Forest Gump Analysis

™Forest Gump Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening sequence gives us an understanding that the film will most likely be a drama or a romantic film as the start is gentle, calm and light, as there is a feather floating harmlessly through the air. The feather is avoided and moved aside by traffic, busy men and wind, but eventually lands at the feet of the protagonist who looks kind and simple, and this is revealed further by him picking up the feather and placing it in his briefcase which is also filled with a few strange items such as a ping pong racket and a picture book that the feather is carefully placed in. His care for little items and his possession of a picture book, tells us that he is a rather slow or not fully educated protagonist.

™The way the title sequence is presented gives us the impression that the movie is directed at adults of all ages, as it seems philosophical and deep. The title sequence would entice an audience of these ages through making an audience wonder why the man would care about a feather, and why he is waiting for a bus.

™In the clip, we understand that there is a man waiting for a bus, in a very neat and composed manor and position, seeming ready for the bus.
™The protagonist in this seems like a rather slow and simple character, as he enjoys the presence of a feather so immensely, however he is very neat and tidy as we see when he opens his bag. The character of the businessman clearly is in a hurry and seems to have no time for simple things such as a feather, hovering on the breeze.
™The location here seems calm and peaceful yet, as the time of day is early and people are going to work, it is busy and hectic. People dressed in suits and smart clothing also makes this obvious
™Throughout the tracking of the feather, the non-diegetic music is calm and soothing, although it seems to slowly pick up pace as the scene comes closer to an end. This tells us that this is most probably not going to become a dark film.
™The film is not set in a particularly nice place, as there is rain on the floor and are grey clouds above, which makes the feather seem lonely and feeble as it drifts from place to place in the grey city.
™The entire opening sequence is shot as a tracking shot of the feather floating around the city, which is important as it shows how it is not welcome anywhere as it is pushed away time after time, as the protagonist Forrest is.

™The slow paced editing is used to tell us that the film is unlikely to be based around action and violence but more of a dramatic film.
™In the scene, all arrows would point to the drama genre for this film as the music is slow and peaceful and the editing is the same. The slow progress of the scene gives us the impression that the film will be as foreshadowed in the opening.

™I would want to know from the opening why the man holds such strange objects in his suitcase and where the Protagonist seems to be going while waiting for a bus. I would also want to know why the Protagonists shoes are so muddy and filthy.

The Fellowship of the Ring Analysis

The Lord Of The Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring)
Opening Sequence Analysis

We see the genre of the movie very early by us seeing first that there are elves dwarves and orcs which show us that it is a fantasy and then we see that it is part action when we see almost instantly, our first battle with more than enough bloodshed and action. the opening sequence in this movie is simply a prologue to the start of it and this can give us an insight on the background of the characters and narrative of the film.
™The title sequence shows a lot of action and large, well-made items, which many will find very attractive in a film.

™I believe that the target audience for this film would be 12 - 50 year olds, which is a very widespread audience which gives it a large advantage
™The clip is simply to tell us how the danger was created and who the main villain. We see the main villain, Saurons malice and cruelty through a high angle shot of his next victims to show their weakness and frailty while they squirm below his presence.
™In the opening sequence we meet all of the 4 races receiving their rings of power, which tells us who the narrator at this point likes and dislikes and who she finds to be the antagonist.
™The props and costumes tell us what time zone this is meant to be set in, and although this is clearly not set on earth, we can compare the items of war to the ones of our time and we can then find out which year to relate these creatures and people to our planet.
™The music is relatively tense and we hear many war cries and screams of pain. We also hear a female narrator speaking over this all explaining why everything is happening. At the very beginning of the film, we hear her speaking elvish which will instantly give us an understanding of what type of being she is. We are given more proof once she talks about each race, and explains the traits of each race, and massively praises the elves.
™In scenes where elves take part, there is an obvious glow around them and extra bright lights shining on them. Also flashbacks have different lighting as well as a different effect

™In battle scenes the camera is usually handheld so that there is a sense of being in the battle and being a part of the fight.
™Thanks to the narrators constant talking we have an understanding of what’s going on throughout the opening sequence.
™From the opening sequence we can very easily tell that this is an action/fantasy film due to the plentiful quantity of fighting and the clear fantasy through the orcs, elves and dwarves.
™After watching the opening sequence i would like to know what happens to the ring after Sauron was defeated and what happened to the whole of middle earth. I believe that Isildur will take the ring off Sauron and rule as king of Gondor using the ring to strengthen his armies.

™The title of Wingut films and new line cinema are changed to be written in an elven style which is made purely for the film.

Se7en Analysis

Se7en Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening sequence doesn’t include any establishing shots, instead the audience sees quick cuts of slice of evidence to do with the case that is about to unfold.
The place in which the action is happening is not shown which creates tension for the audience. It also shows that the film is going to be about mystery and discovery as there are certain aspects of the opening sequence that are not shown.

 The props used hint us that there are investigations or detectives e.g.. Photos, files, pens… It looks like someone putting files into a file. This creates tension because where there is an investigation going on, there has to be an important crime beforehand, which foreshadows murder.
All the shots are quite dark which means that it is a serious film and that there is danger in it. These shots are also normally indoors which shows a suspicious feel. The audience feels engaged by the lack of information and excites them.

Most of the colours of this opening sequence are black and white but when the photos are being developed we can see a dark tone of red. This red light connotes danger and blood, which represents the theme of the film and how the events are going to develop.
The opening is done as a montage with different clips together. This shows that the film is going to have quick action and confuse the audience a bit making them have to concentrate more and being more engaged with what is happening.
It is not in chronological order, which again shows that the audience are going to have be paying much more attention to be able to follow the events. This represents that it is a well elaborated film and it requires engagement.

There is a jumbled and non chronological order, which mixes the man doing an investigation and creating a file. This again represents the films theme, and the way in which it plays out.
The transitions vary from straight cuts to cross fade or fade to black. This goes very well with how the opening sequence is trying to be unclear and mysterious.
The fading makes us feel like the clips are joined together, this creates an atmosphere of darkness yet at the same time sincerity.
Most of the shots are quite short and some of them are even edited into slow pace which blends in with the slow music at the start.
The sequence of shots gets faster towards the end which builds up tension for the film ‘hooking’ the audience.
The slow motion in the shots gives us time to see the detail of every scene and lets us know exactly what is going on.

In some shots we can appreciate some flickering which creates a scary effect on the sequence.
Most shots are close ups so we can see there are quite a lot of shallow focuses.
The audience’s focus becomes engaged by this and they pay more attention to the objects that might reflect the events in the film.
However, this distracts the audience from paying attention to the persons hand, which creates tension

22 Jump Street Analysis™

22 Jump Street Opening Sequence Analysis™

The opening sequence shows how this is the second movie of Jump Street and how the main characters are the same ones as the ones on 21 Jump Street. It shows how the characters are closely connected and how they have been through a lot together. We can see that the genre is comedy and action as we can see guns and there is a clear tone of comedy, like when they are both getting ready with all the guns and the start to do funny acting. The narrative is going to be a follow up of the first movie and it is going to be quite similar in some as they are going back to Uni.

™The title sequence attracts the audience’s interest because there is loud and trendy music and the act is fast paced so it gets the audiences attention. It shows both main actors being funny at the same time as being undercover cops, which is seen as cool.

™I think that the target audience of the film is young people from the age of 15-26. This is because all these people have finished University or school not long ago or are still in it. The music played and the style of editing and mise-en-scene (fast-paced editing, golden guns, sporty car). The main actors are both young and are doing a job that is represented as cool and so young people look up to them.
™In the clip, we can see what happened in the previous movie so that the audience is reminded of the story line. Then, they are both on the roof of a building with their cool car and guns which shows us how they “own the city” just like Jenko says.

™Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are two cops that became friends while passing the entrance test. Jenko is the more physically fit and more able of the two however Schmidt is more intelligent and cunning of the two. On the Scene they are getting ready to go on a mission and we can see how they are not very mature.

™The setting of the scene is at the roof of a building. This represents power as if they “own the city” and they are looking after it from the top of the building. They are both wearing casual clothes and have a cool car and guns. This shows how they are undercover police and they are meant to be seen as cool by the audience.

™The dialogue between them is about them being partners for life which is the main relationship of the film. At first there is kind of “epic” music, which makes us feel like they have accomplished a lot, and they are at the top. Then when they are getting prepared a more active music starts, which makes us feel like the action is starting and also adds up to the comedy.
™We can see that the colour is a sepia-ish tone that symbolises the start of the film and adds an even greater sense of how cool the characters are. This also affects the atmosphere, as it seems calmer.

™The first shot flows very nice as it moves away from an Ipad to show the characters and where they are. Then there is a close up of Jenko emphasizing when he says “this is our city” and then it moves straight to setting shot of them at the top of the city adding up well to the feeling of “power” over the city. When they getting ready, we can see that the shots come much quicker and focus on details like guns being prepared or them being funny with a pose.; this makes the comedy more effective. In the last part of the opening scene, there is a establishing shot of the port that slows down the atmosphere and then we can see a tracking shot of the car, which again helps to slow down the action as the next scene is calm.

™The editing is combined very well with the camera shots. For example, at the start, the editing is slow and helps setting the scene and the characters however, when they get ready, the editing changes to faster pace which adds up well with the music as it helps bring the sense of action. However, in the second setting show, the pace slowly decreases again increasing the felling of slowing down of the action of the scene

™22 Jump Street is action and comedy. I could see that it is action because they are two policemen and they have props like guns and a cool car. These are things that all action movies have. However, it is also comedy because you can see that they are being funny when they start getting ready and acting funny.

Evaluation of my Preliminary Task

Evaluation

After filming my preliminary task, I discovered that preparation is extremely important, as it keeps mishaps to a minimum. As my filming was drawing to a close, I found that the single memory card that I had brought with me had filled. Even after deleting as much off the memory card as possible, I was unable to complete all of the shots I was expecting to cover. This proved to be troublesome, as the more experimental or interesting shots were left out and led to the movie possibly seeming less interesting. A task that I faced was to keep the camera focused on the bar alone, as the room was the basement of a house. This issue was heightened as the back of the bar bore a mirror that mad it difficult to use a generic over the shoulder shot. I feel this challenge was capably dealt with, and I believe the set was successful. One scene midway through the film was impossible to shoot in the first session, as there was no viable window to use as well as the shortage of space on the memory card. I was able to shoot the fifteen-second clip during school time and it turned out to be a small and insignificant problem by the end. The location turned out to be a massive issue, as the original location of the bar had to be scrapped after it became too much of a hassle to drive to, being a two hour drive away. This meant a location was needed quickly in order to complete the piece in time. The place was found through my mother knowing a friend with a minibar in her basement. This turned out to be a perfect replacement and we were able to film within the week. Through the filming the camera is motionless, reflecting the static nature of the staging. I tried to create a sense of unease and disorientation by making the dialogue fight against the background noise, so that the audience would need to lean in to listen to the story, increasing our sense of being an eavesdropper at the bar.
I also used the shot where the actor is partially concealed by the large bottle on the counter. This had the dual function of increasing our sense of disquiet, and creating a visual metaphor for that character, who can be seen to be lost in alcohol. At first the two actors barely look at each other. But by the end the honesty between them has increased their intimacy, and their looks are far more direct. The double take the man at the bar gives is the strongest example of this. He literally looks twice at the bartender, surprised by his generosity.

When editing, I found putting the film together far easier than I expected, most likely due to the fluency of the filming, as when the film was being shot, I had two perfect videos of almost the entire film from two angles there were close to no mistakes. This meant I had two sources in which I could constantly rely on and turn back to. For me, the general editing was not very difficult, seeing as it is a drama piece with not much action.  Although I had a limited amount of shots to use, the shots had close to no mistakes and the actors made only a few.

When the editing was completed, most of my peers praised the film, however personally I felt as though it was not as good as it possibly could have been, Therefore I decided to show it to my parents friends to see how a completely different demographic of viewers would react to the film and what feedback they would give, seeing as they had more experience of a wider range of films. The feedback was positive other than one viewer believing that the scene mid-way through the film seemed out of place. After this I slightly adjusted the length of the clip, and I believe that now the film seems more fluid. The film was then  elected to take part in the Harrodian Film Festival, and managed to take the second place award.

If I were to re-do my preliminary task, I would have planned in far more detail, working out my actors quickly and planning a date weeks in advance. On top of this I would bring backups of equipment, therefore making sure mistakes or problems come up less.

Gidon Script

Gidon Script 1

Gidon Is sitting in a park with his friend. It's relatively early in London. His friend turns to him

Friend: So... Where have you been the past week?

[Pause]

Gidon: Nothing much really

Friend: Come on you must have done something to keep you busy for a week

[The actions described are performed in a montage scene]

Gidon: Ok [Flashback begins] so I started out by making my way to the train station, leaving my house at 10:07, allowing me to have 2 minutes to get a bueno and a Rubicon before getting on the 8:15 tube. I sat on the fourth row down, to have the best positioning to be punctual when I arrive. The girl sitting opposite was an added bonus. After passing time with her the rest of the journey, (his friend says 'nice') I exited the train at 10:40, and entered my Grandmas at 10:42. Grandma said the old 'you like thin' line and my step dad tried to tell me off. I told him to 'piss off' before leaving. I made my way home and arrived back at 1:03. When my step dad got home he said I was 'grounded, from school for a week' and then said he was leaving for 'business' and I haven't seen him since

Friend: huh... What a weird punishment

Gidon: Yeah

Friend: Anyway, I got to go, my mum wants me home by 6.

Gidon: Ok, see on Monday.

Friend: Yep, bye.

[camera zooms into his face and he thinks aloud]

Gidon: That was all a lie. The truth of that week was far, far more sinister