Film Opening Research

Here are 8 different movie analyses and research written by me. (Timothy)

Uncharted

2022, Columbia Pictures

The opening scene for the movie Uncharted begins with an intense, high-action scene of Nathan Drake clinging on for his life on to what seems to be cargo loaded on to a plane. The scene then moves onto the scene of Nathan's younger self with his brother sneaking in to a museum. (1:20-5:28)

Media Language

The opening begins with a blank shot of a gray sky, then cuts to various shots of close-ups and medium close-ups of the props and Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) coming out of unconsciousness as he is falling from the sky. This was further emphasized as the scene used diegetic sounds of wind to really sell the effect of Nathan falling from the sky. Furthermore, the lighting in this scene used very natural lighting to create the scene of broad daylight. The use of shaky handheld shots makes the scene feel highly action packed. The props used in this case are an airplane and cargo boxes, this can be seen to denote that he is falling from a military aircraft of some sort. The scene uses a point-of-view shot to show Nathan frantically trying to grab on to something as he is falling from the sky when a hand suddenly grabs him which then transitions directly into the past by using a very similar scene by showing a close-up of a clasp of hands where Nathan's younger self is being pulled up by his brother Sam Drake. The editing used in this scene shows a text that says "BOSTON-15 Years Earlier" this tells the viewers the setting.  This scene was a direct contrast to the other scene as it is set at night, therefore having darker lighting. The characters were also lit very dramatically, being lit from below. The actors dialogue also had a big difference, as in this scene they were seen to be whispering, further connoting that they are sneaking in to this place. The set showed a grand architecture and paintings lined with gold, which connotes he setting to be a museum. The older brother (Sam) was mostly shot with lower angles which shows him to be someone to look up to for Nathan. The scene ends with them being caught sneaking in as a diegetic sound of an alarm rings and the two brothers being very dramatically lit with a spotlight from a security guard's flashlight. The actors further emphasized this feeling of hopelessness as they put their hands up and showed an expression of hopelessness.

Representation

Stereotypes are used in this scene to represent orphans. The stereotypes used of orphans were that the brothers were troublemakers, this can be seen as they sneak into a museum and try to steal a priceless artifact. Most western media, depicts orphans to be troublesome as they trust nobody but themselves which makes them stubborn. 

Audience

The audience for this extract would be teenagers to young adults aged 13-30, this can be seen as the scene is a genre based in action-comedy. Another possible audience that has been targeted are people who are interested in treasure hunting or historic artifacts, according to Bulmer and Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory, the audience will consume this text for personal identity. This movie contains large amount of content containing historical artifacts and adventuring, the audience can see this as an influence to make life decisions. The scene uses hermeneutic codes to keep audience engagement, as the flashback scene makes the viewer question things such as how he ended up in such an obscene situation so far in the future.

Industry

The film can be seen to have a large production value, as the props can be seen flying through the sky which can be seen to have used a large green screen set. The use of the museum set also makes the scene more grand.

The Fast and The Furious

2001, Universal Pictures

The opening scene for the movie The Fast and The Furious shows a high-action, intense mobile truck heist scene.

Media Language

The director started the extract by using a dolly-out shot of cargo being loaded onto a large truck. The props loaded into the truck were old televisions, which tells the viewer the setting of 2001, this was further emphasized with the use of non-diegetic sound of hip-hop music that was trending for Americans during that time period. The opening scene is unique as the entire heist scene has no dialogue, the robbers were seen to be using JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars that glowed green and they used racing helmets. This scene used a variety of diegetic sounds such as tire-screeching, engine revving, glass breaking, and car honking to emphasize the intensity of the scene. This scene uses hermeneutic codes to make the audience question things such as who the robbers are, what they are stealing and why? The pan shots used in this scene were used by the director to further denote the pure speed that the vehicles are going and passing by. Props such as roadblocks were blown away accompanied with diegetic sounds of explosions. This scene uses a variety of shots, varying from close-ups to long shots, these shot selections aid in connoting the sheer distance they are covering at high such speeds, all while fighting.

Representation

This opening extract can be seen to divert from conventions, which in this case the stereotypes of heist robbers. Most media would depict robbers to carry large weaponry such as guns, while wearing ski masks with a city car as a vehicle to blend in. This extract completely diverts that as the only weapon or tool they use in this scene is a grappling hook which is very unconventional, they can also be seen to use racing helmets and JDM cars.

Audience

The audience for this extract would be young adults aging from 16-40 as this action thriller genre will be very popular in that age range. Another possible audience targeted by the producer are people that are interested in racing or cars, according to Bulmer and Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory, the audience will consume this text for social relationships. This movie can be used by the viewer to bond with other enthusiasts. This scene uses hermeneutic codes to make the audience question things such as who the robbers are, what they are stealing and why?

Industry

Considering this movie was produced in 2001, the movie can be seen to be high production as they would have to rent or buy expensive cars as props, and the practical effects used such as explosions. The scene also had good quality fight choreography which can be overlooked in most movies.

Baby Driver

2017, TriStar Pictures

The opening scene of the movie Baby Driver released in 2017 by TriStar Pictures depicts a car chase scene of the main character “Baby” driving a car after a bank robbery. The characters in this scene, which in this case are the criminals are all white, this subverts the usual conventions of the criminals as in most media criminals are depicted to be Black or Hispanic. Furthermore, one of the criminals was a woman, which also subverts from the convention as we rarely ever see a female bank robber. The props used in this scene was an iPod, which tells the audience that the movie is set in the early 2000s, this fact is further supported by the other cars seen other road. This movie allows the audience to expect a fast-paced movie with an action-packed sequence. The tone of this movie is light, as the characters, although in an intense situation are shown in the movie with the diegetic sound of rock music. I personally enjoyed the shot selection and the music chosen.

Now You See Me

2013, Lionsgate Entertainment

The opening scene of the movie Now You See Me released in 2013 by Lionsgate entertainment begins by showing a magician doing a card trick that not only fools a present audience in the movie but the viewers of the movie as well. This is done by effect as they emphasize motion blur on the cards the producers don’t want the viewers to see and make the card they want the audience to see completely visible with minimal motion blur. The characters in this movie, which in this case are the magicians conform to the conventions as they all act out their acts in a public setting. This movie sets the expectation that the scale of magic tricks will be far larger scale. The tone for this movie is quite dark and mysterious as we do not know much about the characters other than the type of magic they specialize in.

(500) Days of Summer

2009, Dune Entertainment

The opening scene of the movie (500) Days of Summer released in 2009 by Dune Entertainment both subverts and conforms to conventions. It subverts the norm for most movies as this movie has a narrator telling the audience about the characters and it mentions that the movie is not about a love story. However, it does conform to the convention of having a romance movie about a man and a woman. The opening of this scene makes the audience interested as the narrator mentions that it is a story about a man and a woman, however, it later on mentions that it isn’t a love story, this hermeneutic codes leaves the audience curious and makes them expect an explanation as to why it isn’t a love story when it should obviously be one. The tone for this movie is set to be bittersweet. I like the idea of subverting general movie conventions as they have narration for this movie, I also like the use of animations to transition flashbacks. I dislike the opening credit scene as I felt the showcasing of childhood videos became boring after a few shots.

The Last Of Us

2023, Sony Pictures Television

(No clip yet)

The opening scene of the TV Show The Last of Us released in 2023 by Sony Pictures Television mostly conforms to conventions, the opening scene mainly shows a story about a single father with a teenage daughter. This conformed to conventions, as the single father, in this case, was shown to be struggling to balance work and life as he broke promises and forgot to spend time with his daughter, this conforms to conventions because most single fathers are represented to as such, struggling with work and life, however, still care very much about their family. The scene began with a talk show setting talking about a fungus evolution that can cause an outbreak, this piques the audience's interest as talking about it is foreshadowing further scenes. The tone for the opening scene is warm and happy, however the talk show scene offsets this as it is so obviously foreshadowing future events, therefore leaving viewers with a feeling of worry and anticipation. I overall like the idea of using such an obviously contrasting scene to the main tone of the opening to create the feeling of anticipation.

The Inbetweeners

2008, Bwark Production

(0:00-3:47)

The opening scene of the TV Show The Inbetweeners released in 2008 by Bwark Production conforms to conventions, the opening shows a boy named Will entering a new environment which is a school. In this extract, there were conventions of school bullies and nerds. This extract conformed to the general representation of a school bully by showing them using low-angle shots and showing them using vulgar language with British slang as insults towards the new student. The conventions of nerds were also conformed in this extract by showing Will using glasses, quirky hair, and preppy clothing, he was also shown using high-angle shots to show weakness. This makes the audience expect a funny show as the awkward dialogue and vulgar language make for an amusing show of contrast. The tone of this scene is comedic and funny, this is further emphasized by the squeaky non-diegetic sound effects. I overall like the idea of using sound effects to emphasize a specific tone of a scene.

The Batman

2022, DC Films

The opening scene of the movie The Batman released in 2022 by DC films uses only one continuous shot to show a mansion and family activities through a window. This shot was a POV (point-of-view) shot showing a view through binoculars, this effect connotates the effect of invading someone's privacy, making the audience seem quite uncomfortable. The shot moves around with various pan and tilt movements that shows different sections of a mansion which shows a happy family fooling around. This scene makes the audience curious and sets expectations of explanations such as who is getting spied on and who’s POV the shot is from. The tone of this scene can be seen to be mysterious. I overall like the idea of using one continuous shot as an opening.