Romance

The Holiday opening scene analysis

As soon as the titles are introduced we get the non-diegetic sound of the calm music already creating the mood. As the picture is introduced we get a blurred out vision of greenery and a lake with the birds adding the diegetic sound of them tweeting which shows a symbol of love. We are introduced straight away with clichés, codes and conventions as in the first shot there is a boy and girl who are kissing in this romantic setting. From this we get the idea that they are in love. This immediately makes the audience feel a sense of happiness as they watch this couple look into each other eyes lovingly. The genre has been made very clear. As the camera zooms out we see a guy playing the piano which is often used in romances to help create the romantic mood. We now understand that this is a directing of a movie connoting that true love only happens in movies. As the diegetic sound of the piano changes we get the voice over of a female talking about love, following the conventions again. As this voice over carries on we get an individual close up shot of a boy and girl. In the shot of the boy we can tell he is looking directly as this girl smiling making the audience aware that this is the love of his life. However, in the shot of her we can tell she doesn’t love him back, or doesn’t know she does yet as she is looking down at the floor on the phone giggling and smiling to somebody on the phone. Loving somebody who doesn’t love you back? These clichés are extreme. The girl walks over and he kisses her on her hand, she smiles and walks away. With her back turned to him you see for a split second in the close up of him his pain and love he feels for this girl. In the voice over we then hear “love is blind” connoting that they do love each other but she just cannot see it yet. The voice over then says “now that is something I know to be true”, this is effective as it is personal making the audience feel more comforting and feel like they can relate so much more to the situation. Making them feel like they are not the only one. From this the audience understand that the voice over is explaining the couple’s situations as they don’t speak a word. The music becomes more upbeat as the shot pans into another setting introducing a white title on a black ground. The next shot is of another couple sitting in the car. We get a close up of the girl who turns to look at the man with no emotion on her face. We then get a close up side angle of the man who turns to look at her. As they stare into each other’s eyes he looks down to the floor in disappointment and sadness as the voice over says “love fades”, giving us an insight in their relationship. We then get a quick shot of both of them looking away from each other with nothing to say or do but to drive.

The next shot is then a close up of the number plate of the car and as it zooms out we are shown a long shot of the car driving away in a city full of pretty lights on trees and wrapped around building showing the audience that is around Christmas which is a time for love however we have just been shown 2 couples with issues. Enigmas are added. Will their problems be resolved? And who is the woman doing the voice over? She may have the biggest problem of them all.

The music is changing from up paced to slow and calming as we are shown a medium shot of an old guy getting into bed, looking at the photograph of his wife and the voiceover saying “for some love is simply lost”. The non-diegetic sound has slowed down when the problems are introduced to help the audience create the mood of sadness and to feel sorry for these characters.  The audience have seen all different types of relationships but all ones with issues, making the audience hope that this loving holiday will restore all love, hope and happiness.

The next shot is a medium shot of a guy walking through a party with a drink in his hand. As he reaches his friends are full of laughter he turns around and a close up is shown of him looking at a girl who is looking directly back. Close ups are shown on both of them as they smile at each other in time for the voice over to say “love can be found, even if just for the night”.

After this shot we are shown a shot zooming in of a woman sitting alone at her desk, implying she is at work on this special day connoting she is alone wrapping a present. In this shot it is dark all around by at her desk is where all the light is showing us she is an important character. As the voiceover continues she talks about the worst type of love, “unacquainted love” and says “from that, I am an expert”. The audience have finally met the woman of the voiceover. From this we can infer that she is the main female character even though we are introduced by many. The music is at a slow pace and has that depressing feel towards in, emphasising the characters emotion.  We then get a close up of her face as she looks down and smiles at her wrapped present as if it’s the happiest she has been in a long time. But all of a sudden her face drops and she tucks in away in her drawer. The tone in her voice becomes more aggressive and her facial expression looks more worried like she is trying to pluck up the courage to do something. As she walks out of her office into a crowd of people, looking like a work party it all makes sense now. We get a medium shot of her stopping and staring at somebody. She stands there frozen and breathe taken as soon as she laid eyes on this man we are shown a medium shot of talking to other people. At this time she says “I have willing loved that man for over 3 miserable years”. By the word “miserable” we can connote that he does not and will not love her back. 

Romance

Bridget Jones opening scene analysis

 

 

When this clip starts the first thing that the audience notice is the setting. It is a small flat with dimmed lighting connoting sadness. The fire on in the background shows a calm setting. The mis-en-scene is a lady lying down on the sofa hopelessly, in penguin pyjamas and messy hair suggesting that it is around Christmas time and a time of love however, she has nobody. She is under a blanket wrapped up inferring that she feels trapped in this life alone. The wine and cigarette buns catch your eye connoting that she is lonely and represented by sorrow and despair. The phone is rested on a sofa chair and is closest to the camera. This phone is effective being there as it is not connected suggesting that nobody is trying to call her anyway. Then the non-diegetic sound is added to help create the mood of loneliness. The song 'All by myself' playing in the background backs up all of these features we that have just said connoting loneliness. This is effective as some of the audience can relate such as middle aged women who are alone and want to watch a romantic movie to make them feel better and gain faith in love.   

The next shot is a medium shot of the TV as she sits on the sofa with nothing to do, in this shot you see many book games and board games expressing her life is boring and she has all of this to pass the time. The shot then fades into another shot of her flicking through magazines. As she puts the cigarette down and the smoke is cleared she checks the phone. "You have no new messages", just like we inferred. This is effective as again the audience can relate. As she removes herself from the camera you see a shot inside her house attracting you to the setting. She appears on the sofa suggesting time has passed. Non-diegetic sound has been added, it is piano. This has been added to still emphasise the loneliness as she sits there finishing a glass of wine in seconds. The music is slow paced and relaxing to represent the importance of the emotion we should be feeling.

The next shot is a medium shot of her sitting on the sofa, she is looking down at the floor telling us she has given up. The non-diegetic sound changes into another love song that she sits there a mimes too while weeping. As the song becomes more up beat we get less laziness from the character and more energy making the audience feel more power. It then converts into a long shot as the title appears. The title is bold and peachy following the conventions that it is aimed at a female audience. However, it is not a new shot and the character is still appeared in the title as she carries on singing "all by myself" with her hand openly pointed towards to title.

In this opening scene it didn't follow any cliches or much conventions. No boy met girl and there was no prince charming and it didn't follow conventions such as falling in love. However, we still understood it was a romance from this clip due to the mis-en-scene and sounds.

Target audience for Romance

 

Target audience for Romance

Age - The age that romantic films are mainly directed at tend to be 13-70 or even older in certain cases, such as a middle aged woman who is lonely and can relate.  This could be because of the lighthearted nature of this genre and the fact that these films experience the prince charming, heartbreak scenario.  

 

Gender- Romantic films are mostly aimed at women/teenage girls.
This is due to the soppy cliches involved and stereotypical views that love films would make boys want to be sick. Young teenage girls are a very popular audience due to them wanting to grow up so fast and weirdly wanting to experience this prince charming situation, but understand that their hearts may have to get broken a few times before they meet the right one. Girls can relate to this genre more as they show more emotion and have more interests in light-hearted films like this that make them cry. They could also be influenced by friends, for example a big group of girls crying over love films with ice cream at a sleepover actually happens!

Interests - I find that the mains interests in romance film is the emotions you feel. It is 100% a rollercoaster of feelings. This is due to typically two young lovers who are made for each other are somehow kept apart because of certain obstacles, e.g. class, differences, parents. However, at the end there is mostly a happy ending which makes the audience feel satisfied with the film and gives them hope that love is true. Also there are many types of romance such as comedy romance, proper romance, thriller romance and those romantic films that make you cry for hours.

As you can see the main audience of this film is people aged from 45+ as 33% watched this movie. This could connote ad link with what I said about age, so them being single woman who need some sort of reassurance to find love. Howver, 15-44 was still a popular audience. Any age under this wasn't a popular audiencet, this is because the film was a 12+ limited tghe range.
The most popular gender is women, 67% leaving the male with 33%. This 33% could be due to the girlfriends bringing their boyfriends a long for a romantic date.

 

Codes, conevntions and cliches of a Romance

Codes and conventions of an romance genre: 

• Aimed at female audience as they can relate more and express emotions 
• 12 – 15 certificate to maximise the audience 
• A typical romance genre would include sexuality, status, gender and relationships. 
• Narrative: falling in love, dating, kissing 
• Often a voiceover is used to introduce the love theme 
• Main characters are introduced – attractive female and male 
• The setting is normally in an urban environment, a beach, a school etc, places where a chance encounter would happen. 
• When a romance film opens, it is likely that much of the setting will be shown to the audience from the use of establishing shots and wide shots showing characters and much of the setting and area behind them. 

Cliches:

• Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl 
• Female lead ends up with wrong boy 
• Prince Charming exists - unrealistic features 
• Bride/groom get ditched at altar 
• Pushy but lovable mother 
• Male lead has a best friend that is a lovable slob 
• Misfortunes can bring people together e.g. car crashes, sudden divorce 
• Major scene at airport or taxicab where boy realises he loves the girl and tries not to lose her 
• Faithful sidekick who secretly worships the male lead from afar 
• The fat, mouthy but supportive girlfriend

Action

The Amazing Spider man 2 opening scene analysis

The opening scene for this movie starts off with a black screen, introducing the music but not any picture yet creating the mood already. The non-diegetic music is triumphal and is upbeat. Trumpets have been added when the well-known Spiderman logo is introduced. This is effective as it tells the audience that Spiderman is heroic. It is red on a black background so it stands out. This recognisable logo then blends in with Spiderman’s outfit as he starts to fall from the sky, Spiderman is introduced straight away. You get a birdseye view of New York and can hear the diegetic sounds of the wind as he is falling at extreme mph. This helps the audience feel the excitement and the rush. You know it is New York from the recognisable buildings and taxis rushing by on a busy road. Spiderman then attaches his web to a building, flinging in the air screaming in joy. In this shot you can see him high up surrounded by blue skies and clouds. The key lighting is bright as it is a sunny day. These shots carry on, showing you the whole of New York and showing off Spiderman’s skills. You get a range of long shots and medium shots as he is going so fast. You then get shots of Spiderman in the air surrounded by helicopters emphasising how high he is. You still have the non-diegetic sound which is the music; it is upbeat creating a content mood for the audience.  Diegetic sound has been added for the audience to understand and Spiderman is now on a job. From this introduction of Spiderman you can connote that he is heroic and knowing he will save the day is the cliche.

The shots have now reached the floor. It is a medium shot of a giant truck crashing into smaller cars starting fires on the roads. It is a medium shot so you can see the surroundings and background of all the cars showing lives are in danger. You have the diegetic sounds of the police car sirens and the truck storming through with nothing stopping him. You know that in this scene the crazy man driving this truck is the bad guy due to him covered in tattoos. The shots become way more up paced with soldiers dressed in bulletproof uniforms expressing the danger holding high qualified weapons. There are mostly medium shots. The camera doesn’t focus but is a tracking shot that follows the action. This helps the audience gain that sense of rush and adrenaline as everything is going by rapidly.

The next shot is quite clever as you get a medium shot of 2 police cars in front of this massive truck and about 50 police cars behind the truck. The truck carries on a full speed showing that these police cars are not going to resolve the problem and we need Spiderman! The audience’s anxiety builds up as Spiderman  hasn’t been seen for a while adding enigmas to where he is! The audience feel satisfied as Spiderman is then shown flying through the city. As soon as the camera focuses on him the triumphal music is repeated. As he does a flip in the air and it is shown in slow motion wowing the audience. The camera focuses on an area and for the first time you get a close up of Spiderman as he flies into the cameras direction.

After this shot you are shown a medium shot of a ring on fire leading to an explosion and a hole in the floor. You have the stereotypically criminal pressing the big red button. The diegetic sounds of the sirens are still played but as the criminals jump don underground non diegetic sound is added. It is low pitched up beat music that builds tension and creates a different mood for the audience as enigmas have started to be added. What do these criminals want? Will Spiderman defeat them?

Spiderman appears again, jumping on the truck. He finally takes action. Spiderman knocks on the window of the truck and introduces himself. He comes across as jokey and relaxed which may add some humour to the movie but can link in with the target audience as it is aimed at younger years. After this there is a close up of these ‘highly explosive’ liquids and the criminals face but we have already seen Spiderman trying to resolve another problem. Enigmas are again added. Will Spiderman catch all the criminals?

The next shot is a usual man dressed in casual clothing representing he is normal citizen in the city. The non diegetic is gradually speeding up adding more tension and making the audience feel that the time is running out as we come near the end.  You get a long shot of the truck still driving through the city crashing into cars. The shot switches to a low angle shot of the casual man picking up his papers he dropped. This could represent that he has little power. However, many of Spiderman's shots are high showing Spiderman has all the power. The music is building up tension as the shots are switching quicker and everything is all leading up the end. The bad guy driving the trucks screams in horror as he has no control and drives into several cars, blowing up. This is a high angle shot. You see a taxi coming towards the casual man but suddenly, the heroic Spiderman saves the casual man like the audience knew following the cliches. A medium shot is shown of Spiderman protecting this man as this taxi flies over their heads giving the audience a sigh of relief that he survived, even though they knew he would be saved. Conversation is exchanged where Spiderman helps a normal man feel good about himself. This could infer that Spiderman helps indivisuals in general as well as saving the world.

Action

The Avengers opening scene analysis 

The opening scene immediately  starts off with a  panning of the camera as it is showing you the setting. The camera rises until you can see the characters and the sound you can hear is diegetic sound as it is sounds of the trains however, the noise disappears as soon as the characters are shown. You can tell that is in an abandoned building and no one is going to be around besides these characters that you are shown next. You are shown a long shot of them; this shot is effective as you have the low key lighting where the men are all standing around this girl who is tied to the chair. The light is directly on her coming from above, representing that she is going to be an important character in this film.

Suddenly the next shot goes straight into action as you get a close up of one of the male characters punching her. You hear the diegetic sound of the punch helping the audience to feel her pain. You then get a little bit of a low angle shot as she breathes heavily trying to relieve the pain. This low angle shot can connote that she has little power right now. You then get medium shots of them having a conversation, they bare talking in a different language that is quite powerful. The female is wearing a black dress and has her hair and make up done looking quite formal.  One of the males grab her and tilt her chair back, you are shown a shot of her feet off the ground and then a high angle shot of her lent back on the chair. From this you can infer they are trying to get something out of her and making her frightened by threatening her life. You can see in her facial expression that she is scared but not completely terrified. 

The next camera shot is from a different view. You are shown the characters through a mirror that is in this abandoned building. You see the back of her and then you see the front of the men. You get a close up of what the audience may think is the boss of all of this as he has the other men doing the work and he isn't showing bravery or courage, he just gets everyone else to do his dirty work for him.  After a bit of a discourse you get a high angle shot of one of the men grabbing the girls face. The boss of this walks over to a 
wooden table. You get a long shot of all the characters but closest to the camera is this table full with hammers, knifes and torture weapons. The key lightning in this shot is a bit brighter as you have the chandelier allowing you to see around the basement. Enigmas are introduced. Are they going to torture her? What has she done wrong? Who even are these people? This gets the audience wanting more. He grabs a plyer building tension as you don't know what you are about to be shown you get the diegetic sound of them squeaking. There is not much non diegetic sound as this is all quite subtle and the diegetic sound makes up for it. 

All of a sudden as you think something extremely terrible is about to happen the phone rings adding more diegetic sound, one of the other men answer it. The phone call is extreme and the guy on the phone call demands the 'boss' to put the woman on the phone otherwise the building that was meant to be unknown will blow up. From this you can connote that whatever she is doing, she isn't in danger and is one step ahead. The audience start to feel confused and as you can see from the mans facial expressions he helps create this mood as he does not know what is going on. His actions become slower as he put the phone by the girls ear quite aggressively. The guy on the phone tells her to come into work and from this you can tell that she doesn't take what is happening seriously relieving the tension that she is going to get killed but making the audience curious to what is going on. The audience now start to understand that this is all a job for her. She hears some news you can tell she dislikes and to make this clearer to understand non diegetic sound is added and the camera zooms closer on her face as she says 'let me put you on hold'. The music reaches the climax of the tension and as the 'boss' takes the phone of her she kicks him in the groin. The non diegetic sound starts to become up paced and the movements are speeding up as she attacks all of these men. You hear the diegetic sounds of the punches, the chair hitting them and the men moaning in agony. The audience gt s surprise ass this girl is so superior. Her skills are showed of in this fighting scene wowing the audience. 

You get s direct shot of her grabbing her heels and walking away connoting that this was all a breeze for her. She picks up the phone and starts to have a conversation  with the guy she put on hold. As he says 'you get the big guy' A non diegetic sound is added as the beat drops and you get a closeup of her face which is the look of shock. From this you connote that this isn't good news and a lot of action and drama is awaiting with the next task. 

Action

The Mechanic opening scene analysis

The trailer starts with an in depth camera shot and close up of a black and gold watch surrounded with other watches, this connotes that this character is wealthy or because it is in action we could get the idea that these are stolen watches as they are matching. You hear the diegetic sound of the watch being placed in the suitcase which again connotes a business man.

The next shot is a man in a robe opening two double doors adding diegetic sound as he pushes them open. It is a low angle shot representing little power at this time. The long shot allows the audience to see all his bodyguards on the balcony, regaining the power he might have lost from the camera shot. When he dives in the water you hear the diegetic sound of the water clashing. The next shot is a long shot of him swimming and in the background there are extravagant antiques connoting that he likes to show off and confirming to the audience that he is a very wealthy man. You then get a close up of his face coming out the water and him taking a deep breathe. This is all effective as it allows the audience to recognise the character and understand who he is.

After this there is an extreme low angle shot of him while he is swimming, with the diegetic sound you can feel the tension and get a brief idea that something bad is about to happen. As he looks down he sees a watch at the bottom of the pool. He dives in to go and grab it then all of a sudden as soon as his hand reaches the watch a face appears for a split second. The other person grabs his hand and pulls him down. You get close ups of him struggling trying to escape but this man has his arm around his throat, straggling him. Bubbles appear all around the camera. You then get a low angle shot of what the man being drowned is seeing, it views his balcony and there is no bodyguard. This could connote that this murder is clever as has planned all of this to put himself in no danger. The non- diegetic sound gets faster as well as the shots as it comes close to this man’s death. All of the sudden the up paced music because to an end and the bubbles stop. You do not see the murderer’s identity keeping him a mystery for now. He rises to the top and there is a high angle shot looking down on him lying dead ion the swimming pool. The music is still, representing his death.

The non-diegetic sound which is the music starts the speed up as you get a shot of the murderer running down the stairs. The camera doesn’t follow the murders feet but shows you the stairs first and then the character building tension. The shots are now shot and fast as the murder is up to something and this is the reason why someone died. The conventions of an action are starting to kick in. You never see his face properly until he takes off his wetsuit. His identity is revealed. The camera shows the whole of his body which is extremely muscly. Most villains or heroes are known to be strong and muscular. His facial expressions show dedication however you can see the slight worry in there in case something goes wrong making the audience feel anxious and wanting to know more.

The music is less up pace and is settled when you get a high angle shot of a maid walking past who spots the wealthy man dead. You get the diegetic sound of her screaming and in a hurry two bodyguards appear, one dive’s in while the other alerts. Suddenly the alarm goes off and you get different shots of men in suits running in the building with weapons.  

The non-diegetic sound starts to speed up again as you get the close up of the murders face on his way out to escape. It is low pitched and extremely tense, this starts to create suspense. Enigmas have started to be added. Will he escape or get caught? Why did he kill this man in the first place? You get a shot of the bodyguard dragging the dead man out the pool and then it quickly changes to a high angle shot from high up on the stairs looking down on the murderer showing that he has a lot of power. As the murderer is on an escape route you get several camera shots ranging from medium to close ups. The close ups stand out the most as his face is constantly serious and looks deadly, again making you feel like he contains so much power but may not have a high status as he is being a criminal. The shots on the dead man are so much slower in music and movement compared to when on the criminal, this helps create a mood for the audience. You switches of shots on the criminal running down a bridge then you get shots of the other man lying there dead with maids crying.

You then get shown a boat coming towards the criminal, obviously in the act. The audience are put on the edge of their seats. Will he escape? They will have to keep watching! I find the next shot is my favourite shot. It is a long shot of the criminal standing on the bridge closest to the camera at the side with the background of the bridge and fields. It is my very shot because as you can see his face is titled to the side with his fists clenched together showing power and dominance. Suddenly in slow motion you get him jumping off this tall bridge as the boat goes under. Beats have started to be added in with the non-diegetic sound and the audience are shocked at this danger. You get a long shot of him flying in the air down to the boat, allowing the audience to see the drop. Your first thought is that this man is full of bravery and courage.  He hits the water and the tension has reached the maximum. The camera stays still, is he dead? Until, he rises from the water and grabs onto the back of the boat. The final shot is a close up and the main thing that attracts the audience are the look in his eyes.

Finally the title is revealed at the end. This trailer has left you on a cliff hanger with unanswered enigmas making the audience not feel fully satisfied and making them want to watch the film.