Romantic Comedy Movie Analysis - Music and Lyrics

Music and Lyrics Analysis

This romantic comedy is about an old 80's pop singer and a woman who waters his plants, who have to write a new song for a well known singer. 

In the opening the first denotation the audience sees is the logo for Village Roadshow Pictures. This connotes to show that the movie was made by a well known movie production company. The next scene is a close up of a keyboard being played so up beat music is also heard in this scene. Due to its upbeat tempo, it makes the atmosphere very fun and relaxed. Red and white text is shown at the bottom of the scene. It suggests that the scenes shown ( the opening) is done in the style of a music video set in the 1980's. The type of song being sung is a love song which immediately links to the genre of this movie- a romantic movie. Several shots of different instruments being played adds to the tempo of the song and again makes it appear very lively and fun. 

The next couple of shots vary from long shots to medium shots of "very corny 80's dancing" which connote to show the audience the "comedy" side of this "romantic comedy" hybrid. It is very up-lifting and would  make the audience laugh. Transitions from each shot are added to add to the effect of an old music video when video editing was not so good as they are now. A long shot of a corridor is next shown with a woman walking out through the door at the end. This connotes to a side story inside the music video. A medium shot of one of the singers and the woman are then shown to suggest that he doesn't want her to leave him. The 180 degree rule is obeyed here when over the shoulder shots are taken between these two characters as he tries to convince her to stay. A slow motion scene of the singer falling down adds to the cheesy drama of this scene. It connotes that the mans heart is breaking from this woman leaving him which adds to the comedy convention of this hybrid genre. 

 

During the next hospital scene, the camera zooms into the singer and then a "wiggle" effect is placed over this scene. This connotes to suggest the singer is dreaming about the woman. A green screen is used to add images of nice places behind the two characters running on the screen. This again shows that the movie is very corny but filled with elements about love with hints of comedy. When the song finally finishes, a voice over of a mans voice is heard talking about an old eighties band called "POP!". This connotes to show that the film is set in modern times and that this band has now broken up.

This film would influence my film opening, as it uses lots of long and medium shots. I would be able to add lots of these types of shots to my opening so that the storyline is shown. It also puts the credits on the bottom hand of the shot which is good because it saves time for some of the movie scenes. However this film wouldn't be a very good influence on the way I filmed my movie because the style this movie opening is shot in is a 'music video style' which wouldn't suit the genre of movie i would want to make. 

Action Movie Analysis - Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace- Movie Analysis

The opening starts with several well known movie production companies such as Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and Columbia. This instantly tells the audience that this movie is a high budget movie as large companies have helped to make it. An establishing shot of a mountain side near water with fast pace music denotes to show that this movie is an action film as the camera also pans across the water towards the mountain. Several fast shots of speeding cars are shown to add excitement to the scene and make the audience very excited as action is instantly shown.  

Close ups of the cars connotes to suggest that they are very expensive and that the owners of the cars are very wealthy. It makes the audience wonder who is driving these expensive cars so recklessly. An extreme close up of one of the characters eyes shows how intense and focused this person is on driving the car and not crashing. This also adds to the intense atmosphere of the scene by making the audience feel the tension. 

Diegetic sounds of the cars speeding down these tunnels, crashing into other vehicles and gunshots adds to the exciting atmosphere being created. All the editing of the car chase scenes are fast past and quick and are action packed scenes. These types of shots are a common convention of action films as it keeps the story interesting and exciting. 

Point of view shots (P.O.V) of the characters driving the car add to the intensity of the scene as it connotes to show what the characters are seeing and how extreme the situation they are in really is. Long shots of cars rolling down hills after being pushed off the edge of the road are often shown to add to the dramatic atmosphere being created. Glass shatters from broken windows in front of the main character and connotes to suggest that this person lives in a very shattered world like glass, it is very easily broken. 

Another establishing shot and high angle shot of the main characters car is shown driving through the city of Siena, Italy. This establishes where the past couple of scenes were shot and where the movie is set.  The city looks very old and is sun drenched while an expensive looking car (although now wrecked with gunshot holes and broken windows) drives through it shows that the main character has wealth and is not afraid to show it. A P.O.V shot of the car travelling through a brightly lit tunnel is shown next which connotes to add a sense of mystery to the scene. When the main character steps out of his car and opens the boot, a man is seen tied up. The first bit of dialogue in English is heard between the main character and the man in the boot of the car. This connotes to add mystery to the scene. It makes the audience ask questions about the movie such as who the man is and why he is tied up? 

The opening credits are then shown through a cartoons and with fast paced music. This denotes to show the audience what the movie is called and what the main characters are called and who played them. This connotes to show that the movie is an action film and is actually part of the James Bond films. 

This film would have a good influence on my own work because it is an action film with lots of types of shots- from establishing shots that show the audience the setting, to quicker close up shots that create tension.  This movie also uses lots of different angles to give the audience a view from high places and from lower places. I could use this in my film to create a sense of dominance or power. Then again this film wouldn't be a good influence on my work because it has lots of high speed car chase scenes which I wouldn't be able to replicate as it would cost to much and is to expensive to do anyway. Also the props used are far to complex to use in my own movie and wouldn't really 'fit' into the setting of my work.

Action Movie(Neo Noir) Analysis - Sin City

Sin City- Movie Analysis 

Sin city is an action movie which is edited to be a film noir. It includes many conventions of film noirs such as having smoking effects, shadows and it being in black and white but with only two colours shown in the opening scene. 

The first thing the audience is able to see is just a black scene. This connotes to show that death is an element of this film due to in action films when someone dies it usually fades to black and so by having the first scene as just black it shows black is imminent. The ambient sounds of traffic is heard during this scene which establishes the setting- the movie is in an urban setting (a city).


Old jazz music is part of the background sound, which also connotes to set the scene, as the first real scene is an establishing shot which shows that the movie is in black and white and a real life urban location is shown. Then a woman in red (one of the only colours shown in the movie) walks into the middle of the shot. The colour red is an obvious denotation and this could connote to the idea of danger and threat. A mans voice (a voice over) is heard as the woman walks to the balcony. This adds a hint of mystery to the scene. When the man walks towards the woman during a long shot, bright lights are shown behind him which suggests life and brightness, however the two characters have dark shadows cast over half of their faces (a convention of film noir movies) which connotes to suggest that they are in a "grey" area. They are stuck between good (light) and bad (dark) and adds mystery to the characters. 

Over the shoulder shots are used to show that the characters are having a conversation with each other and close up shots are used to show that they are the most important people in this scene. Not even the setting is as important as they are at this moment in time. A match on action is used when the man offers her a cigarette. Cigarettes are another convention of film noirs as smoking/smoke is often used to create an intense atmosphere which appears relaxed but it isn't really for the characters in the scene. 

  A close up of the woman's face is used when her eyes suddenly flash green. The colour green connotes to suggest envy and even wealth. This could show what this character is like, she's a wealthy woman but is envious of other people .A slow zoom in towards the man and woman's face is shown and adds to the tense atmosphere being created. Suddenly it starts to rain over the couple. This could connote to suggest that the rain is washing away the fears they have and that a new beginning is going to happen but it could also connote to the idea of foreshadowing a disastrous event later on in the movie and despair and hopelessness. While is rains the next scene shown is a white silhouette of the couple. This would lead to the audience believing that everything is going to be okay. 

  However the voice over continues talking and as the couple embrace a flash of white light suddenly flashes on scene. The man had shot the woman. The flash is very bright and would shock the audience as it is very sudden. The rain continues to pour down on the couple and then a high angle shot is shown of the man and woman on the floor. The added voice over still suggests that they are no longer the dominant ones in the scene and that the rain is falling on them as there is no longer any hope for her. 

This movie is a very good influence on my own work because it is a Neo-Noir style which gives it a unique selling point. The effect of black and white with only a few certain colours being shown is a great idea to use in my own work because it gives a mysterious effect to the movie and makes it much more interesting. The voice over element is another good idea that I could use in my own movie opening because it creates an atmosphere filled with mystery. However this movie isn't a good influence because changing the scenes I film to black and white when I edit my opening would be quite difficult to get right and only having one colour being shown is also fairly complex.

Horror movie Analysis - An American Haunting

An American Haunting- Movie Analysis

I've analysed the opening of An American Haunting. A horror film about a possession, a convention of some types of horror movies. 

The first thing we see is some text written in red. This connotes the idea of blood and death. It is a popular convention used in most horror films and is easily recognized by the audience to show to them this film is a horror. The music played during these opening credits is almost silent but then goes very high pitch and screechy, which would scare people as it is a gradual increase of the tempo of the music causes peoples heart to increase with fright. 

A denotation of a wooded area covered in snow and with an old grand house in the background is the first image we see after the opening titles. This setting looks very innocent however the idea of winter (snow) can connote to symbolize death as during winter, living trees and flowers all die. This sets the idea that this movie is about death. 

Suddenly a girl is seen looking panicked and running through the trees, also she is running away from something. This connotes to the idea of the damsel in distress type character. She is scared and running away from an unknown entity and this is shown through her fast movements and heavy breathing. Long shots and P.O.V (Point of view) shots are used to show how distressed she is and how much she is panicking. The audience is not shown what she is running away from which adds to the idea of fearing the unknown.

Close ups are used on the door handles when the girl tries to open the door and when the unknown thing tries to enter her bedroom. This connotes to show the tension in the air and adds to the scary atmosphere being created by not knowing what she is running from. P.O.V is used as to show what the girl is seeing, it is used especially as she runs to give a shaky effect to the scene. The girl finds a letter knife which is another convention of the horror genre as knives are usually associated with death and murder. Finally the audience gets to see what the girl was scared of- a dead girl which is shown for less then 3 seconds. The dead girl has black hair and is deathly pale which adds to her creepy nature and horrific look. 

Another iconography of horror films are children's dolls. In this movie  a creepy doll with a large crack in its face is used. This connotes to show how distort life is and in this movie has an even greater significance as the doll represents innocent but due to reasons explained in the movie this innocent is broken just like the dolls face. Another denotation shown is the mother character drinking vodka and looking at a photograph of her daughter and ex-husband. This suggests that she is unstable and much like the doll she is tore apart by her divorce in this case.  

The mother finds and reads some old letters written in the 1800's warning whoever is reading about an dangerous entity and that reading these letters could save your life. The letters are read by a male voice over which sets the scene for rest of the movie.  

This movie would be a good influence for my movie because it has lots of conventions of horror films which I could make my movie ( if i decide to make a horror film opening). It includes lots of different camera shots and movements such as P.O.V and high angle shots that I could also use in my movie to make a fast paced scene more dramatic. This movie however wouldn't be a good influence though because it seems too "corny"- the story line seems very 'been there done that'.

Movie Opening Analysis- Mission Impossible 2

             
Mission Impossible 2 Analysis

I studied the opening of  Mission Impossible 2 for my analysis. The opening starts with an establishing shot which sets the scene of a Grand Canyon type area. This connotes to show the idea of loneliness and struggle as the area is isolated and has rocks that are extremely high with dangerous rock faces. The next scene is a medium shot of the main character (Ethan) rock climbing. The connotation for this is that Ethan is a daredevil and likes a challenge such as climbing a rock face. What I was also able to denote from this was that he uses no safety equipment which shows that this person has no fear and that nothing scares him; he has no fear of possible death if he falls.  

Another denotation is the bird screeches that are heard throughout the opening scenes. The connotation for this is that it shows the height of the rocks and the type of bird is most likely an eagle. That then again connotes to the idea of the main characters personality as eagles represent freedom in America but also the eagle is a predator and is at the top of the food chain and shows that the main character should be feared by others.

Another scene shows Ethan jumping from one rock to another. The shot has been slowed down to show that he is in a life and death situation. He misses the landing and rolls down the rock face. This connotes again to the idea of panic and struggle .

Another denotation is when Ethan makes a crucifix position after managing to  hold onto the edge of the rock face that he just nearly fell off. This connotes the idea that he is a saviour like Jesus was said to be and therefore reflects to the audience the type of person this character is- a good person. A close up of Ethan's face shows his struggle when faced with a huge task of climbing a rock to the top. It also connotes how determined this man is because he is faced with a situation where he has to carry on as he has no choice in the matter. 




A crane shot denotes the part when Ethan finally reaches the top of the rock. This shows the audience just how far he has travelled and his achievement of climbing the rocks therefore it also shows how the character is able to go to great lengths to get what he wants. In this case what he wants is to climb the rocks. Another denotation is a close up of the iconic sunglasses first shown in the first Mission Impossible movie. This connotes that for audience members who might not have known what film they were being shown but they then recognize the sunglasses and realize they were watching a Mission Impossible film. A pan of Ethan wearing the sunglasses which displays his mission. This connotes that the film is very high tech and focuses on the fact that Ethan is the most important character in the movie. The final shot is when Ethan throws the sunglasses "towards the audience" and they explode. This connotes that the movie is an action and is very fast paced.