Film Opening Analysis-Goodfellas

Goodfellas is a film released in 1990 and directed by Martin Scorse. The film follows the rise and fall of Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill and his friends over a period from 1955 to 1980.

VISUALS-

0s-12s- Warner Bros Pictures

14s-17s- An Irwin Wrinker Production

17s-20s- A Martin Scorse Picture

20s-39s- Main characters ames swipe quickly across screen, fade, and then re-apper in the middle of                  the screen 

39s-43s- This film is 'Based on a true story'

43s-53s- Vehicle Driving (camera passes the side of the car and then passes it)

53s-57s- New York, 1970

1m-1m20s- 3 men in the car, 1 is driving the other 2 are asleep, they suddenly wake up suspecting that                   they have a burst Tyre(med-close up)

1m20s-1m29s- All 3 character get out to check the rear Tyre, their faces are shown by red reflection                          of the rear brake light (mid shot)

1m29s-1m33s- Zoom in on car boot, it is shaking as if someone's trapped inside

1m33s-1m43s- Pan of characters getting their weapons out 

1m43s-1m48s- Cut-in of hands unlocking the boot of the car and revealing a blood coverd man barely                          moving and mumbling incoherently,

1m48s-1m52s- Character erpeatedly stabs the man in the boot with a knife

1m52s-1m54s- Reaction shot of third character

1m54s-1m55s- First character gets his gun and starts shooting the man in the boot

1m55s-1m56s- Reaction shot of third character

1m56s-2m- Shooting

SOUND-

12s-53s- The sound of multiple cars going by

57s-1m13s- Dialogue (all characters have New York accents)

57s-1m20s- Sound of cars fades out/ slows down

1m20s-1m29s- Footsteps and car door slamming shut

1m29s-1m43s- Quiet bangs from the boot

1m35s-1m43s- The grunts of the gangsters aswell as the character in the boot

1m56s-2m- Shooting

Things it does WELL

> it sets the scene with 'new york 1970' 

> it intorduces the director

> it introduces three of the main characters onscreen 

> it introduces the director first

> the lighting used sets the scene of the film well

Things it DOESN'T do well-

> It says where it's set but gives us no real example of this

> 

MacGuffin/ Connotations

Connotations-

The non-literal meaning we interpret of something e.g. a box can connote feelings of, excitement,suspense,anticipation and fear.

MacGuffin-

A MacGuffin is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist is willing to do and sacrifice almost anything in order to pursue, protect or control, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it's considered so important e.g. the feather in 'Forest Gump'

Wether the audience should care about or identify with a MacGuffin in a story is open to much debate among producers of fiction.

The Feather in 'Forest Gump' Connotations-

>Flying---Journeys,
>Light,
>Airy,
>Softness,
>Superstition,
>Feather Boas,
>Pillows,
>Birds of a feather.

Film opening analysis- The Wedding Date

The Weding Date, is a film directed by Clare Kilner that came out in 2005. It follows single-girl Kat Ellis (Messing). Anxiety causes her to hire a male escort (Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend at her sister's wedding in an attempt to dupe her ex-fiancé, who dumped her a couple years prior,which proves to be her undoing.

VISUALS-
0s-21s- Universal logo
21s-29s- Golden Circle Films
31s-35s- 'Universal Films and'
36s-40s- Golden Circle Films present
41s-45s- A 26 Films production
45s-1m3s- Wedding invite rotates into focus
55s-1m3s- Rose petals fall as camera zooms out
1m3s-1m18s- Newspaper cuttings appear onscreen
1m11s-1m15s- In association with Vision View LTD.
1m18s-2m-Shots of NYC fade into one another
1m19s-1m23s- Debra Messing
1m26s-1m30s- Durmot Muloney
1m34s-1m37s- The Wedding Date
1m51s-1m53s- Amy Adams

SOUND-
0s-21s- Universal soundtrack
40s-2m- Backing instrumental music
1m31s-1m40s- Telephone rings
1m40s-2m-Talking ( A man's voice is leaving a message on the woman's answerphone)

Things it does WELL-
>It introduces all of the starring actors that appear in the film
>It sets the scene by having the varying shots of iconic New York landmarks
>It links well with the title by having the invite and provides context with the answerphone message.

Things it DOESN'T do well-
>It doesn't introduce the characters at all
>It doesn't conform to the convention of introducing the director in the opening two minutes

Film Opening Analysis-Angus, thongs and perfect snogging

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging was a film released in 2008. Directed by Curinder Chanda the film is an adaptation of the book series written by Louise Rennison. The story centers on a 14-year-old girl who keeps a diary about the ups and downs of being a teenager, including the things she learns about kissing,boys and of course, her dear cat Angus.

VISUALS-
0s-19s- Paramount logo
19s-32s- Nickelodeon Logo
32s-50s- Georgia is walking along the pavement whilst her dad drives              along side her in the car
50s-55s- Paramount pictures presents appears over footage
55s-1m - A Gurginda film 
1m1s-1m45s- Georgia arrives at the party and is stood up by her friends
1m45s-2m- Georgia runing home from party through Eastbourne

Sound-
16s-1m45s- Background Instrumental Music
1m45s-2m- Changes Music ( She's so lovely- Scouting for girls)
16s-1m45s- Dialogue

What it does well-
-->It sets the film well, with the running through the town scene.
-->The film well incorporates lines from the books.
-->They folow all of the main features of a film opening successfully

what it doesn't do well-
-->They don't introduce all of the main characters.
-->They don't make reference to any of the starring actors that are in the film.

film opening analysis- Love Actually

'Love Actually' is a film released in 2003 and directed by Richard Curtis. It follows the lives of eight very different couples, dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

We were set the task to analyse the opening two minutes of the film. In order to do this we split the analysis into the visuals and the sound of the scene.


VISUALS-

0s-23s- Universal logo 
23s-38s- Studio canal
38s-49s- Working title logo
49s-1m54ss- shots of reunited fade up from black then fade into one another, at the 1m9s mark it then fades to black 
51s-54s- Universal pictures and studio canal present
54s-59s- Working title productions
59s-1m2s- In assoiation with DNA films

1m50s- Love actully is all around fades onto the screen
1m58s-2m- is all around fades out leaving just the title 'Love Actually' alone on a black screen 

SOUND-

0s-23s- Unversal sound track
23s-38s- Studio canal soundtrack 
49s-2m- MUSIC- relaxing/happy- NON-DIAGETIC sound
1m13s-1m58s- Hugh Grant speaking 

Things it does well-
I really enjoyed how the footage mimicked the speech Hugh Grant was making, it provoked an emotional response from the audience as well as really emphasising the point that the person speaking wants to make

Things it doesn't do so well-
There are very few things that you could call the opeing out on however it doesn't keep to the conventions expected of a film opening e.g. Introducing the actors, Introducing the director, setting the scene. 

Film Openings- Captain America

It's 1942 and America has entered WW2, and sickly but determined Steve Rogers is frustrated after being deemed unfit for military service. Rogers then volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals. the film starred Hollywod greats such as; Stanley Tucci, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson. It was dirceted by Joe Johnston, and was first released in July 2011.

In order to deconstruct the timeline I split the opening into two parts, the VISUALS and the SOUND.

VISUALS

0s-18s- Paramount logo
21s-33s MARVEL logo
35s- Fade up from black to snow fogged screen
47s- Headlights gradually appear
52s- Headlights expand to full screen
54s-POV shot from the driver's point of view
1m1s- Man comes into shot holding a red light
1m12s- The two characters from the car are introduced
1m20s- Two shot of the men from the car
1m26s-Mid shot that includes al three characters
1m28s- Wide shot of the snowy setting
1m32- Medium close-up
1m34s-Two shot
1m38- Mid shot behind characters
1m41s-Zoom in on the  spaceship
1m47s-Pan up
1m51s-Zoom into character
1m52-Shot of the spaceship
1m59s- The camera zooms out
2m-Shot of a car tyre

SOUND

0s-18s- Paramount soundtrack
1m12s-2m- Dialogue

It's clear that the focus of the opening is to set the scene and really help the audience to grasp the concept of what's happening/ the econtext of the scene (as with any film opening). They do this by having detailed shot of the setting (wide shot of snowy plane), and by focusing on the dialogue between characters and not adding in any extra background music so the audience remain focused on what is being said.

WHAT IT DOES WELL-

It successfully  uses zoom a technique that's not really seenin film but this helps us to really understsnd the gravitas of the situation and grasp the size of  the spaceship. The way in which they use several camera shots in order to successfully set the scene is another positive of this particular film opening. In addition it uses dialogue to provide the audience with a solid context that is backed up by the footage used.

WHAT IT DOESN'T DO WELL-
In my opinion the opening spends too much time on the car travelling through the snow and not  on developing the story behind the spaceship. I understand that they want to create enigma however it doesn't work to the extent that they want it to.