This is an opening sequence analysis of the coming of age film LOL...

1. Opening
Sequence
analysis…
“In a world connected
by Facebook, twitter
and YouTube, Miley
Cyrus stars as a teen girl
navigating through the
peer pressures of high
school romance and
friendship while
dodging her protective
mother (Demi Moore),
in the fresh coming-of-
age comedy LOL”
“YOU CAN CHANGE
YOUR STATUS, BUT NOT
YOUR HEART”

2. A typical convention at
the beginning of an
opening sequence to
any film is to start it by
advertising the
production company
and its logo, which LOL
does.

3. The opening sequence opens with an panoramic establishing
shot, which shows the audience where the film is set.

4. Editing
In the opening sequence of ‘LOL’ a montage edit is used, which
clearly establishes the genre of the film and because they used a
voice over throughout the opening sequence it instantly tells the
audience who the main protagonist is (Miley Cyrus), she has a
noticeable voice and will easily be recognised especially by the
target audience. The montage edit shows a typical busy scene
which you would expect to see at a high school, it shows the
main protagonist with her friends and boyfriend, so straight
away it is giving the audience an idea of what the story line is.
This is a really good sequence because it tells the audience a lot
about the characters and their personalities. From this montage
opening sequence the viewer will learn that the main
protagonist is a middle class American teenager who is trying to
manage her school life while spending time with her boyfriend
and friends. The title of the film ‘LOL’ appears at the end of the
opening sequence, it is drawn on the floor with chalk which is a
good idea because it fits with it been based around a school.
From the beginning and throughout the opening sequence there
are titles of the actors, directors, producers (ect...), this is
common for an opening sequence.

5. Camerawork
The opening sequence is really good at establishing the genre of the film and who the main
character is, which is one of the main generic conventions of opening sequences. In the
opening sequence there is a lot of point of view shots (POV) which allows the audience to see
what exactly is going on as if they was there themselves. It also allows them to see the location
and characters so they will easily know what genre the film is. There was also quite a lot of mid
shots of the main character and her friends, which suggests she is a popular character. There
are 2 shots of her and her boyfriend which suggests the relationship is serious because there is
only them two in the shot also it suggests that her boyfriend may be a main character.

6. Mise en scene
The Mise en scene in the opening sequence is to tell the audience what theme/genre the film is.
Lighting
In the opening sequence of LOL the lighting is bright and natural, which connotes that the film will be light hearted and fun to watch.
Iconography
There are many different types of iconography in the opening sequence of LOL which tells the audience what genre/theme the film is.
For example
Most of the characters are seen to be using smart phones which suggest the film is based around social media lovers who are usually
teenagers.
The characters all seem to be holding school books and journals, which connotes the film is based around a school and teenagers.
Clothing
The characters are all dressed in modern, chilled out clothes, the clothes they are wearing look like typical American student clothes, which
connotes that the film is new and based around the lives of teenage students. It shows the audience straight away that the genre of this film
is ‘coming of age’.
Location
The opening sequence opens with an panoramic establishing shot of a well known city in America, which shows the audience where the film
is set. It then goes straight to the second location which is the high school, this connotes the film is aimed at teenagers and that it is a
‘coming of age’ film.
Acting codes
It is supper easy to tell the genre/theme of this movie by the characters acting codes. They are acting young, fun, daft, angry and moody
which are all typical actions and feelings of stereotypical teenager. You can see these different emotions and actions though the characters
tone, facial expressions and overall their body language. All these put together shows the audience what the characters are like and what
the film will most likely be like as it goes on.

7. Sound
There is a sound track used during the opening sequence which is totally
suitable because it is “Everybody” by Ingrid Michaelson. This is played when
you can see all the different characters have an insight on their friendships
and their relationships. When the lyrics finish the backing track keeps
playing in the background a few seconds after you can hear a non- digetic
voice over of the main character who introducers her friends and boyfriend
to the audience, the voice over finishes when she introduces herself to the
audience. During the opening sequence even though there is a non- diegetic
track been played and a voice over you can always here the ambient sound
in the background of general chatter, gossip and laughter which is typical for
in a high school. It is appropriate and links well with the storyline theme and
genre.

8. Backstory
Many opening sequences include a backstory which gives
the audience some information as to what has happened in
the past, which helps them understand the rest of the film.
However this convention is not used in LOL’s opening
sequence and the main story just begins from beginning
and normally. On the other hand moments are showed
which seem like important times and moments in the
protagonists life.