Starts with a cartoon version of the characters and there setting, the first minute of the opening is mainly set on the main characters which a boy and a girl. The first view of the boy he’s very scruffy and he’s hair a mess but later on you see if cartoon reflection of the character with is hair done and he look better. When the character gets out of bed he turns up the music and starts to dance which shows the audience that this character is confidence and maybe a bit cheeky.
Then there a few shots of different setting and clues about what the film is about and what may happen in it. So already the audience with know one of the main characters and a bit about he ‘s personality and some of the scenes in the film are appearing.
The first viewing of the girl character she is in a four poster bed and the iconography for being very thin and pretty with long blonde hair. When we wakes up there are two bird that bring her dressing gown to her which shows the audience that she is a very important character within the storyline and to link the boy and girl together she also has a finishing shot of her cartoon reflection in a mirror so straight the audience can make a connection between the two character. I the picture below the character have her hair in pinkie tails which shows the audience that the character is child like or innocence. She is wear blue which could connote loyalty and Peaceful, so already you know she is not the character who wants trouble or cause trouble.
The second half to the opening is focus on other character which is friends with the main characters. The third character has very dark short hair which is an opposite of the second character another opposite is the costume the character are wearing. This character is a little bit more revelling when it comes to costume this could connote that the character is more confidence. Yet again the last viewing if the character is off the cartoon reflection in the mirror which shows the audience that all character somehow has a link between them.
So far the character has been individual but the next characters are shown as a group which could connote that they are very close and almost inseparable they are also wearing the clothes which show there a link between then and they come as a package. The setting is a tropical lad scene very mess with cars pieces all over the place. The group name is on the jackets it ends with one of the group member cartoon reflection in the mirror like the rest of the characters
The whole way through the opening to step up a song there’s no over voice explaining the storyline its just one track of music. Step up is different from other film opening I have watched because its does not introductory the main characters but you do get a feel of the characters because there are different frames showing two main group and both group s completely different. This makes the audience wonder why the two groups are being socialised together and the only thing they had in common is there liked to dance but their dancing ideas was very different as well. The frame of each dance group is shown after each other as if it’s a competition between both groups to see which one is the best one. While both groups are showing they dance titles are shown but they are in small white front so you can see them but your audience main focus is on the characters.
The first group are more street and quite aggressive. The characters was wearing tracksuit bottom with hoodies. Hoodies are often knows for crime as people use them to hide their feature so people cant see their identify. All the clothing is dark alone with the setting where the characters are practising their dance. Black is knows to be the absent colour this could connote that the characters are missing something from their life.black is often seen as a color of rebellion this could connote that the group does not care what people thing and they will try out different things. As well as black they are also wearing red tops, red is associated with fire and danger.
The second group is completely different they was ballet dancers so their dance was very peaceful and gracefully. They dances in a nice studios and its was quite light, hey used the natural thought the windows to light up the room this connote that they characters are peaceful and caring and not really aggressive. The characters are also wearing light pink Leotards. Most people still think of pink as a feminine, delicate color. Pink is a softer colour and its less violent red.
Textual analysis-opening to never been kissed(1999)
The first few seconds no characters are introduces its just a plain black background with blue square jumping around the screen with the names of the people who was involved in making the film. Started with a well known sing then an over voice start to talk when the setting comes on the screen. The first setting is a sports game and you don’t see the facial feature of the character because she is faced backward to the camera but because she is on her own in a stadium of people you automatically know that she plays an important part in the film. She starts talking about her present then carries on talking about her pass. The character is wearing causal working clothes and she’s like the girls next door character. The title of the film is at the very began. This opening is very simple and uses the colour a lot it is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. Blue is often known as a masculine colour however the only main character we are introduces to is a female but because of the title the audience can guess that maybe later on in the storyline we will be introduce to a male character.
Stock settings.
There are two main settings in Save the last dance. The opening starts with the main character on the train and there is a dialogue between her and another character, this leads to flash backs of the pass. The audience founds out that the main character used to be a dance but she lost her mother due to a car crash while she was trying to get to the dance show. So the opening is not a happy one but the audience know a lot about the character and feels sorry for her, because of the sad opening it makes the audience want to watch me to see if things work out. This leads the character to a different setting as she had to move. It’s completely different to where she was from. Chicago's South Side, in a neighbourhood that is decidedly not middle class and predominantly black. Its rougher and the high school are completely different too the audience can see that she would not fit in. There is much more crime and violence this is the opposite of the character personality, we know the character is a clam and peaceful person because of her hobby (ballet). The first viewing of the main character is on a train, she is starring out of the window, she makes it obvious whenever she is going she don’t want to go there. This makes the audience carry on watching the film to find out why she does not want to go. The clothes and body language make her look like relaxes girl who does not start or want trouble, as she is wearing barely any make-up and the clothes was not revelling. Her body a language is crouching around and all body features are close together which connotes she keeps herself to herself. In the flashbacks you see the character in her ballet uniform which is a black Leotard and pale tights. Ballet is a form of dance and can be formal it is also a good way to show emotion. So the audience gets the feel that the character is an emotional person and likes to express her feeling in dancing. When the character moves into the city you slowly see a different personality in the character’s costumes, when she goes to the club her clothes are a bit more revelling and she changes her dancing and it’s more hip-hop, the complete opposite to ballet. The character’s attitude also changes like so she can fit into the high school. Since her mother died she didn’t have a care in the world and she lost her ambition to be someone. By change the costume this was more obvious to audience. Students in the school you can see what kind of stereotypes there was by the way they was dressed; the geeks would be fully clothed with glasses however the popular people would have crop-tops and shorts on and would be around the lads most of the time.
The lads would be wearing baggy jeans and tops and the costume was “street” dress sense. By putting the characters in these costumes it’s made it clearer that they were from the city and made a clearer different because the two places.
Later on the film she falls in love with her friends brother who a lot like her with a big ambition and he helps to become more confidence and go back into ballet, so the end links with the beginning as she re-tries to audition for ballet but this time its more of a happy end as Derek is there to get her though and she passes.
The first frame of the opening is plain black with an over voice of a girl talking about her death this shocks the audience and creates enigma.After there is still no characters are shown but the setting starts which shows unlike the other movies twilight is first set in a forest with animals, so straight away you know that the film is a bit unusually.The over voice stops and there is some unusually non diegetic music as if the dear is being chase but you don’t see what is chasing the dear this maybe connote that their is a lot of drama or some scene can be mysterious. A tracking camera movement is used to show this.
Then the audience find out the setting was from a past so the audience know a little about the character before even seeing her. The character first viewing is in a bright hot place and the over voice explains how she end where she is. The character is not the usually teen hot blonde girl she was the opposite. She has dark hair and was quite pale.
Textual analysis- opening to 10 things I hate about you (1999)
The opening to this extract starts title scene, naming people and companies who was involved in making the film so the audience may notices some well-known names. The front of the writing is not formal its quite funky with bright colours which shows that the target audience is for a younger age and not older people even later on in the opening the title of the film is in the funky bright front too. The first image that appears on the screens starts of as a cartoon of teh urban setting then turn into a real city this could connote that the setting is real but their could be a side of the story that is child like or maybe a bit of a dreamland.
A pan camera movement is used to setting the scene so the audience know where about the characters are living, while this is happening some characters are shown but not in detail because they are not the main characters but audience knows that the main characters are surround by people. The first characters that are shown with a mid shot of a group of girls in a car which shows the audience that these character has an important input into the film because they are the main focus in the frame.In the opposite car their one girl but she is different from the other girls which connotes that their could be a conflict between them because their are on opposites side of the road than their are completely different from each other.Another way the audience gets the feeling there is trouble between is the looks the characters in each car are giving each other. The group girls are your topical teenager group with there hair and make-up done however the other character is more of the topical teenager geek who doesn’t care about what she looks like or what people think about her.
It starts with tracking camera movement alone with some mountains, then on top of the pictures there is informal front so the audience knows that the target audience is for the younger age otherwise they would have used formal front. The front stays the same through the title scene. Then its moves on to a picture of castle which connotes that the film is in a fairytale world and on top of the image there is the title of the film which is “The Cinderella story” so just by the image and the title you know a bit of the storyline. The music sounds very magical and peaceful and this corrsponse for the fairtale theme.
After a pan is used to smoothly start the real setting an over voice is used to setting the scene and explaining her life story this is a good way to make the audience feel in involved because it’s like she is speaking to the audience as if she knows them so the audience can make a connection with the characters. A straight cut is used from the castle to a ordainment in the girl's room which shows the audiences that this is a very important object in the girl’s life and its may be a part of the story. The stock character is blonde and very pretty (this has appear in other movies). The girls appear to be very young at the beginning of the film, so the opening is telling the audience a bit about her pass. So before the storyline kicks in the audience already knows a lot about the main character.
You can see the connection with the young girl and her dad because every activity that happens they are doing they are always together this shows that they cant be apart the are a two you cany have one and not the other. The front changes colour into baby pink this corresponds with the“ princess theme. “ Pink is usually symbolize heath and good feeling and its traditionally a feminine color so even though there is a male in the scene but the writing is still pink shows the audience that everything is about the girl and she’s the main focus and sometimes pink connotes love which shows the connection between them again.
The storyline of Cinderella follows Tzvebtan Todorov Theory and Prop Theory:
Tzvebtan Todorov Theory – The Cinderella story
Prop Theory – The Cinderella story
Equilibrium: she had a great life and a strong bond with her dad but she didn’t like her step mom or sister but because she loved her dad she just got along with them. She had a great future ahead, everything was fine.
Hero: The dadthe dad didn’t have any superpower but for Cinderella her dad was a huge inspiration in her life.
Disruption: There was an earthquake and her dad dies and she is left for her step mom. The step mom takes all the money and treats Cinderella like a slavery but Cinderella needs money for university so she don’t say anything.
Princess: Cinderella is treated like a princess at the beginning and end of the films and she takes control of her life and what she wants from it.
Recognition: Cinderella talks to a boy about all her problem and one day when she is working at her step moms place some of the wall paper comes off, which uncovers a Quote her dad always said when she was little.
Villain: Step mom and sister are very nasty to Cinderella and only care about themselves but by the end of the film they are no longer villains and Cinderella dad helps this happened.
Attempt to repair disruption: she tells her step mom that she is not working for her anymore and she moves out to a family friend house where she to more happy. Cinderella finds her dads will where it say that everything belongs to her .
Mentor: family friend sticks around and copes with the villain just to make sure Cinderella is ok. Also helps when thing go wrong.
Reinstatement of equilibrium : she has the money to go to university and the place that she used to work at really belonged to her so she had a job and the boy she used to talk to( Justin) becomes her boyfriend and they live happy ever after
Helper: Justin
Just in is the only person in Cinderella life that she can be herself and they both help each other when they had problems.
Their are three main stock setting:
The house: you see the house in two different ways at the beginning of the film its a cosy family home and everything fine, cinderella has her only room and its a perfect setting for a princess to be in. After the dad dies it’s more like a house and she is more like a worker than family as she has to do whatever her step mom says. Her bedroom moves to up stairs so she is on her own which connotes that the other people who are living in the house does not care about and she just up stair out of the way and she is less important than them. The grass is very green is the film and everyone else on the street is brown this is because the film is set in a middle of a draught which connotes that they are more worthily than other family on the street and they like to take advantage of this.
The Diner: Cinderella is around people that she feels comfortable with, when her step mom isn’t about. All the workers and customers are like a community and get on well. She had many memories’ in the dinner and it’s the only thing she has left of her dad even though the step mother has changed the layout and name of the diner.
High School: the whole storyline with Justin is mainly focus here and its a place where her step mother can not get to her. In the high school there are the stereotypes of groups: popular people, nerd, geeks ECT.
