3. The screen starts of black, then the title ‘Warner Bros. Presents’, quickly flashes
past from the right hand side of the screen to the left. It then appears back in the
middle of the screen. This could have been used to shock the audience and show
unpredictability at the start of the movie. The camera work at this point is
unsteady as the camera is shaking .We hear the sounds of a whooshing noise as it
zooms past, maybe once again to shock the audience. It the quickly cuts to a black
screen.
The second shot does exactly the same, from the black the white titles go flying past
but this time they are quite a bit larger. This might have ben done to captivate the
reader. The titles then appear in the middle of the screen once more. We hear the
whooshing sound again, and then it cuts to black again.
As the titles reading ‘ A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE’ fly past we this time hear
among the swooshing of the titles a horn go off. This is used to alarm the audience
as they don’t know what is going on and what that noise is from. This then sharply
cuts away.
4. We see the main actors name ‘Robert Deniro’ flash past.. It then appears back in
the middle of the screen. This carries the effect of shock to the audience, but they
will be starting to get use to it as they have seen it before. The camera work at
this point is unsteady as the camera is shaking .We hear the same sounds as
before, which is the whooshing sound and then it cuts to black.
Shortly after from the black with the whooshing sound in the background Ray
Liotta's name whizzes past before appearing in the middle of the screen again. This
tells the audience who will be interested who is going to be in the film they are
going to watch if they don’t know already. The camera work is still relatively shaky
making it look more like an armature film.
Joe Pescis (an actor) name fly's past with the usual whooshing noise behind it. It
then appears in the middle of the screen again so that the audience can clearly
read it. The sound is becoming more identifiable as you can hear engines in the
background, and it soon becomes clear it sounds like a car driving past other big
cars at quite some speed. This will make the audience wonder why is this car going
at high speeds, it makes the audience curious and want to know more.
5. Lorraine Bracco follows the same format as the ones prior to it where it flashes from
the left hand side of the screen to the right. As it does so we can hear the now clear
sound of a car passing other cars on a motorway. It the appears in the middle of the
screen so the audience are now able to read the name clearly. The use of the flying
past helps keep the audience alert and anticipating the movie to come.
The last title of actors names is Paul Sorvino which fly's past the screen in time with
the whooshing sound that appears to be from a car. The audience knows his is the
last of the actors names as it has the ‘and’ in front which normally signifies the end
of a list. It then cuts out to black.
This last title appears straight away in the centre it does not go from one side to
the other, this may be because it is longer meaning that the audience needs longer
to read it steady before it goes off. In this shot it is clear to see that the camera is
shaking as the titles are shaking ever so slightly but noticeably.
6. The wide shot of the back of the car opens up sharply, throwing the audience straight
into the action. We can see at either side lines showing they are on a road going at
some speed. The Lighting is dark, this might reflect the people in the car as dark
characters. The use of the nice car shows the people inside have a lot of money as
they can afford nice expensive cars. We hear the sound that we heard in the titles
which is the car driving fast. The scene then fades to the next, the sound is bridged.
The words ‘New York,1970’ appear on the black background. This lets the viewer
know what era the film will be set in and where at in the world. So the reader is
now fully aware of the surroundings and the scene has been set. This then leads
to a straight cut.
We see three characters in a medium shot who are implied to be in the same car
as seen before. The main character is In the forefront then the side characters are
in the passenger seat and in the back, which is slightly out of focus. All the
characters seem to be wearing expensive suits showing that they have a lot of
money. A diegetic banging sound can be heard in the back which the characters
can here they then start to talk and question what it is. This makes the audience
wonder what the noise in the back of the car is and it pulls them into the film.
7. We get a wide shot of the three main characters as they walk around to the boot
of the car, Jimmy is carrying the prop of a shovel. This shows that his character is
ready to fight and not afraid of action. The lighting in the scene is quite dark which
again could reflect the characters personality but also just the time of day which is
night. The banging noise can still be heard but also the noise of the wilderness
which is the sound of crickets and other insects to add realism.
The camera slowly zooms in on the car, this is done to build tension and get the
audience immersed in what is going on. It makes the audience also question
what is in the car. The sound of the thing inside banging also becomes louder
and this helps intensify the tension. The camera then cuts away.
We get a medium wide shot of the 3 characters that slowly zooms in on the one on the
lefts face. Jimmy is at the left of the screen as at this moment in time he is the most
important character. The lighting is dark, but the red headlights of the car illuminates
their faces, this has been used to signify danger to the 3 men making them look
dangerous. The editing pace in this shot is slow as it builds the tension up. The sound is
still the ambient background nose whish is bridged in each of these shots. The camera
then moves around to show the actions of all three, the guy in the middle pulls out the
prop of a big knife showing he is very dangerous and ready to kill someone inside.
8. The camera then cuts to a match of action medium close up of the car boot as we
see Henry try and open the car, this helps build the tension and adds realism as we
are not skipping bits out to hurry up the story, it uses the slow editing pace. We
hear the diegetic background noise of the wilderness but also the diegetic sound of
Henry putting the keys into the lock. The boot opens to reveal a man covered in
blood shaking his head, it then quickly cuts to the next shot.
It then cuts to a medium shot to show Tommy's expression which is him
looking rather angry at the guy in the boot and viciously going up to the car
and stabbing him multiple times with his knife. This shows the audience that
he is a very dangerous character who doesn’t care about killing. The red light
is very bright on Tommy showing that he is a very deadly character as red
carries connotations of blood and anger. The audience can hear and see the
character getting stabbed which adds realism to the film.
We get a medium close up of Jimmy, to show his facial expression which is a
worrying look towards his friend, but also one that is quite cold. The medium close
up is also used as we can see a tiny bit of what he is doing which is reaching into his
back pocket for something. We can hear Tommy swearing off screen and the
exaggerated sound of the stabbing in the background.
9. It then cuts to Tommy backing away slowly and Jimmy walking up with his gun
(prop) and shooting the guy in the boot repeatedly. The use of the gun shows that
Jimmy is just as dangerous as the others. The loud gun shots, shock the viewer
which makes the viewer want to watch more to find out what happens next. The
camera work is still at the moment. It the sharply cuts to the next shot.
The shot duration for this shot is very fast, it is a still medium close up of Henry,
this is used to show henrys facial expression and body language, which is one that
is quite shocked but also curious as he is flinching bit but still remains looking. The
sound of the gunshots can be heard in the background of this shot. The red
lighting is also on his face, showing danger.
The PoV shot from Jimmy shows him firing his gun at the body wrapped in
blankets showing the audience that he is the one killing him but it also makes him
closer to the audience as they are seeing it from his perspective, so it makes the
audience form a relationship with him. The red lighting is clear in this shot
showing again the clear message of danger.
10. We get a medium shot of Henry, who then starts non diegetically talking, this is
done to build a relationship and understanding between him and the audience. The
still medium shot is used to show what he is doing which is closing the boot and his
facial expression. The sound suddenly changes to non diegetic music as he starts
talking and it zooms up quickly to his face breaking the realism that had just been
built. The camera then pauses on a close-up of his face as the music picks up and
becomes louder.
As the singer of the non diegetic music starts, the camera turns to black and
we see in red the title ‘Goodfellas’ whiz past a few times before eventually
stopping in the centre. The sound of the car whooshing of the car can be
heard once more. This then stays om screen for some time before it cuts out.
The titles reading executive producer Barbara Defina fly past in bold, before becoming
centred in the middle of the screen again. The sound of the whooshing noise is heard
over the top of the music.
11. Based on the book ‘wiseguy’ by (and then in bold) Nicholas
Pileggi fly's pasty the screen before reappearing in the centre
again for a matter of seconds. The same sound as before is heard
which is the fast sound of a car overtaking others.
Screen play by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese appears after it
has gone from the left hand side of the screen to the right. The
music is still heard in the background which is sound bridged from
shot to shot. The other sound to be heard is the sound of the titles
as they fly past the screen.
The producer Irwin Winkler flashes past the screen before it appears again in the
middle. The music picks up its loudness for the last bit and the whooshing noise is
not as long nor loud.
12. The last credit is the director himself Martin Scorsese which whooshes
past once before staying in the centre. The music continues playing in
the background it then cuts to the next scene were the sound again is
bridged.
The next shot is an extreme close up of a boys eye, so that the audience
can tell he is looking at something. It is expected in the next shot that you
will see what the boy is looking at. The music is played in the background
and that is the only sound heard. Before it fades away to black.
14. Narrative
• In the first 2 mins 35 secs of the opening sequence to the film goodfellas there is
quite a bit of narrative as it throws you right into the middle of the action at a
very important plot point. We find out who the three main characters are and
a few traits about each for example we learn Jimmy is the older wiser one of
the three as he is the first one Henry turns to when he needs help with the car.
We learn that Tommy is aggressive and likes to kill as we see him stab the guy
multiple times with a large knife which is a very messy weapon to use. We also
learn that Henry is the youngest and probably the most intimidated of the
three and has always wanted to be a gangster which is what their profession
seems to be. It is not chronologically set as this scene happens to be in the
middle of the film. The setting is established in the shot where we find out the
place and the Era in the titles.
15. Genre
• The genre for this film is Biography/Crime Thriller/ Drama.
Predominantly a crime Thriller, this meets many of its typical;
conventions one of which is realism. The film is quite realistic in the
sense it uses a slow editing pace to make it seem more realistic and
not skip bits out. It also uses real characters that did actually exist,
real props and locations. The story also seems very dark with alotn
of brutal killings.
16. Representations
• The mob in this title sequence is represented as very rich and wealthy as
the car that is seen at the start is a very expensive clean car which means
that the people inside the car must be quite wealthy. The clothes that
the three men who are members of the mob wear are suits. But the Mob
is also represented as very violent group of people as one member stabs
stabs another member in the chest multiple times with a knife, then
another member shoots him multiple times.
• Older men are also represented as wiser men as Henry (the younger man)
asks the older man Jimmy what the noise is as if Jimmy would know. Also
Jimmy is the one who is smart enough to use a gun to kill the person with
as it is less messy than Tommy who was using the knife.
17. Institutional Context
• Goodfellas shows its biggest distributior first which is warner bros, it
the shows the production company that makes it which is Irwin
Winklers productions. They are both shown first in order to gain the
attention of the audience as they will see the big distributors names
and think that it must be good to get them a distributors.
