Spider man

Analysis of the opening scene

By Ummina Begum

• The budget for Spiderman wasn't small, and this is justified by the well edited opening with great computer effects.

• The institutions presented in the film are Columbia and Marvel, Marvel is a company that runs a lot of comics and owns a lot of characters, Spiderman is one of these characters.

• After the sponsors and institutions of the film pass, the opening continues with the credits, showing who acquires the main roles in the film.

• It then begins with a panning shot of some never ending mist, the shot then rises into a crane shot revealing the title "Spiderman".

• After this sequence of events each important cast member's name is flung onto a spiders web, signifying the action packed nature this film inherits.

• The soundtrack throughout all this is a sequence of short notes of a symphony, making the action taking place seem very fast and exciting.

I found the opening sequence of Spider-man really interesting as it uses a lot of dark colours and some accent colours such as red. The red symbolises Spider-man and his costume as it is red. The colour red also connotates danger which is foreshadowing.

A lot of graphics are used to show the audience that Spider-man is a comic book character and animated. They show this also at the very beginning when the production teams' logos are shown as Marvel uses a comic book being flicked through.

The audience establish who the main characters are as well; Spider-man and the green Goblin. They can tell this because two graphic/structural 3D images are shown of them. The audience learn that the film takes place in New York due to the tall skyscrapers.

There is a point of view shot from Spider-man 'flying' in between buildings. This kind of portrays him as being superior than the people on the ground. This maybe because of his powers.

There aren't many shots in the sequence because most of it is graphics not real life camera work, but a long establishing shot is used to establish that the film is in New York

• The mise en scene in this opening sequence consists of a spider web, the letters of each actors name are spread unevenly across the web, like how a flies would be caught in a web.

• The background is dark and daunting, connoting danger and risk, as the camera dives deeper into the misleading dark background the webs become more entangled, showing how the roles of each crew member becomes more complex as it continues.

• As the webs continue, some buildings begin to emerge, this is the first time the audience see Spiderman, hanging from a building. .

Drive

• Analysis of the opening scene

By Ummina Begum

• The film starts with an ariel shot that pans over Los Angeles at night which shows all of the skyscrapers lit up.

• This tells the audience that the film is set in America in a big city.

• The credits are in a fluorescent pink/purple colour and are in a stylish written type font.

• As soon as the film starts music is playing as non-diegetic sound.

• The next shot shown is a low angle of Ryan Gosling's character sitting still in his car, this is where the name of the film first appears.

• It then changes to an over the shoulder shot of Ryan actually driving, here the audience can visualise that he is wearing a jacket with a high collar, driving gloves and has a toothpick sticking out of his mouth, he is also driving with one hand and looking out the window.

• The lighting in the majority of the opening scenes a requite low key with lots of shadows cast across the driver’s face. This connotates a dark, brooding character that we expect to see throughout the film.

• The music goes very well with the opening as it contrasts with the main character who is very calm and cool just like the song is.

• The following shot is not the characters point of view however it is just off view and the audience can see his reflection in the car's interior mirror. This allows us to observe his facial expressions which is another aspect of mise en scene.

• Once the Driver has dropped off his clients to the robbery he waits in his car for their return. Upon their return the police begin a search for the Impala.

• The pursuit begins. The majority of shots are from within the car so that the audience experiences the chase with the Driver.

• The camera never leaves the inside of the car and is always with Ryan's character, which allows us to feel what the driver goes through.

• At the end the repeated shots of him driving foreshadows the idea that he will always be driving throughout the film. And the story reflects on cars.