HOLIDAY HOMEWORK: Research 1

I have analysed two film openings over the holidays and I have looked at how they use the four conventions to make their opening a good one.

I watched the ANNIE film from 1999 and I really enjoyed it. Although it was quite old, the conventions of a film opening were still all there and I noticed them all.

 

When the film starts, immediately we see the film name come on on the screen in a bright red, bold font with a yellow background which caught my attention. Also, I could see that the videos shown at the beginning were edited as they looked to be so. This helped to make the film not look as old as it is and it also made the film more interesting to watch. The titles all appear in the middle of the screen but does not however block from any action because the beginning is a discrete opening as it shows where the film is going to be set, however it does not give away anything.

 

Also, when the film starts we hear a very cheerful song, which will put the audience in a happy mood and therefore means the film will have a positive outlook overall.

 

With the camera work, it is quite simple. It is mostly zooming in and out of the setting. We are able to see where the film is going to be set. There is no complicated camera work involved as it is an older film, however it is still very amusing to watch.

 

The mise-en-scene also made the film very interesting to watch. The actors were dressed in very specific costumes and had very specific props. I could see that they done this for a reason as the film is supposed to be in olden times.

 

 

 

 

HOLES:

 

The second film I watched was Holes. I really enjoyed watching it as I have already studied it and watching the film was really fun as I got to see the book come to life.

 

The mise-en-ecene in this film is very specific. This is mainly so that the audience can see the difference between the city and out of the city. The film begins in a rural area where young boys are sent when they have to complete community service for a felony they have commited, however there are various scenes in the city. In the opening we are only introduced to the boys in the rural area therefore we can only see what they are wearing. They are all dressed the same, in orange monkey suits which is crucial as they are 'prisioners'. However, the generals and the adults that supervise them have costumes like cowboy hats and boots. This made it more fun to watch because all the boys were dressed the same and it was good to see that somebody was dressed differently to them.

 

There was not much editing in the opening of Holes. Most of the editing came from the titles which were quite simple and unlike Annie's title sequence, did not interrupt the action going on.

 

 

 

The camera work consisted mostly of long shots of the characters. However there were also other camera shots like extreme close ups like when the rattle snake is about to attack the boy. That caused suspense making the opening quite exciting as we didnt know what was going to happen from there.

The sound is mostly non-diegetic as when it starts we hear a song playing. However, as the action starts, we hear the voices of some of the characters. Also, we hear the noise that the rattle snake makes which is very significant as the film goes on.

 

I really enjoyed watching both films but I think I enjoyed watching Holes more as it is a more recent film and the editing is better making the film more interesting to watch.