The document provides an analysis of the opening sequence of a romance film. It begins by introducing the male protagonist through a voiceover describing his childhood interest in coins. Flashbacks show him as a child fascinated by coins and later as an injured soldier clutching a coin. The sequence then shifts to the present day, showing the protagonist surfing alone, establishing him as lonely. He spots an attractive blonde woman having her bag fall in the water. In a heroic act, he dives in to rescue her bag. They have a friendly conversation as she thanks him for saving her possessions. Musical cues enhance different emotional moments. The opening establishes the main characters and sets up the romance genre conventions that will follow in the film.

1. Task 2: Textual Analysis: Micro-features.

2. The opening of the sequence of 'Dear John.’
The first shot we see is of a flashback and a voice-over comes on showing us what he went
through in the army. The man who speaks as the voice-over seems like a young probably in his
mid-twenties, showing us that this is the guy who is shown in the film later on and it is about his
life. We see a close-up of his face when he was young and the motion of coins falling down
slowly, he looks transfixed and happy. Then another close-up of his face wearing goggles in a
factory where the coins are being made. He yet again looks transfixed by them, showing us that
he is a fan of coins and probably likes to collect and study them as a hobby. The purpose of this
flashback is to show the audience how he was as a child and that the coins may have an
important significance that we see later on in the film. Some believe that the connotations of
coins show opportunity and can bring luck and this may be shown later on in the film, what
significance the coins have in his life. Another extreme close-up is used on his eyes when he is
older and in the army, he is looking at a coin in his hand but he is also on the floor injured. This
shows that he is having faith and luck in this coin to bring him the opportunity to live and not
die. More clips of his memories are shown and it is in the form of a montage, these clips are not
in order; showing the randomness of his thoughts as he speaks through them and also to
emphasize the idea of his past and the memories.

3. Mis-en-Scene/Camerawork
The next opening clip is an establishing shot of an extreme long-shot of the ocean and the sky;
we are now in his present life. The clips tells the audience that the sound of waves is connected
to the ocean which immediately tells the audience that the film is located at the beach and it is
summer because the sun is in the sky shining. This could be an indication to the audience that it
is a happy summery day and the events that are about to unfold could be happy as well. The
genre of this film is romance, even though it is not blaringly obvious from the opening shot but
the location connotes a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere where you can stare into the horizon
forever and that is how one is supposed to feel when in love. Another long-shot is used of him
surfing the waves and he looks like he has been doing this a while, indicating that this might be
another one of his hobbies which he likes to do alone, probably to forget about anything that is
happening in his life and to pass time. He is the very first character we see, so we can assume he
is the protagonist of this film. It can be presumed that this character IS the protagonist as it is
the first character to be introduced and the general rule of film sequences is that the
protagonist is the first character to be introduced. Romance films typically involve very realistic
scenarios as this allows the audience to relate to the characters on-screen. The fact that he is
surfing is his hobby, something he must do in his every-day life; this could be any normal person
enjoying their hobby. The fact that the protagonist is with nobody else shows he is isolated and
alone; the sense of loneliness being a key motif in romance films, makes us wonder if he will
find somebody in the end.

4. Camerawork/Sound
The camera angle is of a medium close-up shot which shows us exactly what he looks like in the
next shot. We see him before any females as this film is centred on him. From the way he is
looking, it looks like he is looking at something. This is very common to have the male lead
shown first as this attracts the female audience, as the male lead is very attractive. The typical
conventions for a man that is used in most films are that he be tall, attractive, dark-haired which
makes him look mysterious. This is applied to this character and fits perfectly for a romance film.
The audience is aware that he is looking at a group of people which is a medium long-shot. The
audience can identify who the lady he is looking at which is the one in the middle of the two
men. They can identity her because she is not apart of the conversation which tells the audience
she is different. This happens mostly in romance films where the male will find a female and
would be interested in her and this sets her apart from the rest. This is a good way for the
audience to be introduced to the males love interest; love being the key theme in ALL romance
films. The fact that he keeps looking and then looking away from her shows that he has his eyes
on her. A close-up is used when the bag is falling; this use of prop is very significant in this film
as this bag is a symbol of them two meeting, and the close-up establishes that. During this shot
we have a sound mix of the waves which is ambience sound and the non-diegetic sound of the
background music, as well as the diegetic sound of her gasp at her bag falling over with 'Oh No!'.
A high angle shot is used where the audience will see the protagonist jumping into the water.
This tells the audience that this main character is a hero of some sort as he is going to save her
bag, which fell into the water. This is a typical storyline for a romance film where she is in need
of help and the main male character tries to save her by helping her, this is the start of a new
friendship which then turns into a relationship as they fall in love over something courageous he
has done, even if it may be a small thing.

5. Characters
There is a close-up shot of her face which indicates that she is shocked as someone went into the
water to retrieve her bag. Her facial expression also is a sign to the audience that she does not have a
man who would try to save her or her possessions on a daily basis, this stuns her and makes her
instantly wonder who he might be as he is a total stranger to her. The fact that another man went
running along to get the bag out, he wasn't fast enough and had not done anything courageous as
such as jumping into the water. This makes the other male character seem better than him and also
will make most of the female audience want her to fall in love with him in the end, this is what usually
happens in romance films. She is an perfect example of an typical conventional type of 'Damsel in
Distress'. She has blonde hair and blue eyes which are the typical conventions to describe an attractive
lady. She is wearing a white blouse which connotes the innocence on this women, also goes well with
the fact that we do not know anything about her yet but we seem to like her already. Her minimal
make-up adds to her innocence and beauty. Her use of 'Damsel in Distress' character would make any
male want to help her, as she did cry out for help. "You are a lifesaver, brave man, my life is in here so I
owe you one" she says as she smiles at him. This instantly makes the audience like the fact that he has
become some sort of 'hero' in everyone's eyes, which engages the audience in this romance film and
makes it more interesting. The camera angle is an almost full body shot, and this is the 'meet cue'
where both characters meet for the first time. He hands her bag back to her, this establishing the
meeting point for them at the beach. Also, showing how him handing the bag back to her means the
blossoming of their conversation also the friendships that's about to blossom. Over-the-shoulder
shots are used whilst they are having their conversation, and medium close-ups are used to show
their body language on how they act with each other as well as their facial expressions. She is happy
and smiling from getting her bag back and he seems happy to have helped her. The audience will also
hear a sound mix again which is again, ambience sound of the ocean, the sound track that is playing
and the diegetic sound which is where the couple are introducing themselves.

6. Sound
There has been non-diegetic background music from when he started to surf till the end.
This is sort of like folks kind of country type of music. It sounds very traditional and
happy but yet connoting 'love'. This could represent a number of things, such as where
these two individuals have lived before or where and how they grew up to how and
where they live now. Might be in the country-side. They might find love there too, the
music could also show the things they may have in common. The music shows a real
bond between the characters already which is a key element in romance films for them
to connect.

7. The opening of the sequence of 'The Holiday.‘
Mis-en-Scene
In the first shot we see a man who is watching a clip on his laptop and playing the piano, there is a
mid-shot and we get to see his surrounding, there are more computers with work on them, so we get
the impression that this is his work-life, he produces music for films. Instantly in the audiences eyes he
comes off as an work-ethic guy who seems to be enjoying his work as he has a smile on his face with
his eyes closed and slowly moving his head to the music, we also get the impression that he enjoys
listening AND playing AND producing music, this could be one of his hobbies that he has turned into
professional work. This shows him off as an ambitious man who has a passion for work and music. The
type of music that he is playing is romantic and slow which gives us the impression that he loves
romantic music as he seems to be enjoy playing and listening to it, also watching the two couples kiss
in romance on his laptop screen. He is already represented as an romantic type of guy and the female
audience would immediately fall in love with his character as a women wants their man to be in love
with the idea of love. It is sunny outside with the sun in the sky, the whole room looks bright,
reflecting his mood which connotes happiness as he moves to his music. Furthermore, we see a closeup shot of his face and he seems to be looking up at something, all the while still playing on the piano.
His facial expressions suggest he has seen something which makes him even more happier than
playing music as a smile plays up on his face. We then see a female character coming towards him and
he takes her hand and plants a passionate kiss onto it. This also symbolises the respect he has for
women and for his lady, showing a more passionate and romantic side to him as he does greets her
the old-fashioned way of kissing her hand, whereas most men would go for her cheeks or lips. This
also shows him as an old-fashioned romanticist to likes to please his partner and make her happy by
showing his affectionate side. We see him before any other female character which shows that he
must be the male protagonist in this film as we see him before anyone else and this film could be
centred around his life.

8. Characters
The female that we get introduced to does not hang around long, she seems to love his
affectionate side as she smiles when he kisses her hand. She seems to be smiling at him but her
mind seems to be somewhere else because she isn’t really smiling at him, she is just looking in
the direction of him, she is laughing at something someone else said on her phone. She has on a
white vest which connotes her innocence yet she has on a black leather jacket which could
possibly connote her rebellious side, she has short jet-black hair with a fringe which could show
she has a dark side to her innocence. She does not wait to kiss him back even though he holds
onto her hands wanting her to stay but instead she smiles one more time then runs up the stairs
which shows she must have a lot going on in her life and is really busy and that the man has
more love for her and is willing to show it than she is. This does instantly attract the female
audience to feel a little pity for the male as he sighs as he watches her go, this could make the
female audience want to get to know his character and want a man like that. This is a key
element in romance films to have one character, either the male or the female to be a hopeless
romantic and then have their heart-broken so the audience can feel pity for them, this is a way
to engage the audience into the film; through emotion. Moreover, he has on a black jumper and
black trousers, he is a little bit chubby with curly dark-brown hair. His all-black clothing could
suggest he is in his comfort-zone as well as his work-zone as he is not in an office where he
needs to dress smartly, yet he still looks professional enough to feel comfortable in his clothing.
He does not seem the obvious type of attraction that a women would feel until she gets to know
him better. This also adds to the pity a female might feel when after seeing him get his heart
broken as he looks very innocent.

9. There is a voice-over over the music he is playing, this is of a lady, the way she is speaking shows that she is going to be in
the film later on too but just has not been introduced yet, she could be the female protagonist. She speaks of ‘Love’ and
‘Shakespeare’, this goes perfectly with the type of music he is playing which is soulful, slow, deep and meaningful, keeps the
heart at peace, for someone who is hopelessly in love. The music goes well with the male protagonist who is hopelessly in
love, but the women speaking suggests that she is a hopeless romantic too but just has not find the right one yet and when
she does; they all seem to turn bad. She seems to know everything there is about ‘love’. Her voice-over is a key element in
the opening sequence as she says “Love is blind” just as the male protagonist sighs whilst watching his girlfriend go up the
stairs, this showing the audience that he loves her more than she does. The voice-over lady also introduces the other 2
characters in this film who one, seems to be breaking up with her boyfriend, and another male who hasn’t found anyone
yet. As he carries on playing his music, a non-diegetic music comes on in the background which sounds similar to the type of
music he is playing but with the pace picked up. This happens as soon as he kisses his girlfriend’s hand, this representing
that his heart might be beating faster after coming in physical contact with her, as he feels more happiness than before.
Physical contact is another key element in romance as it shows the physical attraction that sparks between two people who
are in love which justifies the romance. The music also changes slightly where the pace picks up another level and the
sounds of violins could be heard. This music plays in the background as we meet another blonde female who does not seem
so happy who has just broken up with her boyfriend. The music is soulful on another level which has the power to pull on
the audiences heart-strings to feel sadness inside when you lose the one you love. The lady in the voice-over says “When
love fades...” which goes perfectly with the music, it makes the audience feel sadness and heartbreak. The music yet again
changes in the next shot, as it becomes much slower with the violins gone and just one note of the piano is played. This is to
feel sadness for the ones you have lost forever who have past away. This makes us feel sadness for the old man who is
about to go to sleep alone with his wife not being there. The music makes the audience feel even more sadness because he
is an old man who still loves his wife but she cannot be there. The violin and the piano start again with slightly a different
tune as we see another young, attractive, dark-haired man who is in a pub going past girls who have their eyes on him, to
meet his friends. The music dips again and the pace slows down as we see another female working in an office alone by
herself. The music that has been used changes and varies in terms of pace and rhythm but still uses the same instruments,
this giving the audience enough time to go through every emotion when feeling in love to breaking up with someone to
losing someone to death to meeting someone new. The instruments that are used are gentle and romantic with a touch of
elegance, that has the power to make one feel such emotions this representing how one may feel when in love. This is a
great way for romance films to get the audience to engage with them as the music plays on and the audience gets to
experience all the emotions one after another, it makes them think of their past experiences in love, almost a way of
reminicising about it all. We got to meet all the characters as well and the things they do on a daily basis.
Sound

10. Editing and Camerawork.
Before we move on from the location of the male protagonist’s work-life, the camera goes along
the wall, passes it then suddenly seems to be on another location outside a building where it is
night-time. The background is a blur which connotes that love is just a blur to these people as
many people go through love yet never find the right one as something always goes wrong. It
could also show that when in love many people experience going through all emotions at once,
it happens so fast that it is a blur. When the lady in the voice-over says “When love fades...” it
also goes well with the background which has been edited into a blur which almost looks like it
is fading. We meet the next character who is an young, attractive lady who has blonde hair and
blue eyes, wearing a white top and white blazer, connoting her innocence. She is a typical
convention of an attractive young women that most films use, who does not have many luck
with relationships as she keeps finding ‘the one’ and then keeps breaking up them and the cycle
goes on. Long-shots are used to establish all the different settings we see as we get to meet the
characters and where they are, which shows what they like to do in their spare-time or in the
evening. Close-ups are used to show us the emotions and the facial expressions on the
characters faces. We get to see the happiness in the male protagonist’s face at the start, and the
disappointment and sadness in this blonde-haired women’s face as her relationships ending.
Having close-up shots in a romance film is important as the audience gets to see the facial
expressions on the characters face and the emotion in their eyes, either when the characters are
in love or heartbroken.