'Mamma Mia' Film Opening - Textual Analysis

~Textual Analysis~

In the beginning of this film we see a girl on a boat paddling in the night around a beautiful island, this is like the establishing shot telling us that this will be the setting for the majority of the film.

The girl sings the lyrics "I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope with anything. If you see the wonder of a fairytale, you can take the future even if you fail' as she is paddling in her little boat and then shown walking up to a postbox. The girls appears to be daunted by this postbox whilst she walks up to it with three letters in hand, I can see this by the nervous look on her face and the 'point of view' angles of herself looking at it whilst she slowly walks towards it. The postbox is bright yellow and almost glows in the darkness, metaphorically speaking this suggests that if the girl posts these letters, it could be life changing and bring around happiness and joy.

All of the above suggests that these letters, if posted, could help the girl achieve her dream. The lyrics 'you can take the future even if you fail' would show she has decided to post them because she has nothing to loose and even if she is unsuccessful in whatever the aim of the letters is, she can still have a bright future. Through this last line, she trails from a singing voice to a nervous and trembling tone showing the audience that she is nervous about her actions, but due to the fact we have concluded that they could help her dreams come true, I have gathered that she must be somewhat exited and is just anticipating that if these letters do what she has intended them to do, her life could take a supposed 'better' turn.

We can now take a guess that the plot will heavily rely on these three letters and that their 'aftermath' will have a 'snowball effect' on the rest of the plot.

Calm music plays in the background of the girl posting each letter as she reads out who each one is addressed to in an anxious tone. The shot turns to each letter where we can see the soon to be destination of them; one to the UK, USA and Sweden.

After this, the scene cuts to fun music with three very different, but similar in age, men seeming to be in a rush and all using a method of transport in order to get them somewhere unknown to us. Each man is in a location that appears to be one of the three locations that were written on the girls letter; one America, we can see this due to the american accents and yellow taxi's with 'NYC' printed on them, one England, we can see this also because of the accents and the green scenery with the black taxi's and the last Sweden, as it looks like a less developed, more cultural country with baazars running through it and the sun beaming. The shot is divided into three equal parts and each mans passport photo is shown, the subjects in the frame are then interrupted by a plane sliding them upwards. It is at this point where we can take a fairly accurate guess that these men are all on their way to the girl for a reason that we still aren't aware of and that they all seem happy about it.

All of this suggests to me that the backbone of this plot will be the girls relationship with these three men and a series of events unfolding as we find out who these men are and why and how they are both going to the girl and how they know her. This is all that is revealed to us in the opening, we are left with many questions such as 'what exactly is the girls dream' and 'why might these three men be a part of it'. Even though we say that there is a deeper element to the film as it is most likely about a dream coming true, we can see that it also seems to be a fun and fast paced film with the fun music and smiles from the men. As the animated plane drags the shots of the passport up the title is revealed 'Mamma Mia', this is an italian expression which can be used to express a range of emotions such as anxiousness, fear, joy and surprise. This suggests that the island is somewhere in Italy, that all three men eventually make it to the island because the passport shot almost signifies one of the last steps to a travel and that that these three men will bring all of these elements of emotion to the story and may cause an unexpected stir that would have a 'crazy' ending.

There are no teenage characters introduced in this opening so it would not be considered a teenage drama, however we can see that it is a musical and may be emotional in some parts so could possibly be a romantic or dramatic one, but like any typical musical would most often unveil a story as well as be fun and happy to watch.

The only characters shown in the opening are the girl and the three men, that for some reason she has apparently sent for. This suggests even though there may still be important characters, the 4 mentioned are the backbone of the plot in the ways I have mentioned above (e.g. why she has brought them to her). All of these 4 characters appear to be key.

The only dialogue involved excluding the singing that trails off into talking comes from the three men as they travel in a hurry saying 'I have to go', speaking to drivers and 'whooping' from excitement. This all emphasises the fun and positivity of the story, but also the importance of whatever was in the letters had to the men in order to make them so eager to go to the island.

The genre of this film is a musical romantic comedy. It confirms to the musical genre in the way that for every situation there is a relevant song e.g. 'Money Money Money' when the mother is complaining about the lack of money and the state of the island because everything is breaking, 'The winner takes it all' when Donna is reminiscing about the breakup and relationship of her and her ex boyfriend whom she thinks she may still have feelings for, and 'Take a chance on me' when Rosie takes a liking to one of Donna's ex's and wants to pursue a relationship. Mamma Mia confirms to the comedy genre through both performances and songs, for example when the 3 older women (Donna, Rosie and Tanya) are dancing around to 'dancing queen' it is comical due to the actions and faces they pull, like when Rosie slides down the bannister and comes to a 'painful' halt. The way the storyline is portayed isn't all too serious either, its delivered in a funny way which makes the audience more relaxed and established that part of its genre is comedy. Aside from this, the producers have not just focused on trying to make the film 100% funny because that is not real life, the storyline itself is taken seriously as it is not a fantasy which is a good thing because otherwise people may take the entire film as a 'joke'. The film also conforms to the Romantic element of the genre throughout, the entire film is based around a marriage and preparation for Sophie and her boyfriends wedding, it is the whole reason why the 3 men were invited in the first place. However one particular element to the film challenged the typical 'romantic comedy' genre when last minute Sophie decided not to get married, and instead her Mother decided to marry one of the men she had left many years ago, when they rekindled their love for each other at her daughters wedding location.

Overall it is a very fun and intriguing opening and personally, I would want to watch more. Enough information is revealed to give us an idea of what the plot may entail, however there are many questions yet to be answered, which would cause the majority of the audience to continue watching.

This was a professionally made film.

Textual Analysis; Wild Child Opening

~Textual Analysis~

Quite a lot of the plot is introduced in the opening few minutes of this film, we find out a lot about Poppy (the main character). To start with, we see her room is modern, luxurious and is overlooking the sea which tells us her family may be very wealthy in order to afford such a 'beautiful' home. We also see a theme of pink and light pastel baby blue which are both typically girly colours throughout her room as well as running through her choices of clothing. Poppy looks like a well groomed typical 'Miami girl' that prefers a higher and materialistic quality of life and this is shown through her tan, coloured and voluminous hair, and her taste for expensive clothing and her shrug as she gives a look and sound of disgust when she see's clothes that aren't up to her standards.

 

As soon as Poppy goes to talk to her sister, Molly, she begins to speak of somebody named 'Rosmary' moving in. Even though we don't know who she is we immediately realise Poppy isn't fond of Rosemary when Molly begs that she 'doesn't do anything stupid'. However, we see a sweeter side to Poppy when she comes down to her Molly to cut the crusts off her sandwich as we see she has a more maternal and caring element to her when it comes to looking after her.

We also see that Poppy is a daring character that is experiencing rebellion. During the conversation Poppy has with Molly she tells her 'not to worry' and that she 'knows what she's doing' with a smug look on her face as if she is planning something. It is then made clear that Rosemary is Poppy's Dads Girlfriend and at the van movers arrival she invites all of her friends and gives them one instruction; to help themselves. This would get the audience on Poppys side as usually 'Stepmothers' are the villains and most teenagers would rebel against them, this reveals some of the plot because it doesn't prove Poppy to be a 'bad person' it just shows that she seems to be fighting her mothers corner and is going through a stage of rebellion which is relatable to most young people (the audience).

We are also shown that Poppy is a popular girl due to both the amount of people that turned up to her house and by the lead she took when everyone was listening to her whilst standing behind - this could be to portray her importance or high social status as she stood infront of all of her friends or could just show the fact that it is her house and therefore she is the most important person there. We see that Poppy has a desire for this popularity and attention as she runs up to the pool side holding Rosmarys clothes shouting 'hey girls, watch this!' and jumps off it into the ocean - which is a very long drop, her friends appear terrified that she may be hurt and one of the boys rush over to see if she is alright and as soon as they realise she is, they all breathe a sigh of relief - which shows she is loved amongst her peers. This is a very big element to the plot as if you have seen the full film 'wild child' her likability is what saves her from lies and deciept, so by showing us that Poppy is a likeable and genuine character, the producer is setting us up for a dielemm later in the film in terms of which side to take and who to believe.

In the next part of the opening we are introduced to an older male character who we see has authority over Poppy as he shouts at her to get out of the water and to go to him 'right now' so we would correctly assume that this is her dad. We are shown how angry Poppy's actions have made him by the stern tone of his voice and realise that this wasn't the first time as he tells her 'its the final straw' and tells her that she is going to England. We know that Poppys dad isn't a villain in this plot either because Poppy implies that he has warned her about an English boarding school before and not carried it through when she mocks 'oh, the boarding school threat...again!' so this time he is standing his ground and is determined to teach her a lesson which is what any parent would do.

We see that Poppy has deeper motives behind her actions when she suggests that he has replaced her mother with 'a trashier version' and can now do the 'same to her', this tells us that she's emotionally raw about the situation with her parents and was most likely only trying to get her dads attention as she didn't feel like his family was important enough to him. This is followed by Poppy asking if her dad 'even remembers her mum' which suggests she has passed away and poppy is still very upset that her mother may have been forgotten and this may be the reason behind her attempted sabotage of Rosemary becoming part of their family. Poppy also says that 'just because her mum went to boarding school doesn't mean it'll straighten her out'. All of the above suggests that her mum will be an element in the rest of the plot in someway either by showing Poppy finally coming to terms with what has happened or realising that she needs to move on. It shows the audience an emotional side both to Poppy and to the film that one would not usually expect in a 'chick flick' or 'teen drama'.

This is all just in the opening, a lot of the plot is revealed without giving too much away so that the audience would still ask questions. I think its a perfect opening because somehow it manages to reveal the majority of all emotionality's and sides to a person that there could be, in Poppy. Its all anyone will need in order to know if its the kind of film they would like to keep watching.

The only key characters that have been introduced in the opening are Poppy, her Dad, Rosemary and Molly, her sister. Even though one would assume all of these people were key characters, having watched it I know that we never actually meet Rosemary and Molly isn't shown very much throughout, she has no big role in the storyline. There are more important key characters that haven't been introduced yet however this isn't a negative thing considering they are in England and showing Poppy moving to England and the reasons behind it in under 2/3 minutes would not be efficient enough or give the audience enough insight into who she is and her life - it would be putting quantity over quality, which is a bad idea when it comes to film.

All I would expect from an opening is to have been told a background story or given an insight into the main characters life, as well as being given an idea of what the story may entail - which is exactly what the producers of this film have achieved.

There is a lot of dialogue as you can see, with more or less equal amounts coming from her friends, sister and her dad - it is all split out fairly evenly so that we get a good idea of Poppys relationship with each as well as how her character changes around them.

The typical conventions of a teen film are usually mainly about romance or bullying, even though Wild Child did conform to this (through the romance Poppy had with the Head Teacher's son), this wasn't the backbone of the entire story, instead the film was about the relationship between Poppy, her friends and family and the importance of these relationships, therefore the typical idea of a teen movie was challenged through this alternative 'meaning' or 'moral of the story' - that not everything in a teenagers life is as it is often portrayed in terms of love, it is about love in many forms - not just romantic. The film conformed to its comedy aspect as well and this is through poppy's funny and naïve character, for example not wanting to get on the bus because of 'germs', the comedy aspect was more laughing at poppy and the stereotype that is a 'typical American girl' rather than laughing at what was being said because it was aiming to be funny. The drama aspect was also confirmed to in some ways due to the story unfolding about Poppy's deceased mother and how they both went to the same school without Poppy realising, there is emotion and it is not too heavy but it is moving and appropriate to the genre. The overriding genre of this film is that it is a teen film with aspects of other genres, if the main genre was romance then the storyline would have challenged the usual conventions of a romantic film because as I said, the aim wasn't solely romance - however it did include characters a romantic film would have, 'Harriett' being the jealous girl, 'Freddie' being the love interest and the parents and friends acting as either supporters or opposers.

Overall I think the 'Wild Child' opening was very cleverly produced with just the right amount of information, dialogue and characters.

This was a professionally made film.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

In a theatre you usually see three walls, the back wall and the two side walls, this adds up to three, the fourth wall is the invisible wall, allowing the audience to look in. Usually in a theatre show the characters/action on the stage never make themselves aware of what is behind the fourth wall, they act as if they are in a closed room with no one looking in, however some theatre shows involve the audience, particularly for interactive kids shows; *character asks* "WHERE IS HE?" *audience scream* "HE'S BEHIND YOU!" - this is known as breaking the fourth wall as the characters and action on stage are aware of what is behind this imaginary fourth wall.

Breaking the fourth wall doesn't just apply to theatres, it also applies to TV, even if characters in a film are outside, the set still has dimensions as we can see what is around them whether its walls or other houses, in TV/Film breaking the wall is to be taken less literally due to this, however it still means acknowledging the audience - it is having direct contact with the audience.

On live tv or theatre shows, breaking the fourth wall can also be done by mistake for example if the actor is stunned by the audience or looks directly into the camera - it is all considered contact with the 'outside world' aka, what is behind that imaginary wall.

Below is a youtube clip with 10 'breaking the fourth wall' moments.

Personally, I don't like when the fourth wall is broken because I feel like it ruins the drama and makes the film seem less real, if an audience is very engaged in the tension and drama of a story for example a funeral, and a character turns round and begins to break the fourth wall by talking to them, I feel like it would ruin the atmosphere. It is my personal preference to watch a film and feel like I am watching a story myself rather than feel like I'm being spoken to by characters who aren't supposed to know I'm there - it ruins the nature of a situation such as a funeral.

Aside from this, one pro to breaking the fourth wall could be in a comedy film because its less intense and more light hearted, it could be seen as funny which is the aim of any comedy genre.

Sound in Slumdog Millionaire

This film begins with diagetic sound, sound the characters in the film can hear,  for this particular film this is heavy breathing, cigar smoking and finally the sound of a slap as the elder man hits Jamal. This shows the intensity between the two characters and the apparent  dangerous tension between them.

The diagetic sound of this slap then coincides with non diagetic background music of the famous 'who wants to be a millionaire?' ticking and tune, this is overlaid with a question directed to the audience to make us think about the character and his progress despite his conditions - this is also how we know its non diagetic. There is then the diagetic sound placed over this ticking noise of masses of money being placed onto a table and whilst both of these sounds are still present, another diagetic sound comes from the host of the 'who wants to be a millionaire?' introducing the show and welcoming everyone followed by the sound of the audience cheering.

I really like the use of overlapping sounds that are both diagetic and non diagetic as it helps set the mood and can give the audience more information, for example this popular shows theme tune will immediately let the audience know the characters are in a game show.

Then a non diagetic sound of rising background noise is used to build the tension and once the contestant, Jamal, has been introduced this fades and the main theme tune of the show is used as he walks out to centre stage. This time the music is diagetic sound as all of the audience can hear it, its used to welcome a contestant, whereas the ticking noise is only used as time runs out for the contestant to answer a question and Jamal wasn't in this situation when the sound was being used, thats also how we know it was non diagetic.

In this opening sound is mainly used to build tension or to show intensity, which is very fitting because it is a very intense film showing third world issues and how a boy lived through them.

Sound in Film

Sound is a key aspect of film, without it there is a big chance none would understand what is going on and its almost guaranteed that the audience wouldn't pick up the entire storyline either. Aside from the sound of dialogue, which many would agree is one of the more obvious contributors to sound, there are several other aspects of sound that make the audience relate to or empathise with the characters in the story, that can put the viewer in the audiences shoes or that can change the entire mood and atmosphere of a particular scene in the film.

Diegetic sound is sound that can be heard by characters within a scene. Examples of this are the rustling of leaves as the character walks through them, splashing of water as the character jumps into the pool, shutting the door and of course, dialogue. All dialogue is diegetic, even if one character is whispering to himself whilst the others can't hear, because if one character can hear it that is enough. Voices heard by the audience in a flashback or memory of a character are also considered a part of diegetic sound because the character experiencing them can hear them. Narration by a character is also considered diegetic as it is labelled an 'internal monologue' which means it is in and a part of the story.

Non-Diegetic sound is sound that the characters can't hear and is not part of the story, this is the opposite of diegetic and includes a musical soundtrack or voiceover.

Other types of sound include sound effects and something called a 'score'. Sound effects are sounds that are added to a film during the editing process. This may be rain in an animation film where rice is dropped onto a hard surface creating a sound similar to rain drops falling. These appear diegetic whilst we are watching the film - and they are, however some are also artificial.

Finally, a score is the musical component of a programme's soundtrack that is usually specifically composed for a scene in some films, mainly children's. In Disney films, audio (singing) is added above these tracks for example in their 'Frozen' film the songs 'let it go', 'for the first time in forever' and 'do you wanna build a snowman' are all composed specifically for that film.

Overall you can see that sound is very important when it comes to film. Personally, I believe music touches people and in sad films, just adding relevant music can make people more emotionally connected to the story just like a happy and upbeat song can make an individual feel happy. All the different types of sound come together and if used correctly, can help to make a film 10X more interesting to watch.

What do you expect to see in the opening two minutes of a feature film?

In the opening 2 minutes of a feature film I expect to have developed a feel for what the film is going to be like. The atmosphere and mood must be set for how the majority of the film is going to be, for example in an intense film such as 'the hunger games; catching fire' immediately the scene is set, Catniss (the main character) is on edge, uptight and jumps at the rustling of leaves as her friend steps on them to greet her. This creates tension and helps us understand as viewers that the film may be tense - which it is, we're constantly waiting for something to happen which creates a high level of suspense throughout it. Another example is in a comedic film, 'the stepbrothers', a childish feel is used in the font of the title, fun music is playing in the background and the acting immediately makes us feel at ease, being something we can laugh at. Music and font can often be a give away, silence in the opening of a film relates to seriousness however fun upbeat music suggests a more light hearted feel. In horror films the font shown for the subtitles may be red, bold and look 'scratched' and this, to me, would suggest a more gory horror film.

Aswell as gaining an understanding of what the film is going to be like, its genre and the mood of it, in an opening of a feature film the viewer should be given or portrayed a simple, basic underlying background of either what the character is like or their background story by giving us some kind of genuine truth; for example in the opening of stepbrothers two adult men are shown either with fast food - which gives us the idea they may be immature or lazy not being able to cook, and playing video games, which again delivers the message of immaturity. We also immediately see one of the men lives with his mother, that immediately tells the audience that one of the main characters is an immature grown man who still lives with his mother and is depending on her. In the opening of 'Catching Fire', the truth and background we see is that Catniss is scared and must go away to play for a second time in something called 'The Hunger Games' which is portrayed as dangerous due to the fact Jennifer Lawrence's performance in the role shows Catnis is blatently terrified. All of this background story, no matter how basic, gives us an idea of what the storyline of the film will entail and we will decide from this two minutes whether or not we want to continue watching.

Something else I might expect to see in the opening two minutes of a feature film is to get to know the relationship between two people, whether that may be an acquaintance, friendship, romance, mother/child, family or whether the two people are strangers. This is important because the relationships portrayed can also show us what type of film it may be. If we see a friendship in the first two minutes we may assume that the underlying message of the film will be about supporting each other and getting through a tough situation with important people by your side and if we see a flirtatious relationship we would assume there will be a romantic element to the story.

I believe all of these elements are important in a feature film's opening, it should create questions in the viewers mind such as "what will happen next" or "why is that character upset" and its later in the film is where the majority of the questions would be answered.

Preliminary exercise

As practise for our film openings, in class we have done a preliminary exercise which consists of filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room, sitting down opposite another character and exchanging dialogue/conversation with them, which demonstrates match on action a shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

I worked in a group with Annie Powrie in order to complete this. We decided to choose the idea of two characters talking and jokingly arguing about a TV show spoiler from the series 'The Walking Dead' as its light-hearted and we felt it was good for practise.

This was our first real opportunity to use the cameras to film, practise shooting at different angles under the 180 degree rule, understand how it is working with actors and to use editing software in post production.

Below is the finished product

Camera Angles, Shots and Movements

Camera angles and shots are extremely important, they help add to the atmosphere and mood to a film if executed well and can make a film ten times more interesting to watch.  There are many types of camera angles, shots and movements, and in this blog post I will talk about them.

Camera Angles

A camera angle is the positioning of the camera in relation to the subject you are filming, it could be at an angle where its looking straight at the object being filmed - at eye level, at a low angle looking up on the subject, a high angle looking down on the subject or a canted angle, making a show appear to be skewed or tilted.

• Low angles: These angles can have a metaphorical meaning, for example the low angle looking up at a subject may be used to make the object (or person) seem important, powerful and dominant, as if the angle is filmed in our own point of view or so that we can see the point of view of a character, looking up at the other. In some cases this can make the audience dislike the 'powerful' character as we feel they look down on the others, it can be the filmers technique of displaying arrogance.

• High Angles: A higher angle can be used in the same way, to look down on an object or person making them seem small and more vulnerable, perhaps making the audience feel sorry for them. 

• Canted Angles: these are originally Dutch, the horizon line of the shot isn't parallel to the bottom of the camera frame. Fitting with its 'awkward' nature, its used to portray discomfort, tension or uneasiness in the situation being acted out - the storyline for the objects being filmed. It can also portray something new and interesting or a concept that maybe people aren't used to in order to emphasise how it's different - for example a scene showing something cultural. This type of shot can also bring beauty, for example the filming of a sunset horizon above an ocean, as it makes the shot more abstract and interesting and fits more of the setting into the frame making it more attractive. This can entice the viewer. 

Camera Shots

Essentially, a camera shot is what is captured in the frame and how it is captured. There are many different types of shots that help to capture the story and how the characters feel, aswell as add to the mood of what the audience are meant to feel - for example tension or sadness.

• Close Up: When filming a person it often means showing the head and shoulders in order to show their expressions and emotions as it blurs out the background and the main and only focus is on that character.  It can also be of an object in which case again it would take up most of the frame and would be used in order to either reveal detail or add to the storyline - for example a sign.

• Extreme Close Up: This is a shot where part of the characters face or body fills the entire frame and  dominates it. This can be used to show intense emotion for example an angry character clenching his fist or a sad one crying. Object wise it could be where a small part of it fills the entire frame for example a certain word on a sign or part of a necklace.

• Establishing Shot: This shot is, like in the name, a shot that establishes a scene, setting it and giving the viewer an idea and information about where the scene is set. It could be over the hills in a country side or a shot coming in from the middle of the road in a city, it could even be a sign post. Its often used at the beginning of the scene.

•  Aerial Shot: This is a camera shot taken from an overhead position, it can be used as an establishing shot to set the scene for the movie.

• Medium Shot: This is the framing of a person from the waist upwards, it reveals some of the back ground . It shows some parts of the subject in detail but also shows enough for the audience to feel like they were looking at the whole subject and still see enough facial expression and emotion, because in reality when we talk to people we don't pay attention to the lower half of their body. 

• Two Shot: This is a shot of two characters in a medium shot style. These are good for capturing the relationship between two people and their dialogue. It is often used to establish a relationship

• Point-Of-View Shot: This shows the view from a character or subjects perspective, usually the shot is edited so the viewer is aware of who's point of view its in. 

• Over the shoulder shot: This is looking over the characters shoulder at a subject or object. The shoulder usually occupies about 1/3 of the shot and is slightly blurred due to the depth of field, but this depends on the meaning the director wishes to create; If a subject is inferior, the shoulder may take up more space. The shot is used to establish position.

• Overhead Shot: This is where the camera is positioned above the character or object being filmed, looking down at it.

• Reaction Shot: This is usually a full face shot solely aimed at showing the reaction of the character to another event or the actions of another character.

Camera Movements

camera movement isn't about the angle of the shot, its about the direction and ways in which the cameras move and ill be listing and defining some of them below.

• Pan: In a pan shot the camera pivots horizontally from either left to right or right to left to reveal a setting. This is used to give the viewer a panoramic view and its usually used to establish a scene.

• Tilt: This camera movement is similar to the 'pan' its only difference is that rather than horizontally moving from left to right it moves vertically; from high to low, vise versa.

• Track: This is a shot where the camera follows a subject or object. It can include smooth movements forwards, backwards, along the side of a subject or on a steady curve. It doesn't involve complex movement. In order to film this and give a smooth effect, the camera is put on a track that can move upward, downward and side to side.

• Crane: A crane shot is achieved by a camera being put onto a crane that can move upward and downward. it can be used to signify the beginning or end of a scene.

• Zoom: This movement is achieved by using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer or further away to and from the subject when in fact the camera itself isn't actually moving closer. This can be used for dramatic effect. The picture below shows the before and after effect of zooming into something.