Task 2 microelements
- 1. Microelements in film openings Cherry bomb (coming-of-age drama) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_D3mTuerYU
- 2. Mise on scene The man in the high visibility jacket and the tools surrounding the ground, proves to the audience that there is an attempt of respire to this scene but obviously not very fast as there is only one worker and most of the building equipment has been abandoned. Setting: dull, messy, looks abandoned. Boring and grim. The billboard ‘another exciting development here soon’ suggests to the audience that At this early stage of the film, the audience there is an attempt to has been introduced to the 2 main improve the protagonists. The character in this shot is place, however the one of them. His costume is quite basic and audience stills sees lifeless, which contrasts well with the décor this place as gray of the shot. and lifeless
- 3. LONG SHOT Camera Shots The long shot gives away the setting of the scene and clues about the films narrative at such an early point of the film. We see that the scene is in a gymnasium and the character in the shot is central. Even though this is a long shot and shows the surroundings of the The sub heading ‘FRIDAY: three days earlier’ is scene, the audience focus effective in a long shot because, even though the on the boy as he is centred audiences primary focus is the centred in the shot and at this stage character, they take in the textual information in the film, is the first because of the wide shot and area surrounding character the audience has the primary focus. This text shows that the scene been introduced to, so is is a flashback so informs the audience that the portrayed as being a film is non-liner. protagonist.
- 4. Camera Shots MEDIUM SHOT The medium shot is similar to the long shot, however more tight fitted, so the audience is given more of a specific section to focus on. In this shot it is the boy in the centre, rather than the surroundings like with the long shot, however the audience still appreciates the location and the 2 gymnasts in the background.
- 5. Camera Shots The close up shot presents the character as important CLOSE UP to the story and emphasizes his feelings. As the audience and not knowing much about him or the story at this point of the film, we guess that he is adolescent, troubled but smart. The close up shot of him smoking gives us as the audience an in sight into his characteristics, but also makes us feel close to the character and at such an early stage of the film, a connection to him as a main protagonist.
- 6. Camera Shots The extreme close up shot EXTREME CLOSE UP of the shoe, tells the audience that this is a key point to focus on in this shot. The audience is viewing the scene from the characters point of view, the boy is ‘spying’ on what's happing in the room through the blinds and we as the audience are viewing the scene the same way, so this close up is important to suggest what we should focus on.
- 7. Camera movements ZOOM The camera zooms in on the action in the shot. It zoom in on one boy who is portrayed as a protagonist, which is what the audience's primary focus because he is centred in the shot.
- 8. Non-diegetic sound Throughout the opening sequence there is one track playing, however the speed and tone changes to contrast with the mood that the scene is trying to create. At the beginning of the sequence, the first thing the audience sees is the gymnast. The mise on scene in the shot, like her outfit, creates an unsure mood, so the music is quite airy. This also helps the audience understand how the character (Rupert Grint) is feeling. The same track continues playing as the scene changes to introducing the other character (Robert Sheehan), however, the music gets louder. For the audience this suggests that the character in the shot has a louder personality to the other character we have been introduced to previously.
- 9. Diegetic sound There is not much diegetic sound present in this opening sequence because the sound is mainly the non- diegetic track. There are a few examples of diegetic sound, like when the second protagonist (Robert Sheehan) is introduced, he is stashing drugs in his blazer pocket. We hear the rustling of the packets and him opening and closing the lid of a box where the drugs are in, which makes this action seem more realistic to the audience. The next scene the audience doesn’t see the two characters having sex but the sound of it implies to the audience that they are having sex which makes this more believable for the audience. We only see zoomed in shots like the shoe, that strengthens this implication.
- 10. Performance In the opening sequence, the audience is introduced to two main protagonists. The first is the boy (Rupert Grint) watching the 2 gymnasts, his expressions and movements give away a lot about his character to the audience. He looks fascinated over the girls and overwhelmed about his surroundings. The other protagonist (Robert Sheehan) who we first see laying down, topless and smoking. This shot is a close up of the character and again gives the audience a main idea of his characteristics as being quite anti social in his own world.
- 11. Editing The sequence starts by introducing the film title. This is edited in a way that creates the illusion that the text is floating on water, this is effective for the audience because it is right at the start of the film, they feel a sense of flow and water which goes well with the next scene of the gymnast, wearing a blue costume. The next scene where we see Robert Sheehan for the first time, the previous scene is faded out so the two protagonists are seen briefly on screen together. The rest of the sequence is just fast edited which sets a good pace for the audience to understand the film’s genre and become engaed in the narrative.
- 12. Pace This opening sequence has quite a fast pace, being only 3:10, the audience is introduced to the films two main protagonists, different location shots and obvious conventions of the genre (sex, drugs, teenagers). The change between scenes is fast but effective because it gives the audience a lot of information to absorb, but ensures that we keep in mind the two main protagonists and their connections to each shot. The non diegetic sound also helps set the pace and mood for the audience at such an early but crucial part of the film.