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OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014
Film Opening analysis – Back to the Future - 1985
Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis created Back to the Future – an
original, ground-breaking adventure that sparked one of the most successful
trilogies ever. The carefully thought out technical elements helped to make
the first film as much of a success as it is and was. Props are an important
aspect, the plutonium box especially which is coloured bright yellow colour
to stick in the audience’s mind as a hazard. It also comes back into the plot
later and after watching the film the audience realises the significance of the
first scene. Another important prop element in the first scene are the loudly
ticking clocks that take up the first 2 minutes of the 4minute 25 second scene.
Theyare shown in one long panning shot. As it is the first thing we see, we
presume that it is an important element of the main narrative. Rubbish is
scattered across the room which suggests that whoever lives there is untidy
and perhaps unsuccessful. Photographs of Benjamin Franklin suggest that the
owner is an inventor. The props used for Marty Mcfly’s character are all used
to make him appear cool and nonchalant which is shown through his
skateboard and guitar. His costume furthers this young, cool attitude, with
Nike trainers, skinny blue jeans and his shirt and bomber jacket. This
appearance will make him recognisable throughout the film, especially next
to the appearance of Emmett Brown. It is established that Marty is confident
in himself by the way he dresses and speaks. The sound of the TV tells us that
a plutonium box has been stolen, and with the next piece of information that
reveals that Marty has it, then audience want to discover the mystery of why
and how he possesses it.
There are long shots in the first scene such as the medium panning shot and
the shot of Marty and his skateboard. This denotes a relaxed atmosphere.
OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014
Film Opening analysis – Donnie Darko
In the opening scene of Donnie Darko, the audience is shown an
establishing shot of a mountain road at sunrise, with a body lying in the
middle of the road. It is unclear whether the body is dead or alive for the first
30 seconds, until the boy sits up. The first main prop is now visible: his bicycle.
The music is tranquil, quiet and calm to go with the peaceful surroundings.
The shot pans around the back of him and slows on a close up of his face
which displays a confused expression. We now see his costume: pyjamas.
From the audience’s point of view, the take is becoming odder and out of
place. The next shot cuts to a wide angle establishing shot of the sun rising
over the mountains. The protagonist stands, interrupting the audiences view.
The performance of Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie) is becoming even more
confusing to the audience and he now smiles and turns away, suggesting
that he has become familiar with his situation and comfortable with where he
has woken up.
The scene then cuts to a tracking shot of Donnie cycling down the road. The
sun is now out and the music changes to The Killing Moon - Echo & The
Bunnymen, which is upbeat and a massive change of mood. Donnie cycles
into a town. The lengthy tracking shot tracks into the garden of a mansion
shot where other characters can now be seen. Donnie arrives at his house
and the next shot is of a young girl bouncing on a trampoline, connoting
innocence and immaturity. The mother sits up off her garden chair as Donnie
walks through the door, showing concern. The most important prop of the
scene is revealed when Donnie opens the fridge: a whiteboard saying
‘Where is Donnie?’ This suggests that Donnie goes missing frequently and that
it is not a surprise when he does, all it calls for is a note on the fridge.
OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014
Film Opening analysis – Blade Runner
Before anything much else, the sound of a siren can be heard,
suggesting disaster and disruption before anything else is given. Blade runner
begins with a written description that sets the storyline for the main narrative
to follow. Blade runner was released in June 25, 1982 and the scrolling
narrative’s final piece of description states that the film is taking us to Los
Angeles, November 2019. This is of course decades after the film was
released and we are being taken into the future. The first scene is a wide,
high angle establishing shot of a city. Explosions come out of sky scrapers as
non-diegetic, synthetic, tense music builds suspension until a flying machine
(spinners) speeds ‘beneath’ us. This unusual machine shows us that we are in
a dystopian world and this is confirmed further by the appearance of the
building we see later. A big city is not somewhere that we would presume to
find this much lack of control and we presume that this has somehow been
allowed or organised. This whole scene suggests that something disastrous
and chaotic has occurred and we need to find out exactly what that is. The
shot is filmed at night time- furthering tension and mystery.
After a threatening strike of lightening, the scene cuts to a medium shot
which shows the audience a closer view of explosions. We seem to be
nearing the chaos, as the scene cuts to an eye. The scene of the city we
have seen before is in the pupil of the eye. We see this character to be
viewing the madness calmly and understandably as he shows no sense of
panic. We near a giant building as we cut to and from the watching eye until
we are inside the building. A giant fan moves slowly around a silhouetted
man, suggesting juxtaposition between it being hot and no urgency to cool
down. The man is smoking, furthering a contrast between the calmness that
he seems to hold and the chaos outside.
OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014
Film Opening analysis – E.T.
The first shot in E.T. is an establishing shot of a navy blue sky panning
down to a silhouetted line of trees in a forest. The colours and locations of this
connote calmness and tranquillity. This is supported by the calm, pretty
instrumental soundtrack. Birdcall and crickets can be heard to suggest we
are in a natural environment that humans are familiar with. This, however, is
thrown off when the scene cuts to a wide shot of an unfamiliar looking
‘building.’ We view this through trees, as if we are trespassing and we need to
hide ourselves. The non-diegetic music has become tenser, diegetic sounds
come into the scene such as animalistic sounds which we are soon to find out
about. We see a close up shot of two fingers pulling on a branch that we are
‘near’ to as a strange and unusual shaped being walks through the door of
the anonymous building in the background. The audience feels that it is not
their place to go with it.
We now see many of these creatures coming into the forest and a red
light comes on in their stomach. This colour suggests a hazardous continue in
the story. We are led to believe that this is significant for the main narrative as
the music fades out slowly. One of these creatures takes a small tree out of
the ground and then the scene cuts to a wide establishing shot of a single
creature on its own. Low angle shots of the tall trees puts into perspective
how small and venerable this creature is. This particular creature climbs a hill
to get a view of a very large city below. This tells us that it is intrigued by the
outer world and it wants to explore its surroundings.

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Film opening analysis

  • 1. OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014 Film Opening analysis – Back to the Future - 1985 Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis created Back to the Future – an original, ground-breaking adventure that sparked one of the most successful trilogies ever. The carefully thought out technical elements helped to make the first film as much of a success as it is and was. Props are an important aspect, the plutonium box especially which is coloured bright yellow colour to stick in the audience’s mind as a hazard. It also comes back into the plot later and after watching the film the audience realises the significance of the first scene. Another important prop element in the first scene are the loudly ticking clocks that take up the first 2 minutes of the 4minute 25 second scene. Theyare shown in one long panning shot. As it is the first thing we see, we presume that it is an important element of the main narrative. Rubbish is scattered across the room which suggests that whoever lives there is untidy and perhaps unsuccessful. Photographs of Benjamin Franklin suggest that the owner is an inventor. The props used for Marty Mcfly’s character are all used to make him appear cool and nonchalant which is shown through his skateboard and guitar. His costume furthers this young, cool attitude, with Nike trainers, skinny blue jeans and his shirt and bomber jacket. This appearance will make him recognisable throughout the film, especially next to the appearance of Emmett Brown. It is established that Marty is confident in himself by the way he dresses and speaks. The sound of the TV tells us that a plutonium box has been stolen, and with the next piece of information that reveals that Marty has it, then audience want to discover the mystery of why and how he possesses it. There are long shots in the first scene such as the medium panning shot and the shot of Marty and his skateboard. This denotes a relaxed atmosphere.
  • 2. OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014 Film Opening analysis – Donnie Darko In the opening scene of Donnie Darko, the audience is shown an establishing shot of a mountain road at sunrise, with a body lying in the middle of the road. It is unclear whether the body is dead or alive for the first 30 seconds, until the boy sits up. The first main prop is now visible: his bicycle. The music is tranquil, quiet and calm to go with the peaceful surroundings. The shot pans around the back of him and slows on a close up of his face which displays a confused expression. We now see his costume: pyjamas. From the audience’s point of view, the take is becoming odder and out of place. The next shot cuts to a wide angle establishing shot of the sun rising over the mountains. The protagonist stands, interrupting the audiences view. The performance of Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie) is becoming even more confusing to the audience and he now smiles and turns away, suggesting that he has become familiar with his situation and comfortable with where he has woken up. The scene then cuts to a tracking shot of Donnie cycling down the road. The sun is now out and the music changes to The Killing Moon - Echo & The Bunnymen, which is upbeat and a massive change of mood. Donnie cycles into a town. The lengthy tracking shot tracks into the garden of a mansion shot where other characters can now be seen. Donnie arrives at his house and the next shot is of a young girl bouncing on a trampoline, connoting innocence and immaturity. The mother sits up off her garden chair as Donnie walks through the door, showing concern. The most important prop of the scene is revealed when Donnie opens the fridge: a whiteboard saying ‘Where is Donnie?’ This suggests that Donnie goes missing frequently and that it is not a surprise when he does, all it calls for is a note on the fridge.
  • 3. OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014 Film Opening analysis – Blade Runner Before anything much else, the sound of a siren can be heard, suggesting disaster and disruption before anything else is given. Blade runner begins with a written description that sets the storyline for the main narrative to follow. Blade runner was released in June 25, 1982 and the scrolling narrative’s final piece of description states that the film is taking us to Los Angeles, November 2019. This is of course decades after the film was released and we are being taken into the future. The first scene is a wide, high angle establishing shot of a city. Explosions come out of sky scrapers as non-diegetic, synthetic, tense music builds suspension until a flying machine (spinners) speeds ‘beneath’ us. This unusual machine shows us that we are in a dystopian world and this is confirmed further by the appearance of the building we see later. A big city is not somewhere that we would presume to find this much lack of control and we presume that this has somehow been allowed or organised. This whole scene suggests that something disastrous and chaotic has occurred and we need to find out exactly what that is. The shot is filmed at night time- furthering tension and mystery. After a threatening strike of lightening, the scene cuts to a medium shot which shows the audience a closer view of explosions. We seem to be nearing the chaos, as the scene cuts to an eye. The scene of the city we have seen before is in the pupil of the eye. We see this character to be viewing the madness calmly and understandably as he shows no sense of panic. We near a giant building as we cut to and from the watching eye until we are inside the building. A giant fan moves slowly around a silhouetted man, suggesting juxtaposition between it being hot and no urgency to cool down. The man is smoking, furthering a contrast between the calmness that he seems to hold and the chaos outside.
  • 4. OPENING ANALYSIS 12/14/2014 Film Opening analysis – E.T. The first shot in E.T. is an establishing shot of a navy blue sky panning down to a silhouetted line of trees in a forest. The colours and locations of this connote calmness and tranquillity. This is supported by the calm, pretty instrumental soundtrack. Birdcall and crickets can be heard to suggest we are in a natural environment that humans are familiar with. This, however, is thrown off when the scene cuts to a wide shot of an unfamiliar looking ‘building.’ We view this through trees, as if we are trespassing and we need to hide ourselves. The non-diegetic music has become tenser, diegetic sounds come into the scene such as animalistic sounds which we are soon to find out about. We see a close up shot of two fingers pulling on a branch that we are ‘near’ to as a strange and unusual shaped being walks through the door of the anonymous building in the background. The audience feels that it is not their place to go with it. We now see many of these creatures coming into the forest and a red light comes on in their stomach. This colour suggests a hazardous continue in the story. We are led to believe that this is significant for the main narrative as the music fades out slowly. One of these creatures takes a small tree out of the ground and then the scene cuts to a wide establishing shot of a single creature on its own. Low angle shots of the tall trees puts into perspective how small and venerable this creature is. This particular creature climbs a hill to get a view of a very large city below. This tells us that it is intrigued by the outer world and it wants to explore its surroundings.