analysis of an opening sequence 3

1. ANALYSIS OF
AN OPENING
SEQUENCE 3 -
The Devil
Wears Prada
IZZY SAAB

2. The Devil Wears Prada is a movie directed by David Frankel,
starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. The opening sequence
begins with a black background, no music and the credits are rolling.
The credits are written in beige and orange. Both credits have a old
Hollywood feel to it, creating a feminine, fashionable start. The black
background fades out and the scene fades in to a steamy and
unclear surface.
The camera follows down the surface, whilst the credits are shown
and we see a hand enter the scene and wipes the steam off the
mirror, which wipes off the titles and the reflection of Anne Hathaway
brushing her teeth is shown. This immediately tells the audience that
she is the protagonist as she is the first character shown.
At the same time Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall starts playing,
creating an upbeat, exciting tempo to the film. At this point we are
immediately attracted to the film, we are aware of the genre of the
film, which is a comedy/drama/romance and instantly want to see
more.

3. MISE EN SCENE
Credit continue, but the location changes. A cut of the
establishing shot of New York City is on screen with "Devil
Wears Prada" across it. This show allows the female audience
to see the location and make suggestions on the character we
have just met e.g. wealthy.
Next we are shown multiple shots of different women getting
dressed elegantly and fashionably. In comparison we are see
Anne Hathaway getting dressed differently to the women
shown.
The women are putting on makeup, curling their eyelashes
and choosing what to wear from a whole wardrobe of clothes.
Whereas Anne does not bother putting as much effort into
getting ready for the day as the other women are. They put on
lipstick whereas she puts on lip-balm. This shows the mise en
scene as the clothing, makeup and setting is shown.

4. We see this through close-ups and zooms, which helps us get an
idea about the type of person the protagonist is. She arrives outside
a tall building looking up, as the camera tilts up to what she is
looking at. She goes inside with a long shot showing us how
different she looks from all the other "glamorous" women walking
into the same place.
The opening scene ends with a medium shot of the lift doors
opening, as anne walks out as she leads us into the film keeping us
wondering where she is going and what she is going to do next. The
whole film is absolutely brilliant and is definitely one of my all-time
favourites.
CAMERA MOVEMENTS

5. During the first stage of my research, I wanted to find out and
watch chick-flick opening sequences specific to my genre, theme
and style.
The film “The Devil Wears Prada” opening sequence is a get
ready scene and has background music which is similar to what I
intend to my for my film.
I had analysed the opening sequence very carefully to further my
understandings of film openings and how it engages the audience
by the chick-flick conventions such as the Title, Production,
hook/enigma and more. As well as the Mise en scene in the scene
such as the clothing, makeup, props and setting.
This inspired me in many ways by having different girls get ready
at the same time although have different personalities.