Accident Sequence Analysis

To create narrative flow we started with a wide angle establishing shot to show the audience where the character is in the sequence is in relation to her surroundings.

Following the establishing shot, we used a close up shot to reveal more about what the girl is actually doing.

An over the shoulder shot is used so that the audience can see the action from the character's perspective. This makes the audience feel directly involved in the action.

Dialogue helps the audience understand what the protagonist is thinking. Just before the dialogue, we took an over the shoulder shot of the girl's watch which suggests that she is panicked by the time.

We used match on action between the shots when the girl realises that she is in a hurry and the shot where we see her footsteps approaching the camera to show the action from two perspectives.

The close up of the girl's feet running towards the camera puts the audience right into the action.

The sequence finishes with a mid shot of the girl's body lying on the floor. Just before this happens, a sound is heard which leaves the audience wondering what happened. The shot of the girl on the floor creates continuity as it reveals to the audience that the girl has probably tripped over something whilst running and has injured herself.

From shot 2 to shot 3 we seem to break the 30 degree rule. It is important to consider the 30 degree rule as it creates continuity by preventing the audience from confusion.

Opening Scene Continuity Analysis

"Crazy, Stupid, Love" Continuity Analysis

• The opening scene begins with an over the shoulder shot to show the scene from one of the characters' point of view. This makes the audience feel involved in the scene.
• The scene then cuts to a reaction shot to show the husband's reaction to his wife's proposal of a divorce.
• Shot-reverse-shot then follows, showing the conversation between the two people from each point of view, placing the audience in the action. Each of these shots is a close up to show emotion.
• Cross cutting is used to demonstrate how two scenes are happening simultaneously; the couple at the restaurant and two girls running around a house.
• At the house, the camera follows the older girl picking up a photo. The girl looks down at the photo in her hands however the audience cannot see what she is looking at. It then cuts to the photo to reveal what the photo in her hands is showing. The shot is a POV shot to put the audience exactly what the girl is seeing/doing. 
• More cross cutting is used to show the couple from the dinner scene driving in a car, showing how time has passed since the scene at the restaurant.
• An extreme close-up is used to show the husband's blank expression.
• In the car scene, shot-reverse-shot is used to show the husband from the wife's perspective and the wife from the husband's perspective. This reveals to the audience how the husband seems emotionless and blank whereas the wife seems agitated.
• Cross cutting is used once again to cut to the scene at the house reiterate how the two scenes are occurring simultaneously.
• Match on action is used as the girl opens the door to the boy's room to show the same action from two points of view; outside the bedroom and inside the bedroom.
• The clip then cuts back to the scene of the couple in the car and a mid shot is used to show where the two characters are seated in perspective to each other.
• Whilst the car is moving, the husband unbuckles his seatbelt, opens the car door and rolls out of the car. In the same shot, the camera arcs to show a reaction shot of the wife's reaction to her husbands rash decision.
• Throughout the clip, neither the 180 degree rule nor the 30 degree rule are broken. This ensures that there is a constant sense of direction and no jumps throughout the sequence.

Opening Scene Analysis

Breakfast at Tiffany's Opening Scene Analysis

• The opening sequence begins with a relaxing, romantic soundtrack. This indicates to the audience that the film's genre is romance. 
• From the woman's appearance we can infer that this film is probably set in the 50s or 60s.
• The first shot used is a wide angle establishing shot which allows the audience to discover that the scene is set in New York. The audience knows this because we see a yellow taxi approaching from the background into the foreground and New York is famous for their yellow taxis. Other than the taxi, there are no cars or people on the street which suggests that the scene is set at a time when few people are out. Due to the scene being naturally lit, we can infer that the scene is set in the early hours of the morning.
• We are introduced to the protagonist, a young woman dressed in a black ball gown, within the first 30 seconds of the opening sequence. From this point onwards, each shot is linked chronologically by the movement of this character in each shot from when she steps out of the taxi to when she reaches what appears to be her house.
• An over the shoulder, low angle shot is used to show the protagonist peering up to a sign which reads "Tiffany's". This gives the audience an insight into her lifestyle as Tiffany's is an expensive jewellers which implies that she is most likely wealthy. 
• It appears as though the main character is coming back from a formal event as she is wearing a black ball gown, a prominent pearl necklace, long black gloves, sunglasses and her hair is in a formal 'up do'. We know that she is coming back from, rather than going to, a formal event as the scene is set in the morning which suggests that she has been out all night.
• The audience are given little information about what the film entails. It is made clear that the film is set in New York and that the protagonist is a young, most likely wealthy woman who likes Tiffany's jewellery and attending evening functions.
• We are only introduced to two characters in the opening sequence; the protagonist and a man waiting in a car in front of her house. The protagonist seems to be hiding from this man however the audience are not told who the man is and why she is hiding from him. At the beginning of the movie we expect to discover the identity of this man and what his relation to the protagonist is.

Still Analysis

Photo Analysis



We were given the task to create a film still to correspond with a particular genre. The genre which this still fits into is horror. This shot shows a girl crouching in the corner of a basement as the silhouette of what appears to be a hand approaches her.

What we did to achieve this still
The shot is a high angle shot looking down on the girl. We used this shot to try and create the feeling that the girl is in a vulnerable position to go with the horror genre. We chose to use the cellar as the set for our shot because cellars have very eerie, haunting connotations which fit in well with the genre. Using a small light, we back-lit the hand so that it's silhouette was projected onto the wall. We positioned the light at a distance from the hand so that it appeared bigger than it actually was to create a dominating, intimidating presence.

The girl in this shot is in a position which makes her as small as possible. This gives off the effect that she is scared and attempting to stay hidden from the approaching presence. The girl is crouched beneath the hand which gives the hand a position of power which further adds to the effect that the girl is a helpless victim. Often in horror films the victim is in a position of 'no escape' so to create this feeling we positioned the girl in the corner of the room.

What is successful?
The use of light is really successful in this shot as it makes the hand stand out and appear very haunting. The cellar is a good location choice as in creates the feeling that there is no escape which really fits in with the genre.

What could be improved?
The girl in this still should be slightly more prominent. We could do this by adding a little more light to the shot or focusing the camera on her. Also, I think we should have moved the ladder out of the shot as it detracts attention from the main focus of the still.