Zombieland - Opening 2 Minutes

This film has a very strange beginning as we do not meet the main character. Instead, we meet the character through his voice over throughout the opening scene describing what is happening within the scenes.

The first camera shot in the film is a close up of an American flag waving in the wind, we then have a voice over of our character directly addressing American people. We therefore can assume that this film is aimed at Americans but cannot say what the age group is. However, due to the fact that we hear a young, American, teenage voice, we can assume that this film is aimed at teenagers.

There is a medium shot which moves around in such form that we assume that we are seeing this angle of view from a persons perspective. This is affective because it gets the audience drawn into the film as they are being made to feel as if it is them in the film, who have just been eaten by a zombie.

There is then the use of a close up, to show the make up that the actor has on their face to make the audience believe that zombies are actually real. This can also shock the audience and can show us that the film, is meant to be a horror. A close up is also used to identify things, so by showing the zombies face, we know that when we see a zombie in the distance, they have similar facial features.

There is then a birds eye view. The effect of using this shot type, is that it allows the film to emphasise on how wide the zombie problem is and by showing a large area from above, the audience get that affect. It also pans outwards. By doing this, it shows how the disease was concentrated / began in one area and now it has spread.

There are several panning shots which follow the camera, especially as there is several running scenes and by having the camera panning, the audience follows this chase between zombie and human.

The clothes that the characters (Zombies) are wearing in the opening scene ranges from people in business wear so we would stereotypically assume that they are from the middle class. We also see people wearing very casual clothes. By having this variety of people wearing a variety of clothing, it emphasises on the idea that the disease has spread to everyone. It also allows the audience again to relate to the film if they can relate to what some of the people are wearing, it makes it more realistic.

The setting is in America, near a well-known area. By including this in the first two minutes of the film, the audience therefore assume that the other settings that the film is filmed in is in this sort of area. It also allows the audience to relate to the film as they know the area and makes the film more realistic and believable and so therefore gets the audience more involved within the film.

Step Brothers - Opening 2 Minutes

The opening shot of this film begins with a close up of a plate of crisps and we see a hand piling on several more crisps. We therefore get the impression that this person is going to be very unhealthy and therefore very lazy. We then see several more close up shots of both food and then we are introduced to two individual characters who are also focused on in a close up shot. By using a close up shot on the two characters faces, we therefore link the piles of food with these two people, which leaves us to believe that they are both very lazy people.

We then see a long shot of Brennan who is watching television in his pyjamas while talking with his mouth full. This tells us that he is very childlike as he has no manners and also shows he has no responsibility as he says good bye to his mother, he has no eye contact with her which shows us that she is in control. Having a long shot in this scene allows us to see what Brennan is doing and also see his mother walk out of the door.

The next shot is a long shot of another character playing a video game, by showing the character like this, we also assume him to be very childlike and irresponsible and we would not expect a 40 year old man to  be playing on a video game. "There is $20 on the table" through the use of this diegetic sound, it shows us as the audience that the male character does not earn his own money and is instead, funded by his father. Having this at the beginning of the film shows that the film is going to play on the idea of the 40 year old men behaving like teenagers.

Changing between the two settings and both characters behaving in a similar way, we therefore link them to living very similar lives in the way that they are.

The Exorcism Of Emily Rose - Opening 2 Minutes

The film begins with a black screen and non - diegetic sound of a loud and constant scream is played over the top. We then hear an innocent voice shout "Emily" this therefore links the screams to the name and makes us as the audience curious as to what is happening to her to cause her to make this noise.

The next shot it of a barbed wire fence that has blood dripping from it. We expect to see barbed wire fences on land that someone wants no one to enter or no one to leave. The dripping blood also shows danger.

The next two shots are of farm land which look abandoned and un cared for. we expect thing to be abandoned within a horror film so this informs the audience of what genre the film is. The shot then cuts to an old looking house that is in the middle of no where. This is known as an establishing shot and therefore allows the audience to become aware of where the film is set.

We then see a man dressed in a smart way. We can infer from what he is wearing that he is a doctor of some sort due to the fact that he is carrying a brief case and is wearing a bowler hat which is a stereotype for doctors.

The diegetic sound of him knocking at the door creates suspense because he knocks twice without a reply. This makes the audience anxious as they do not know what to expect next.

The man then turns around and we are shown a long shot of the house as he walks away, then suddenly, the shot cuts to a close up of a wind dial on the top of the house and a squeaky diegetic sound is played over the top as the wind dial moves. The audience were expecting for a figure to fright the man however, the film plays on the fear that the man has towards his surrounding.

Chalet Girl - Opening 2 Minutes

Chalet girl is a romantic comedy about a girl who moves to the Alps and discovers her talent within snowboarding, where she later goes on to win a professional competition and falls in love. The opening of "Chalet Girl", begins with the titles and over them we hear the first segment of sound; cheering from a large crowd. By having this sound playing over the titles, we as the audience put ourselves into the setting and begin to image what setting the film will begin in. This therefore catches the audiences attention and forces them to turn their attention to the screen for the next scene.



The first camera we see is a close up of a skateboard. We therefore as the audience are made aware that the film will be related to a board sport and this close up shows this. We are then shown several long shots, which pan across, following the skateboarding character across the screen. By doing this, we are then made aware that this is has something to do with what our main character does. We then get commentary from two presenters who are shown in a two medium shot. This allows enough room to fit both characters in the shot and also shows us their facial expressions and body language, towards each other and their reaction to the topic they are discussing.


We are then shown several shots at the same time, of the presenters and two other shots of a skateboarder. By having several shots on the screen at the same time, there is more emphasis on the setting that the film will be seeing later on. It also looks at how good this character is at skateboarding due to the fact that there are several images to back up what the presenters are saying.


However, we are not made fully aware of who the character in the skateboarding shots are, until we see a close up of Kim's face and we hear the commentators describing who this character is over this shot, to make us as the audience aware who it was we had just recently been watching skateboarding, in the previous shot.

We see Kim wearing very scruffy and un-lady-like clothing, while riding her skateboard. This therefore tells us as the audience that she is a tom-boy and so we therefore have a perception of her that she will not be interested in men. It also means that it does not meat the stereotype that we have of women, as we stereotypically see women to be very delicate, posh and self confident.
Due to the fact that Kim wears very scruffy clothing, we also assume that she is quite poor as we stereotypically expect wealthier people to be cleaner and care more about their appearance.


At the end of the two minute opening, there is a long shot, where Kim is slouched over a fast food counter as a worker. This tells us as the audience that she is on the minimum wage, therefore she is not rich and also lives a plain and simple life. This therefore gives the audience something to relate to as Kim is not rich and will not be very rich.

Not Suitable For Children - Opening 2 Minutes

The film begins with non diegetic sound which is played on an electric guitar and is very much upbeat. This shows the audience that, like the music, it will be an upbeat film, full of energy. This type of music is also quite modern so this shows the audience that it is a film based on a modern perspective. This allows the audience to relate to the film which will therefore bring in more of a profit.

The first shot we see is a low angle medium shot of the front of a car, which then pans out to a long shot of a street. This is an establishing shot which is used to show the audience which setting the film is set in. We then see a man carrying a crate of drinks that look like alcohol, this straight away tells us as the audience that he is going to a party. This is also shown by the clothing that the female characters have on. They are wearing party looking dresses which we would not stereotypically expect a female to wear on a daily basis. The lighting used also suggests that they are going to a party as this scene has been filmed in the evening when it is dark outside, which is when we would expect a party to occur.

The camera then pans around following the original actors who are walking. Several more characters are then introduced and are heading in the same direction, we therefore expect this to be a big party. We then see skateboarders skate past and one has some sort of flame that he is holding. This shows us as the audience that it is a teenage party as we stereotypically expect people who are riding skateboards to be teenagers. The use of fire within the scene also shows the audience that the setting is out of control and dangerous.

The camera then stops panning when it reaches a home which has party light shining from inside. This shows the audience that they are having a party. However, we are then shown that the power has cut out when all of the music and lighting turns off. The scene the changes to a man who is looking for something and a close up shot is used to show him looking through a draw as several letters. "you've lived here your whole life" the shot then goes back to a shot of a male, we therefore as the audience link this idea to the stereotype that all teenagers are lazy and out of control as we assume that because he is the host and this is his house and has probably had a party without his parents consent. The close up shot of the scruffy letters in the draw shows the audience that he is un organised.

We are then introduced to a scruffy looking character who is holding some alcohol in his hand and we assume is drunk through the diegetic sound used "I've cut myself and I don't know where" this also links the stereotype that teenagers are out of control.

Ghost - Opening 2 Minutes

Ghost is a romantic film based on the lives of a couple who's lives are destroyed by a murder who kills the male and the female finds herself running into a lady who can connect with the dead. The male is so passionate to communicate with his partner that he uses the lady who can connect with the dead to communicate with her.

The film opens with a sudden and intense piece of non diegetic sound, this is used to emphasise the titles "Ghost". The camera then pans from a black wall to a light but aerie open space where some high pitched non diegetic sound is playing. By using the non diegetic sound within this clip it allows the film to like the aerie music to the idea that the room is very aerie and also sounds and looks haunted.

Due to the fact that the objects that we cannot see are just silhouettes, this creates shape within the shot and also relates back to the stereotype that we would expect to see an outline or silhouette of somebody within a horror film.

The camera then pans around the room focusing on certain object within the room which are made visible through the natural light coming in through the windows. The objects shown within the clip look very dusty and also old fashioned. We therefore assume that this room has been left like this for a long time. The camera moves from low angles to high angles as it moves around the room to focus of various object. This has been done to show the importance of certain objects over others as they have higher status because they are placed higher up.

We are not shown any characters within the opening 2 minutes which causes the audience to become curious as to when they will enter, this can also add suspense.

This opening 2 minutes of this film suggests to the audience that it is a horror film. However, this is not the case as we know it is a romantic film, but the producers have decided to begin the film like this to tie in the idea that it is about the male character turning into a ghost which is quite scary.

The Best Of Me - Opening 2 Minutes

The opening shot of the film is a long shot above the sea which has been filmed on a helicopter to create this affect and the camera is moving towards an oil rig of some sort and pans around it and zooms in towards it so that we can identify that there are people working on it. By having this shot as the opening scene means it is an establishing shot as we are made aware of where the film is going to be set. We then see close up shots of a characters face working. This is usually done to introduce the main character or an important character.

We then see a high angle shot, which shows what the character is doing and also shows the choppy sea below. This shows the danger that the character could face due to his job. We can therefore assume that his job may have an affect on him later on in the film.

Using a medium shot, the character is then shown placing a large amount of money into an envelope and posting it into a mail box. This could mean that the character has family at home that he needs to support and so therefore, the money he earns from working, he sends home.


A medium shot is then used to focus in on the male characters facial expression, and we see him just looking past the camera. By getting the character to look just past the lens, we, as the audience, know that he is looking at something. This means that when we get a long shot of the stars in the sky, in the next scene, we know what the character was looking at. In the scene after, we have an over the shoulder shot of a lady also looking up at the stars. This means that there must be some sort of link between the two of them, although we are not told that, we assume this by the way the scene has been filmed.

The clothing that the male character is wearing, tells us that he is at work, which we can also see in the way he is acting. We also know that he is not a very rich man due to what he is wearing because stereotypically, we expect business men who are very wealthy to be wearing suits, so we know that he is from the working class.

The last section of the opening scene, shows us as the audience that this is a romantic film as we have both male and female characters.

Trailer Analysis Guidance

Consider the following key questions about mise-en-scene and camera composition to analyse film openings: What costume do characters wear and what are the key connotations? What body language is used by characters and to what effect? What are we shown by proxemics (how far apart characters are) and what is communicated to the audience? How is lighting used and what effect does it have? What settings are there and how are they established? What is said and how does it make the audience think or feel? What key shots are used and to what effect? Aim to analyse three film openings using key terms and concepts learned in your G321 and G322 studies.

Types Of Genre

Genre	Conventions	Film Titles
Comedy	Humor, entertain, amusement, exaggeration, happy ending, focus on individual stars.	Airplane, spy, anchorman, the hangover, pitch perfect, trainwreck, ted, dumb and dumber, identity thief, the heat.
Romance	Love, affection, marriage, dating, relationships, tension, breakups, love at first sight, young love, obsessive love, sexual or passionate love, tragic love, happy ever after.	Titanic, the notebook, dirty dancing, pretty woman, age of Adaline, fifty shades of grey, trainwreck, the longest ride, if I stay, paper towns, the fault in our stars.
Action	Heroes, challenges, physical feats, fight scenes, violence, chases, life threatening situations, villain, victory, CGI.	The avengers, die hard, mad max, the dark knight, aliens, Indiana jones, terminator, spy.
Horror	Dark, scary, plot, pausing, anticipation, negative emotions, fears, nightmares, terror, supernatural fiction, thriller, ghosts, extra-terrestrials, vampires, werewolves, demons, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibals and serial killers.	Halloween, exorcist, scream, alien, a nightmare on elm street, scary movie, night of the living dead, the woman in black, insidious, jaws, paranormal activity.

The Journey Starts Here!

Congratulations on starting your journey towards becoming a creative and reflective film producer! Start your journey by commenting on your favourite genres and your reasons for being a fan - aim to explore conventions of genre and profile a notable director!

My Influences and Intrests

My favourite film is "Identity Thief", it is my favourite film because I think that Melissa McCarthy is the best actor that has ever lived. She's funny, extremely entertaining and always seems to be acting in really good movies. Out of all of the films that Melissa McCarthy is in, "Identity Thief" is the best film because I find it hilariously funny and the story line is also very good.

My favourite director is Paul Feig because he has produced several of my top favourite films including "Spy", "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat". all three of these are comedies and all have amazing story lines and also all include Melissa McCarthy. another reason he is a really good director is due to the fact that all od the films he has directed have been comedies aimed at women which makes it more relatable and even funnier.

My favourite genre has to be between romance and comedy. However I do not like romantic comedies as I find them very cheesy and a bit too fake. I like comedy films because I would prefer to sit down and watch a film that I can laugh at instead of watching a horror where I will constantly be scared the whole time. I like romance films because every girl likes a good romantic story and makes you feel very girly by watching it.

One film release that I am anticipating would have to be "Sisters" because it is a comedy about two sisters who decide to throw a house party before their parents sell their house. I would like to watch this because I have been to several house parties and anything can happen at them so in a way it is relatable but on the other hand it is exciting to see what happens when they throw their house party.

The last film I watched was "Burlesque", also I have watched this several times before I liked it due to the music and skilful dancing that it has within the film. It is also a romance film which is one of my favourite genres so it is right up my street and it also has a very good story line.