Similar product research

1. Sarah Hearn
‘BridgetJones’sDiary’ openinganalysis
Firstly,we see anestablishingshotof the livingroomwithBridgetloungingonthe sofasmoking.
From thiswe can see the room to be quite clutteredandmessywithdirtydishesonthe floorbythe
sofaand a wine glassnexttoit. Thisinitiatesthe audiencesfirstimpressionof Bridgetperhapsgiving
themthe perceptionof herbeinglazy.
In the foreground,we cansee Bridget’sphone.The factitisso close to ussuggestspossible
significantrelevancetothe narrative.
All byMyself byCeline Dioninstantlystartplayingshowingthe audience how she issingle.Atthis
pointthe songis non-diegeticdue tothe fact she is watchingTV and isunlikelytobe listeningto
musicat the same time.
The firstwritingwe see onscreenreads“Renee Zellweger”whostarsas BridgetJones.Ashername
isthe firstwe see,the audience will associateherasbeingthe maincharacter.
Next,we see amediumclose-upof the TV showingBridgettobe watchingFrasier.Thisgiventhe
audience aninsightintoherinterests.The followingmediumclose-upshotof Bridgetonthe sofa
withheryawningshowsthistobe her initial reactiontoFrasierbeingonTV.
NowColinFirth’sname comesuprepresentinghimasthe mainmale role andthe fact that it is
displayedatthe same time asthe shot of Bridgetsuggestshe islikelytoinfluence hersignificantly
and alsolinksthemtogether.
To continue, followingfromthiswe see afade transitionbackto the establishingshotfromrightat
the beginningof the opening;duringthis shotBridgetisseentobe gettingupoff the sofa.Thisfade
possiblyrepresentsapassingintime showingthe audiencehow Bridgethasbeenonthe sofafora
longtime.The targetaudience ismore likelytobe femaledue tothe RomanticComedygenre and
some may be single.Thismeansthe audience mayfindthese longlonelynightsBridgetis
experiencingrelatable.
Hugh Grant is anotherhuge name inthe filmindustrysodisplayinghisname couldincrease target
audience due tohimhavinghisownfans.Also,he iswell establishedinthe romanticcomedygenre
meaningthe audience mayfinditcomfortableseeingarecognisableface.
Bridgetisseentocheck herphone foranswerphone messageswhichafterthe pushof the button
makesthe diegeticsound“nonew messages”.The wayBridgetcomestowardsthe cameratoget to
the phone maymake the audience feel more involvedinthe actionasthe space betweenBridget
and themisnowsmallerthanbefore.However,nextwe see anotherfade transitiontoBridgetback
on the sofashowingrepetitionandconsistencyinheractionsandalsopossible the continuationof
herloneliness.Thiscouldfurtherrepresenthow herlifestyle isstable eventhoughfrom herfacial
expressionandbodylanguage we cansee she isn’thappy withthisandis seekingapartner.
The use of a wine glassreinforcesthe factthatit isgoingto be a romance filmdue tothisbeinga
recognisable propwithinthe genre.However, itcanbe usedinsituationswherebytwo people are
happytogether(perhapsona date) orsecondlyasa methodtomournthe lossof a relationship.In
thissituation, Isee the wine glasstobe usedinmore the lattersense inthe waythat Bridgetisusing
it to try andcope withherloneliness.
The song “All byMyself”thenbecomesdiegeticwhenBridgetbecomesinvolvedinthe tune by
pluckinganair guitarto the rhythm of the musicand her thenmouthingthe lyrics.Thisshowsshe

2. Sarah Hearn
knowsall the wordsand isfamiliarwiththe tune suggestingshe haslistenedtothisparticular song
multiple timesbefore.Thisfurtherreinforcesrepetitionandconsistency.
The mediumclose-upallowsustosee Bridgetcryingwhichgivesaninsightintothe emotional
sustainabilityof hercharacterand howherlonelinessisreallyaffectingher. Thismaymake the
audience sympathise withherandfeel sorryforher.Theyalsomayfinditrelatable totheirsituation
whichresultsinthembuildinganemotional connectionwithBridget.The viewersare thenmore
likelygoingtowanttocontinue watchingtofindoutwhat happenstoherduringthe film.
Bridgetthendirectshersinging tomore of a wideraudience andalthoughasaviewerwe know she
isthe onlyone presentinthe roomwe feel like thereare now people all aroundherandas if we are
now part of that crowd. However,we are thensnappedoutof thisfalse sense of realitywithacutto
the same establishingshotwe have seenmultipletimesthroughoutthe openingreinforcingshe is
the onlyone inthe roomand we are not infact inthere with her.
The switchingbetweenthe same twoshots(establishingandmediumclose-up)stopsdisorientation
of the audience asthese shotsbecome safe andcomforting.Thisisexpectedinthe romanticcomedy
genre as the audience are expectingsomethinglight-heartedandthatdoesn’trequire toomuch
thought.Atthis pointif a newshotwasto be introduceditmaycause slightdisorientationof the
audience asitis somethingtheyaren’tusedto.Moreover,this couldfurtheremphasize the
regularity androutine like lifestyle Bridgetlives.
Overthe whole opening,the lightingisdimandhas tonesof brownfromthe walls,flooringand
upholsteryof the room.Thisconnoteswarmth,stabilityandsecuritythatBridgetmayfeel whilst
withinherlivingroom.Fromthisandmultiple otheraspectsof the openingwe caninferthatshe
feelssafe andsecure andherlife isstable atthispoint;althoughthiscontradictsheremotional state
seenearlieron.
The last thingwe see isthe title of the filmBridgetJones’sDiaryinlargerlettersthanthe restof the
writingseenpriortothis.Thisintroducesthe audience tothe filmandgivesthemsome insightinto
the narrative giventhatherrelationshipwithColinFirthisdestroyeddue toherdiary.Italso
reinforcesthe factshe isthe maincharacter as her name isin the title of the filmandthisbringsthe
audience’sattentiontohermakingthemwantto focusonher throughoutthe narrative.