The next step regarding our Foundation Project is our opening sequence analysis. I've aptly chosen 2 films and their opening sequences which I think reflect our romantic-comedy genre and will compare and contrast both sequences, and possibly apply some of the techniques they use in their opening sequences to our film so that it will reflect our genre and better achieved standard.
Legally Blonde
Camerawork:
From the beginning of the opening two minutes of Legally Blonde, the image is slightly blurred, to make the titles of the companies more prominent on the screen, and to avoid distraction for the audience member with the movement in the background. The background is her distorted blonde hair, which relates the introduction to the title of the film and main character, instantly allowing the audience to make that connection. At 0:16-0:19, the picture sharpens and it becomes clear that Reese Witherspoon's character, Elle, is brushing her hair (close-up) as the title 'Legally Blonde' appears. The title and action are simultaneous in order to highlight the character's importance to the film and how her blonde hair relates to the title of 'Legally Blonde' and key theme of prejudice and stereotyping - particularly regarding hair colour.
The opening sequence includes a series of quick cuts between Elle 'getting ready' in her bedroom and another unknown blonde girl collecting signatures on a card for Elle. I think they used this fast-paced cutting technique to convey the idea that the two scenes are happening at the same time and also to add a sense of fluidity to the opening sequence. This is added to when the camera uses a tracking technique to show Elle brushing her hair again (close-up) and to follow the cyclist over the bridge (wide shot), creating a likeness in both scenes through the use of tracking in both as well as adding to the mobility and smooth switches between scenes.
There are a variety of shots where the camera is still and there is exaggerated movement in the frame (0:55) which creates a sense of energy and engages and focuses the audiences attention on watching the film.
Editing:
Throughout the sequence, the film flickers between two scenes, one being the protagonist 'getting-ready' and preparing, the other being an unknown blonde girl travelling to her sorority and getting a card signed for Reese Witherspoon's character Elle. The sequence uses parallel editing by making fast-paced cuts between the scenes so that they switch from one to the other really quickly. This creates the idea that the two events are happening at the same time, and makes the transitions from each scene succinct and smooth, adding a fluidity to the sequence.
Mise-en-scene:
Before I talk about the mise-en-scnene used in the opening sequence, I would like to talk about the relevance of the colour scheme regarding the film's DVD cover. Most romantic comedies often use the colour scheme of red writing on a white background, or those two contrasting colours as a basis for the campaign poster or DVD cover, like in Love Actually, Definitely, Maybe and P.S. I love you. This is because those two colours connote love and romance, and set the genre and tone of the films, giving clear hints to the target audience about what to expect. In comparison, Legally Blonde chose to ignore the classic colour scheme of red and white used for romantic comedies in order to stand out from those former films and add a sense of originality to the film, and so their colour scheme was centred around PINK and BLUE. Not only does using the colour pink convey the romantic-comedy/chick-flick feel to the film, the use of the colour pink and blue (which traditionally symbolises men and women) represents the key aspect of the film regarding the battle of the sexes and tackling gender prejudice and stereotyping.
The dominant colour throughout the opening sequence and, generally the whole film, in PINK! The colour pink is generally associated with girls and being a fairly feminine colour, and so hints to the target audience the genre of the film e.g. a chick-flick/romantic comedy. The fact that it is the colour of the protagonists' room and most of her personal items like her fluffy pink pen, pink roses, nail polish and other beauty products, reveal aspects of her character, for example, that she's a 'girly-girl' and 'beauty-queen'. This impression is added to by the various shots of Elle putting on make-up, shaving her legs and the stack of Cosmopolitan magazine present in her room.
The setting is presumably in America in a sorority house and the activity going on outside, like a couple of girls throwing a frisbee or a group of boys wrestling on the grass all create the idea that this movie is about young people and so becomes more relatable to the audience of a similar age group. It also sets an active, energetic and peppy mood to the film.
The lighting is bright and vibrant throughout the opening two minutes. This conveys the comedy genre of the film due to the fact that comedies are usually brightly lit and got a 'fun' feel to them in order to instil a similar mood in the audience - prepared to laugh at the jokes and have a good time watching it. The lighting contributes to the overall positive and happy mood of the film.
Regarding costume, most, if not all the of the female characters present in the opening sequence in the Sorority House, Delta Nu, wear some item of clothing which is pink. This again adds to the romantic/chick-flick feel to the film and paints the picture of the main character and her associates being fairly 'girly' e.g. obsessed with beauty products and fashion. This information is given to the audience in the opening sequence in order to allow the audience to form a stereotype of the character, so that the film's events can challenge that later and also to relate the opening sequence to the main theme of the film, stereotyping and prejudice.
Sound:
The opening sequence of Legally Blonde is set to the soundtrack of "Perfect Day" by Hoku and is non-diegtic. The song is peppy, girly and of the 'pop' genre, which relates similar characteristics to the film's genre. The song is also very 'catchy', upbeat which generates a mood of positivity and giddiness in the audience which instils the right state-of-mind for watching a romantic-comedy.
There isn't a lot of diegetic sound in the opening sequence aside from small talking moments like when a girl living in the sorority house opens the door to a friend of hers delivering Elle's card. They both say 'hi' and this creates a sense of familiarity about the characters living in the house, including the protagonist.
Titles:
All the titles are written in a girly, hand-written script e.g. hearts over the eyes and swirly tails of 'y'. The feminine touch to the hand writing relates the title's font to the film as the protagonist of the film's character is very girly and feminine. The hand-written, school-type font is used to foreshadow the future event in the film of the protagonist enrolling and attending law-school, and the hearting of her eyes and swirls of the tails of letters again contribute to the romantic-comedy, girly genre of the film. The colour of the titles is pink and white and this also relates to the genre of the film (rom-com) and girly-aspect of the protagonists character.
The titles are always centred on the screen and this could not only be to highlight the importance of the information to the audience but also the hint about the film you get from the colour and font of the titles could be being showcased as something the producers wish the audience to pick up on.
Narrative:
There isn't a lot of the plot revealed in the opening sequence. The audience is presented clues regarding the protagonist's character like that she is girly-girl/beauty-queen, hinted by the make-up and 'getting-ready' sequence and pink colour scheme of her bedroom. The audience is engaged by the upbeat and positive soundtrack playing in the background and the relatable actions the protagonist is doing e.g. as the majority of the target audience will be women and so the emphasis put on getting ready and preparing for the day, applying make-up and having stack of Cosmopolitan magazines in her room, makes the film and the lead actress relatable to the target market, making them engaged and interested in the film with just the opening two minutes.
Pheebs, OUT! ;)
The dominant colour throughout the opening sequence and, generally the whole film, in PINK! The colour pink is generally associated with girls and being a fairly feminine colour, and so hints to the target audience the genre of the film e.g. a chick-flick/romantic comedy. The fact that it is the colour of the protagonists' room and most of her personal items like her fluffy pink pen, pink roses, nail polish and other beauty products, reveal aspects of her character, for example, that she's a 'girly-girl' and 'beauty-queen'. This impression is added to by the various shots of Elle putting on make-up, shaving her legs and the stack of Cosmopolitan magazine present in her room.The setting is presumably in America in a sorority house and the activity going on outside, like a couple of girls throwing a frisbee or a group of boys wrestling on the grass all create the idea that this movie is about young people and so becomes more relatable to the audience of a similar age group. It also sets an active, energetic and peppy mood to the film.
The lighting is bright and vibrant throughout the opening two minutes. This conveys the comedy genre of the film due to the fact that comedies are usually brightly lit and got a 'fun' feel to them in order to instil a similar mood in the audience - prepared to laugh at the jokes and have a good time watching it. The lighting contributes to the overall positive and happy mood of the film.
Regarding costume, most, if not all the of the female characters present in the opening sequence in the Sorority House, Delta Nu, wear some item of clothing which is pink. This again adds to the romantic/chick-flick feel to the film and paints the picture of the main character and her associates being fairly 'girly' e.g. obsessed with beauty products and fashion. This information is given to the audience in the opening sequence in order to allow the audience to form a stereotype of the character, so that the film's events can challenge that later and also to relate the opening sequence to the main theme of the film, stereotyping and prejudice.
Sound:
The opening sequence of Legally Blonde is set to the soundtrack of "Perfect Day" by Hoku and is non-diegtic. The song is peppy, girly and of the 'pop' genre, which relates similar characteristics to the film's genre. The song is also very 'catchy', upbeat which generates a mood of positivity and giddiness in the audience which instils the right state-of-mind for watching a romantic-comedy.
There isn't a lot of diegetic sound in the opening sequence aside from small talking moments like when a girl living in the sorority house opens the door to a friend of hers delivering Elle's card. They both say 'hi' and this creates a sense of familiarity about the characters living in the house, including the protagonist.
Titles:
All the titles are written in a girly, hand-written script e.g. hearts over the eyes and swirly tails of 'y'. The feminine touch to the hand writing relates the title's font to the film as the protagonist of the film's character is very girly and feminine. The hand-written, school-type font is used to foreshadow the future event in the film of the protagonist enrolling and attending law-school, and the hearting of her eyes and swirls of the tails of letters again contribute to the romantic-comedy, girly genre of the film. The colour of the titles is pink and white and this also relates to the genre of the film (rom-com) and girly-aspect of the protagonists character.
The titles are always centred on the screen and this could not only be to highlight the importance of the information to the audience but also the hint about the film you get from the colour and font of the titles could be being showcased as something the producers wish the audience to pick up on.
Narrative:
There isn't a lot of the plot revealed in the opening sequence. The audience is presented clues regarding the protagonist's character like that she is girly-girl/beauty-queen, hinted by the make-up and 'getting-ready' sequence and pink colour scheme of her bedroom. The audience is engaged by the upbeat and positive soundtrack playing in the background and the relatable actions the protagonist is doing e.g. as the majority of the target audience will be women and so the emphasis put on getting ready and preparing for the day, applying make-up and having stack of Cosmopolitan magazines in her room, makes the film and the lead actress relatable to the target market, making them engaged and interested in the film with just the opening two minutes.
Pheebs, OUT! ;)
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