The opening scene of Kick Ass begins with an establishing shot of New York City, showing iconic buildings like the Empire State Building. Dialogue is heard over this shot, juxtaposing the busy city with words about the speed of a handgun bullet. The scene cuts to a close-up of a pink backpack, surprising the audience when a gun is revealed being held confidently. It pans up to show another character framed on the left looking powerless with glasses, suggesting intelligence. A wide shot shows the isolated characters far from the buildings in the background, contrasting them with the outside world.

1. Opening scene analysis on Kick
Ass (Action Genre)
Nasima Begum

2. The opening scene of Kick Ass begins with an establishing shot,
which clearly shows that the movie is set in New York. The very
wide shot allows the audience to see where the action will take
place and provides an overview of the scene that will follow. The
camera gradually zooms up closer showing us some of the iconic
buildings in New York for example The Empire States building can
be seen at the very back.

3. There is a pre-lap into the next scene as dialogue can be heard
being spoken over the opening establishing shot. The pre-lap
shows the juxtaposition of the two scenes as the busy city
establishing shot contrasts with the voice of the character saying ‘a
handgun bullet travels at more than 700 miles an hour’. This
provides an ironic impact to the opening sequence.

4. The cut in close up shot of the bag on the floor takes us straight into the scene
and action. The mise-en-scene (props) colour of the backpack bag is pink which
connotes feminine traits and the character is quite girly. The close up shot of
the bag allows us to see in more detail what she is getting out of the bag which
to our surprise is a gun. This shot is very effective as we are not yet shown the
character but from the way she is holding the gun suggests she is not nervous
but very confident.

5. The camera pans from the bottom to above revealing another character. The
low angle shot of the character allows the audience to see the powerlessness
and vulnerability of the character. The mise-en-scene (costume) glasses suggest
he is intelligent. The character is framed to the left of the lens where in the
background you can see nothing but rocks. This could suggest that the
character is also insignificant.

6. This very wide establishing shot shows us that there is two characters in a isolated and abandoned place. This shot is
very effective as we can still see the buildings however it seems very far away from where the characters are standing.
This could suggest that the characters are away from everyday life and now in their ‘own world’. It also shows the
audience that they are still in New York.
The contrast between the background building with the abandoned area shows also the contrast between the
characters and the outside people. This shot introduces the characters in the opening scene which connotes that they
will be important characters throughout the film as they are the first characters we are shown.

7. Batman Begins (Opening Scene)
Nasima Begum

8. The opening scene begins with a
establishing shot showing the miseen-scene (setting) of hundreds of
bats flying in dark sky. This is very
effective as it sets an sinister tone
and atmosphere to thrill the
audience.

9. The mise-en-scene (lighting)
shows black bats contrast
against dark and cloudy sky. The
establishing shot clearly shows
in background, a form of large
bat. This connotes the key
symbol of power; represents
idea that Batman will be able to
combat evil by ‘shining’ even in
darkness.

10. Throughout the opening scene
quiet but continual beat which gets
louder as Bruce falls into well. The
non diegetic sound of an orchestra
in the background sets a tone of
fear and panic. The continual beat
sets suspense of situation which
keeps the audience on edge as the
sound changes pitch from silent to
loud.

11. The camera pans from right to
left as we see the garden
scene going so fast it is blurred.
This type of shot is useful here
as it brings audience into action
and makes us feel like we are
running with the characters.

12. The High-angle shot of the top of well
is used to exaggerate the height of it
as well as get a good shot of the boy
falling. This represents how far he has
fallen and could also suggest the long
journey he is about to embark upon.
The close up of the boy’s face as he
hits the bottom emphasises how
frightened he is and helps to show his
emotions.

13. The mid shot of both the
characters shows the mise-enscene (clothing) of the characters.
The children are dressed in
contemporary which gives the
impression that they are from
wealthy background.

14. There is a close up shot of the
character waking up from the dream.
The use of this shot here is very
effective as we are then introduced to
what seems to be the grown version
of the boy in the same position as the
boy was lying in the last frame. The
close up shot allows us to see the
contrast between the past character
and now.