comforting, which suggests she needs something to keep her happy. The use of props already reinforces this, as when we first see her she is slumped on her sofa with the remote in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Cigarettes are generally assumed to 'chill' somebody out, which is probably what the director wanted to get across when creating this scene. She also picks up a glass of wine and proceeds to drink it a little, then down the whole glass. This further suggests that she is very lonely, and needs to take the stress of being alone off of her. Her general costume is also very obviously deliberate. She lies on the sofa in her pajamas, suggesting that she has no reason to leave the house (i.e. no men in her life) because she has nowhere to go.

At the beginning of the clip a voice over is used. This is when Bridget starts to talk about her life and what needs to change. A voice over is a non diegetic technique. The use of a voice over allows the audience to gain a better understanding of what Bridge'ts life is like and what she intends to do to change it.

On to sound, at the very beginning of the scene a voice over is used which overlays Bridget on a normal day. She details her current life and what she aims to change in the time period of the film, which gives the audience a little more knowledge about her, and what her life is like. This, like a lot of the rest of the sounds in the opening sequence is non diegetic sound. Non diegetic sound is very effective, especially when placed right. Oddly, in the opening sequence the sound goes from non-diegetic to diegetic in the space of 10 seconds as the song 'All By My Self' is being played, and Bridget gradually joins in with the singing of it. Even though the song is typically depressing and sad, there is a comedic element to it as she is singing along, and this allows the audience to relate to her and show sympathy to her situation. Secondly, when Bridget gets up to read the answer machine, she clicks the button and the music quietens for a brief moment while the answer machines says "no new messages". This emphasises the fact that she is all alone, and she doesn't really have any male company. Again this makes the audience empathise and connect more with her.

Editing plays a big part in the creation of mood in this scene. The use of a 'cross dissolve' is used when the shots fade/transition between one another. This is a great way to illustrate the passing of time, and shows that she doesn't have anything to occupy herself with, hence why time is moving really slowly and she does not really majorly change position, she just fidgets. This suggests that her life is very unexciting, which evidently is a reinforcement of previous points.

Also, the font used in the film titles are a cursive type, and are made out to be handwritten. This undoubtedly relates to the 'Diary' part of the film title. As the titles are transitioning between each other, the text on display is a sans-serif font type. This contrasts with the scene by adding an upbeat and lighthearted aspect to it.

We also start to ask questions like has she been in a relationship before, and when, how old she is, and if she will eventually find a man at the end of the film.

Audience response

1. The character/film is set in London, due to the architecture  of the houses.
2. It's post-Christmas, as decorations aren't in their prime
3. Bridget has obvious ways of dealing with her loneliness (e.g. alcohol, smoking)
4. Bridget is a lonely character, and is seeking a man.

Brick Analysis

Brick Analysis

The opening sequence of ‘Brick’ is very typical for a film of its genre. It’s very mysterious and dark, which promotes imagery of a similar kind. The opening shot is very dark, which sets the mood as bleak for the rest of that particular sequence. In the background we hear sad, slow music which reinforces the dark/bleak mood. The tinny bell sound of the music creates the feeling of loneliness as it’s an isolated sound from the rest.

The camera then pans left and goes into an extreme close up to show the shoes of an unknown character. The shoes are clean and reasonably smart which suggest they are being worn by someone respectable. However, they’re crouching which is a somewhat vulnerable position; this makes the audience ask various questions.

The camera then moves into an extreme close up of the character face, which reveals the fact that he is a male. We know it’s the same character who is wearing the shoes due to the positioning of his body and his overall stature. His hands are regretfully covering his face, which suggests anger, sadness and shows he may show some remorse, which foreshadows later events.

His eyes are fixated on a spot, which becomes apparent shortly after. The camera angle then goes to a long shot, to reveal the mouth of a tunnel, with the body of an assumed dead woman. This makes use of eye line match to make the audience feel as though he is linked with the woman’s death.

The spacing between the characters allow a very powerful shot to be created, and make the audience ask questions like whether the boy knows how this has happens, and why he’s just sitting there staring at it. At this moment, the audience have no reason to suspect him as the culprit, however the fact he is no moving could suggest this. He is also wearing white, which suggests purity.

Sixth Sense Analysis

Sixth Sense

The film title ‘Sixth Sense’ refers to the additional sense the boy possesses that enables him to see dead people. Before the audience even watch this film, they can begin to ask questions as a standard person only has 5 senses, which makes the audience guess what the sixth one could be.

The opening sequence I watched opens in the basement of the main family’s house. From the camera angle used, the audience are made to feel as though they are spying on the character as she removes a bottle of wine from the rack. We immediately realise that this woman’s house a large house, purely due to the fact that she has a whole cellar for wine to be stored. This is soon reinforced when we are shown the rest of the house.

The next thing we notice is the costumes of the characters. The costumes are shown as very typical modern, expensive and posh meaning that the people are potentially rich and smart. However we then see that they may not be very comfortable wearing such smart clothes, as they soon changed into a comfier outfit.

In the opening sequence, there are a large number of close ups of the characters which help to show their emotion and allow the audience to see that something isn’t right with the characters. There are also numerous mid shots, which let the audience see a larger part of the characters, revealing body language in order to give a more detailed idea of how they’­re feeling.

At the beginning of the opening sequence, the titles roll onto the screen in a light blue coloured font, on top of a black background. This is a lot like how ‘Memento’ had their titles rolling, which maybe suggests a similar kind of – scary – genre. The titles are also all in capital letters, which make them very dominant and striking, and the font is serif to create an edgy feel.

The sequence in general sets up the film very well. Throughout the sequence, the suspense constantly builds up until the moment of climax. The event which occurs towards the end of the opening sequence sets the rest of the film up to grab the audience’s attention, and makes them focus on what could possibly happen.

Memento Opening Sequence Analysis