Research - 500 Days of Summer Opening Analysis (2009)

Institutional Information:
With the tagline 'it was almost like falling in love' 500 Days of Summer shows the struggles of unrequited love from the perspective of Tom Hansen, a hopeless romantic in search of his soulmate - Summer. This movie portrays the danger of being more in love with the idea of a relationship than the person they supposedly love. This movie was released on 7th of August 2009 (USA) with an estimated budget of $7,500,000, making $834,501 on its opening weekend (USA). Overall it made $60.7 million in Box office. It was directed by Marc Webb, who is also known for directing The Amazing Spider-Man series in 2012 and 2014. Written and produced by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (Also known for successful book to movie adaptation The Fault In Our Stars (2014)). Starring successful actors such as Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Gray Gubler.

Target Audience: 
The target audience for romantic comedies are normally wide, however predominantly female, this is because stereotypically females enjoy these films more than men. However 500 days of summer challenges the typical conventions by having a male lead, its rare for a romantic comedy to be from a males perspective, this would attract men towards to film as well.

Genre:
The genre of 500 days of Summer is Romantic Comedy, we know this due to examples such as the voiceover stating 'This is a story where boy meets girl'. However this film challenges the typical conventions of the genre, for example having a male lead is unusual. By introducing the characters Tom and Summer as 'the boy' and 'the girl' this creates the image that they are young and full of life which links to the idea of 'young love' or 'first love' which is seen as greatly impacting in someones life; this adds an intensity to the love story. The film also challenges the stereotypical romantic comedy as the voiceover says 'This is not a love story', this is juxtaposition.

Sound: 
In the opening credits we hear whistling, this creates a light hearted happy tone to the movie. From the whistling music is brought in, this is non-diegetic sound as the characters can't hear it. This has a slow peaceful feel, this is playing while we see Tom and Summer 'gazing' into each others eyes, this could connote that these characters feel at ease and at peace around each other. This helps the audience to immediately see the relationship between the two. The fact that Tom and Summer, in the scene starting at 1:00, can sit together without saying anything suggests that they have been through a lot together. The non-diegetic voice over introduces us to the characters and narrates a flashback from when they were young. This gives us an idea of the type of people they are. For example Summer is introduced as 'she'd only loved two things, the first was her long dark hair, the second was how easily she could cut it off and feel nothing' this infers that Summer is cold and doesn't care for anything which is an opinion Tom forms of Summer throughout the movie.

Title Sequence/Opening Credits:
The title sequence starts with a brown background, this could reflect old paper, this suggests that the movie is based in earlier years, although it isn't specified, the clothing in the movie would also suggest this. On the screen we see '(500) DAYS OF SUMMER'. Behind the text an image of a landscape is drawn onto the screen. The only colour we see is of the tree to the left of the text. The bright green represents happiness, as the days countdown the landscape fades out and is replaced by a bench. This then fades into a shot of the two main characters sitting on the bench. This reinforces that this story is fiction, written by someone else, in this case the narrator is the author. The mixture of real life and drawing creates a fairytale essence to the movie, however this is contradicted by being told it isn't a love story.

Mis En Scene:

Shots which focus on Tom are usually arranged to include dull colours such as browns and greys. This shows the audience that without Summer being in Tom's life, its boring, dull and repetitive. This is Toms perspective, his life isn't worth living without her. Summer is always shown in colour, for example a blue bow in her hair. This is inferring that Summer brightens up your life. This is a common convention in romantic comedies, however stereotypically it is usually the women obsessing over a man.

There are no establishing shots used in the opening, we are only shown an office and a park, with the exception of the bedrooms in the flashbacks. The closest thing we get to an establishing shot is the drawn image of the city landscape. This gives the audience the idea that its set in a city, however we aren't given any defining details. For example we aren't given the name of the city or the location of the office, this adds to the fairytale theme, the city could be anywhere for all we know. This challenges the conventions of a 'rom com' as popular settings are cities such as Paris, New York, places that have a connotation of love and romance. The idea of an unreal setting reinforces to the audience the idea that this story is fiction.

An almost over-the-shoulder shot is used to show a strong mutual friendship between the two main characters although at this point we don't know the characters or their relationship status. A close up shot is used to emphasise the wedding ring on Summers finger. This gives the audience an idea of what to expect, this is also a pivotal moment later in the movie.

Conclusion:
This movie opening is successful because although it falls into the romantic comedy genre it at times challenges the conventions. For example it is very rare that the person portrayed as 'head over heels' in love to be a male, the male lead changes it up and makes it more interesting also bringing in a whole new demographic in the target audience. The order of the story is one of the most interesting parts. By giving us flashes forward and then flashbacks it allows the audience to question what will happen next keeping them intrigued to watch the rest of the film.

Research - Divergent Opening Analysis (2014)

Institutional Information:
Based off the book by Veronica Roth, Divergent is a 139 minute long film is in a dystopian future where society has been split into five factions, each representing a different personality type. Teenagers are forced to make the choice of which faction they belong in at the age of sixteen. The movie was released in America on the 21st of March 2014 with an estimated budget of around $85,000,000. Overall the movie grossed $150,832,203 with $54,607,747 of this on the opening weekend (USA). The film was directed by Neil Burger and written by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. The movie also stars popular actors such as Shailene Woodley for the lead role Beatrice Prior, Theo James as Four and Kate Winslet as the antagonist Jeanine. The director Neil Burger is most famous for his films Illusionist (2006) and Limitless (2011). Divergent was nominated for awards such as 'Best Actress in an Action Movie' at the Critics Choice Awards, as well as a nomination for a HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Awards) for its 'Soundtrack Album' by Randall Poster.

Target Audience:
Divergent is aimed towards 12 year olds (the films official certificate) to young adults. The protagonists in the film represent hope and bravery which are popular themes within the young adult genre. Although they would be aiming at a wide range of people; their primary target audience were fans of the book. Readers had very high expectations which the people involved in the movie wanted to meet.

Opening Credits:

The credits are placed on top of an establishing shot showing a city skyline. The colour they have used for the text is yellow, this blends into the background and doesn't stand out much. Perhaps the editor chose to do this so that the focus remains on the city in the background, this is important as this is where the movie is set. As the shot moves up towards to sky, the credits move down as if the camera is moving away from the credits. This again helps the credits blend into the background. The yellow also blends well with the tone of the shot, the sun shining on the city, even with glints of light on some letters, this gives the affect of the sun reflecting.

Mise En Scene and Shots Used:

The tone of the opening is very colourful and bright. This creates a tone of peace, this could be used to try to reflect how the government system of factions was used in this story to create order in a functioning society. The time of day the shot is set is morning, this is again peaceful as the day has only just started. It could be adding to the perfect view of the system the government wanted everyone to believe. The shots are set up to being a vast distance from the city in the beginning and shot by shot they get closer to the city, eventually getting into the streets. In these shots we see crumbling run down modern buildings. These are very common in dystopian movies as it tells us a drastically damaging event has occurred between modern day and the time in which this movie is set, however we don't know what the event was which intrigues the audience. 

At 0:36 we get our first glimpse at the type of people who live there. We can see that they are wearing one colour, this gives us a clue into the time period this film is set- in the future. Perhaps people being  dressed in one colour adds to the theme of governmental control which is common within the dystopian genre. All the shots used for the opening of Divergent are very smooth and graceful, it is very unlikely that the camera would have been handheld. This could relate to the peace from within the city before the action begins. 

We are introduced into the different factions by a series of smooth long or medium shots. These long shots show several people however never focus on their faces or their expressions or what an individual is doing. This could link to the idea that everyone belongs somewhere, the people in the factions are part of a group, they aren't individuals. 

This low angle shot is used to show the immense size of the building and emphasise the dangerous position that the 'Dauntless' climbers are in. These sequences are only short, therefore they have chosen short actions that sum up the characteristics well. Just from this shot we can infer that the dauntless live fearlessly and with risk. This adds a layer of danger to movie which keeps the audience interested.  

Editing:

The editor uses the same shots for long periods of time. This creates a peaceful mood, like everything is in order. This fits well with the storyline, it acts as a sort of 'calm before the storm'. Although they stick with the same shot, the camera movements are quick, this gives us the impression that this is a fast paced movie, this is common in action movies.

Sound:  

The music used whilst we are introduced into the city is slow placed, this again adds to the peaceful feeling. However this juxtaposes against the destroyed city in the shot, creating a false sense of security which creates an eery tone. You are introduced to the factions within the society by non-digetic sound, a voiceover from the protagonist Tris. This voiceover tells the audience what role each faction has, this gives us knowledge of where the story takes place before even meeting the protagonist. Voice overs are very common among the young adult genre with other films such as 'Twilight' use similar techniques. It also tells the audience that the protagonist is a young female. This would also appeal to readers of the book as its written in first person. Ambient sound is also used as we hear trains going past during shots which provide continuity between shots.    

Acting and Movement: 

Throughout the opening, they present the factions very stereotypically. For example, Erudite, a faction based around knowledge is shown by people in smart clothing using equipment such as microscopes. Amity; a faction based around happiness is represented by people smiling, also in one shot we can see a little girl running through the field. Candor, a faction for truth, is shown as political, with people debating. Dauntless, people who live fearless are shown climbing a tall building. And abnegation are shown helping people. The creator of the film has used stereotypes to introduce key groups within the films world in a short period of time. This immediately allows the audience to understand the different personalities for the different factions, this plays a large part in the movies storyline. 

Conclusion:   

Overall this opening is very effective. It establishes the setting of the film well, giving a visual of the city and an actual location (Chicago). It sets a peaceful mood exceptionally well which is unusual for an action/dystopian film. However this makes the audience question the film and keep them intrigued. At the same time shots of broken damaged buildings represent an untold past which adds depth to the city and keeps the audience interested. It successfully introduces the personalities from different factions, therefore giving us an idea of the personality and life the main character leads, even though we haven't met her yet, as she identifies with the faction 'abnegation'.  

Intro Post

Hi, I'm Lucy Scanlon, I'm 16 years old and studying media at Chenderit School. This blog will feature all my work for my As and A2 Media coursework. From this course, I would like to learn the conventions of film making as its a subject I have a lot of interest in. I find it interesting learning about how different camera angles and shots can demonstrate and present the personality of a character. I watch a lot of television shows and films so I find it interesting applying my knowledge to shows that I watch, being able to understand it on a clearer scale. I also want to go to University after sixth form and I think that Media fits well with my other subjects of History and English. I really enjoy film making and could possibly study it at Uni.