OSA: "Sleepover"

The next film's opening sequence I'm analysing the Sleepover, 2004. It's a classic romantic-comedy, centered around a teenage girl competing in a scavenger hunt for the privelege of eating at a popular lunch spot, while also vying for the affections of the school's dreamboat "Steve Phillips". We have roughly the same fan base and genre, with aspects of the plot line similar.

Sleepover

Camerawork:

The screen is initially black and then slowly fades to introduce the first shot, post company-titles, which is a zooming out, retreat shot of the inside of the protagonist's, Julie, lockers door. The scene is shot from inside the locker, so that the shot is filming outward. The camera zooms out from showing a small portion of the screen to a larger portion, making an opening action which signaling the film beginning.

The locker frames the shot as the door opens and we see the first interaction between the protagonist and her best friend Hannah. The frame of the locker not only introduces the audience to the setting (secondary school), information which relates the characters to the teenage audience, but also uses the rule of thirds to centre the two characters shown and highlights their importance. After their brief coversation in which the locker continues to frame the shot, focusing the audience's attention on the interaction between the two through making the action sit in the middle of the shot, the camera switches to a wide, full-length shot of the corridor.

The shot uses the rule of thirds again, as the shot of the corridor is framed by lines of lockers to center the cleared hallway where the title appears. As it sits in the centre, the audience's focus is on the biggest centerpoint, being the of the film "Sleepover". Following the title's appearance, the shot switches to a wide shot, which encompasses a lot of detail, showing the hallway flooded with students, reminding the audience of the setting and showing the protagonist still attends school. This indicates (as well as her appearance) her age and likening her to the target audience who are probably still in education.

The rest of the opening two minutes is constructed using a range mid-shots and close-ups. This offers more detail to the audience and also, through the closeness those shots offer, creates a connection between the protagonist and the viewer, making the film easier to relate to and more personal.

 



Editing:

The film uses a range of quick jump cuts to flicker between different camera angles and scenes. This sets a fast pace of the opening sequence, representative of the anxious feelings to leave school felt by most students at the end of the academic year and excited, energetic atmostphere felt by people racing around, waving and shouting in the shots. The smooth timing of the cuts also gives them a natural feel and fluidity to the clip.

Mise en scene:

The locker door is filled with pictures of couple's kissing, hinting at the romantic genre of the film and foreshadowing the future romantic aspect of the plotline regarding Julie's infatuation with the popular Steve Phillips and eventual succeeding of dating him. The locker door also has stickers of butterflies and flowers, stereotypical girly decor, making the characters relatable to its target market (teenage females) and adding to the girly-mood and genre.

The locker and the hallway lined with lockers established the initial setting of the school and hinted at the character's age. The environment of the school creates an exchange between the protagonist and the audience, as many of the members of the target audience are still in school and so can link that aspect of their lives to the Julie.

The invitation to Liz's sleepover is bright and eye-catching, drawing the audience's attention to it. The invitation is to a slumber party, one of which Julie is already hosting and informs the audience about where the film will begin, what the girls are doing and how they initially plan to spend their evening as well as introduce another dilema regarding a guest being invited to both, Stacey. This gives the reader a lot of information and makes them feel involved in the film and empathetic with the protagonist, who they already feel kindred spirits with due to their similar age, and series of close-up and mid-shots used to film the opening two minutes.

Sound:

The opening sequence begins with a voice-over monologue spoken by the protagonist, Julie:

"I can't believe you're moving. Where is Vancouver anyway? Do you now what happens to girls who start high school with no bestfriend, no guy and low social standing? Nothing. Nothing ever happens to them."

 

The dialogue introduces the audience to the initial dilema of the protagonist, that her bestfriend is moving away and she's starting high school alone. Revealing a personal bit of information to the audience makes the viewer feel more connected and sympathetic to the main character, and instantly revealing a dilema of the protagonist gets the film going, diving right into the storyline and involving the audience immediately.

 

The monologue refers to things important to teenagers, like a social life, reputation and image and change such as getting older and going to a new school. This relates the opening two minutes to audience, who understand the importance of these values as they are in a similar age group and likely share similar concerns to Julie, the protagonist.

 

The background music played throughout is peppy, upbeat and cheerful, a generic convention of romantic comedies and automatically sets the mood in the film as fun, enjoyable and light-hearted, muchlike what we hope to do with our film.

 



Titles:

The title of the film "Sleepover" appears at 00:36, a quarter of the way through the opening two minutes. The title is in a simple font, block letters to draw the audience's attention and signify its importance. It could also signify through the simplicity of its font, the younger-aged characters and target audience the film is aimed at. The title spreads the width of the screen and is large, and is two different colours: purple and pink, which contrasts sharply with the white background, making the title stand-out on screen. Both colours are traditionally feminine colours and relate the title of the film to the female target audience. They also connote romance and love, particularly pink, and represent, as a result, the romantic-comedy genre of the film.

Narrative:

There are a few indications of what the plot is featured in the opening sequence. The first person we are introduced to is Julie (Alexa Vega) suggesting she's the protagonist, and then gradually, in the opening two minutes, we are introduced to her friendship group, teacher and enemies, signified through her comment "speak of the Devils".

We overhear a conversation between the protagonist, Julie, and her friend Hannah. She says "do you know what happens to a girl who start high school with no social standing", suggesting that the film will focus heavily on the social lives of teenagers, and now important appearance and 'looking cool' is to young people. There is also mention of a sleepover/party, the catalyst for the main event of the scavenger hunt in "Sleepover" and foreshadows the next setting in the film as well as inspires thoughts about future plot twists in the film.

The setting of the high school and the wide-shot of the hallway with students throwing their papers into the air suggests the main characters are still in education, and the film is set in at the beginning of the Summer holidays, feelings of celebration and relaxation associated with this time of year are instantly reflected by the audience you can share and empathise with the characters. This also appeals to the target audience who are likely still in education. 

Pheebs, OUT! ;)