Opening sequence 'Delicatessen' analysis incomplete

link to opening sequence

'Delicatessen' (1991) is a French, black comedy movie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. It tells the story of a a landlord, the butcher, who murders his guests and sells their meat to the market.

The opening sequence uses a wide shot with a pan movement to establish the location.
The usage of this specific shot creates a smooth camera movement and allows the audience to analyse the eerie scenery of abandoned buildings. The Director further reinforces a mysterious atmosphere with diegetic sound and low-key lighting. The low-key lighting introduces tones of ochres/yellows to create a dusty, apocalyptic feel. The diegetic soundtrack...

The scene transitions with a fade to a buildings- focusing the audience on this building suggests this is where the action will occur. Multiple subtle fade in are used to move closer to the door. 

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Notes-

bell ring as door open

camera at a low level 

knife being sharpened sound

fade in as transitions 

kitchen location 

man sharpening his knife

condition of knife- musty, dirty looking

character's costume- chef/butcher costume- apron is dirty, bloody

contrast to knife that is clean, shiny silver

bad connotations

camera-pan movement 

looks up to introduce character- serious expression

camera moves past him to wall with hole

sound becomes/turns into echo of sounds

soundtrack is introduced again 
dark lighting then becomes clearer that they're inside the tunnel

slow paced montage of tubes, tunnels, etc.

interesting composition 

slightly low angled extreme closeup shot of a new character

facial expression, eyes wandering, sweating, etc- shows distress
diegetic sounds of knife sharpening to show he is paying attention to what the other character is doing

cut to closeup of lower body part of other man sharpening his knife

cut back to extreme closeup of man taping his arm with paper? action yet unclear

mid-shot of character's clothing- armour- protective 

extreme closeup on distressed face

diegetic sound of car honking calls the attention 

closeup of man's side profile looking out a window- newspaper covering windows 

cut back to man whose doing the actions stops when honks

cut to wide shot of outside

yellowish fog becomes more, unable to see the view- only lights of car are clear

closeup on stressed character- takes deep breath and places a paper bag on head

another interesting composition- high angle shot of looking down on stairs as man walks down

closeup of butcher stroking his knife and puts it down

back to outside men step out of the truck, action of picking up trash suggest their collecting garbage, their job.

closeup on garbage can opening reveals the character's intentions of escaping

cuts to butcher who appears to not notice, relaxed, smoking

low angled wide shot shows collector about to take the can away, butcher throws cigarette that burns him- makes a shriek in pain

cuts to extreme closeup of man inside the bin- his eyes wandering 

bell rings- informing the audience that he is back inside 

stops moving- tension

POV shot of him looking out- scared of reflection 

interesting composition- high angle, wide of chef holding knife and laughing 

cut to low angled shot of man screaming 

showing the superiority and inferiority 

Sound Analysis of Saving Private Ryan Scene 'Omaha Beach landing'

'Omaha Beach' scene

Watching scene without sound Predictions:

• Waves crashing, ocean- loud, aggressive. 
• Moving around, metal cans. Motor? boat. 
• Dialogue. 
• Vomiting. 
• Bombs? Bullets, shotguns, machine guns. 
• Men screaming. 
• Faint sound -underwater? silent. 
• Bullet going through water, hitting metal. 
• Underwater again -noises become faint. 

Watching scene with sound: Sounds heard:

• Waves crashing against boat. 
• Man opening metal water bottle. 
• Boat motor. 
• Men throwing up on the floor. 
• Dialogue Airplanes flying. 
• Bombs, explosives. 
• Faint prayer from a soldier. 
• Whistling noise. 
• Stirring of wheel. 
• Bullets, gunshots -machine guns. 
• Bodies hitting the floor. 
• Metal clanging. 
• Underwater- muffled noise of bullets, etc. 
• People moving around the water. 
• Muffled noise- as if underwater.

Analysis of sound in the scene:

The scene begins with a shot of the tide slowly hitting the short. The diegetic sound creates a calming and peaceful atmosphere. This creates a contrast to the following scene as it cross cuts to deeper in the ocean where the waves crash against the boats in a quite aggressive manner. The sound of the ocean waves fades to direct the audience's attention on the soldiers. Only diegetic sounds are currently as nothing has happened as well as to maintain the scene realistic and in some way tense as the silence is worrying. Diegetic sounds such as the metal bottle clanging against the soldier's hand, the faint sound boat motor and waves crashing are used to reinforce the idea the soldiers are in a boat.



Further along the scene, the audience hears soldiers getting sick and vomiting. The atmosphere and tone of the scene becomes more chaotic and tense. As dialogue is introduced between the characters, the other diegetic sounds increase in volume. The sound of explosives and bombs are also introduced. These are asynchronous sounds as they are are separate from the action, meaning the audience can't see the actual bombs as the camera is focused on the soldiers' expression. However the combination of these loud noises create a chaotic atmosphere. Despite the loud noises in the background, pleonastic sounds such as the metal necklace clinging against the man as he holds it is used to further reinforce the idea the focus is on the soldiers.




The scene develops when the focus changes to a more general view of the action. A loud whistling noise and stirring of the boat's wheel is another use of pleonastic sound to show what is currently happening in the boat. A loud sound effects of gunshots and bullets passing by and clanging against the metal, are introduced in a loud volume that enables us from hearing the other diegetic sounds. The sound effect of a machine gun and men screaming can also be heard which adds on to the chaotic and dangerous atmosphere. These loud noises fade as the men jump inside the water. To create the effect the soldiers are in the water, the sounds are edited to muffled noises in order to maintain the scene realistic. Once the soldiers go back up, the previous loud sounds are added once again to bring us back to the war zone. In my personal opinion the overall intention of the Director is to show the audience is a key component in the film, as the previous scene I've analyzed, and how the use of sound is important to set the mood, tone and atmosphere of the action taking place. The use of sound also enhances the audience's emotional experience, making them feel an emotional connection with the film and especially characters.

Sound Analysis of Kill Bill Vol II, Scene 'Beatrix burried'

'Beatrix buried' scene

Watching scene without sound Predictions:

• Dramatic music- high pitched sounds, slow paced, etc. 
• Sound of the coffin closed shut. 
• Nails being hammered into the coffin- banging noises. 
• Woman struggling -heavy breathing, crying, screaming? 
• Dirt falling on the coffin, digging coffin. 
• Silence? 
• Banging noises as she bangs the door. 

Watching scene with sound Sounds heard:

• Dramatic music-high pitched, cowboy like music. 
• Coffin closed shut. 
• Nails hammered into coffin- banging noises. 
• Woman struggling- heavy breathing. 
• Brief silence. 
• Coffin being moved, rustling noises. 
• Sounds from outside became more faint -to show the deepness of the coffin. 
• Silence. 
• Loud banging noises -dirt being thrown. 
• Woman banging against the coffin -show the struggle and desperation. 

Sound Analysis:

The scene begins with a shot of a woman getting closed in a coffin. Immediately non diegetic, background music is introduced. The music sound like an old western type of music The choice of music doesn't in my opinion create a specific mood however it is parallel to the action as we see hints of western tradition by looking at the character's costume such as the woman's cowboy-like boots and the men's hats. Mostly diegetic sounds are used throughout the scene however it is mostly asynchronous as it is separate from the action, meaning the audience doesn't see the sounds taking place along with the action. We see the first few actions of the coffin getting closed and the irons being hammered into the coffin. 

Once the coffin is completely shut and the woman is left in the dark, the non diegetic, background music stops. By not only cutting the music but making the screen dark, the Director is informing us that the main focus should be on the following sounds. Therefore the sounds used are asynchronous as they are separate from the following action taking place. At first we can also hear the woman's heavy breaths. After brief moment the audience can hear a dragging noise, the volume isn't as loud in order for the audience to feel as if they are in the actual coffin. We hear three or four dragging noise with a short break to make it realistic. The sound grows louder with a creaking noise followed by a banging one and the woman's groan to represent the coffin being placed in a hole. Another pause of silence is used followed by an even louder banging noise to scare the audience as it did to myself. The loud noise continues always with a short break between. The grain-like sounds hitting the wooden coffin is used to create the sound of the dirt being thrown. This sound continues on until it fades and decreases in volume. The Director does this to show how deep in the ground the woman is and build up the tension and create an uncomfortable feeling to the audience watching. The woman continues to groan and scream to show her desperation, along with banging her foot against the sides of the coffin. The overall intention of this scene was to build tension and inform the audience what is currently happening through the use of sound only.

Sound

Sound Definitions:

Sound bridge: A common type of sound editing that can lead in and out of scenes.


Pleonastic sound: Use of exaggerated sound is a techniques also known as 'Foley Sound'. E.g. Footsteps, or doors creaking open sounds are edited louder than the normal sound would be.


Parallel sound: Sounds that match with the scene. E.g. A happy scene will have an upbeat, cheerful music/ sounds that connote with the feeling of happiness.


Contrapuntal sound: Opposite sound editing technique where the sounds do not match the scene. Used to create a disorientating effect on the audience. E.g. Opening sequence scene of the 'The Shining'. The opening sequence starts with shots of a beautiful scenery while eerie background music.


Sound can synchronous or asynchronous. 

Synchronous: sound caused by some event on screen therefore matches with action. 

Asynchronous: sound separate from action, such as voiceover or dialogue.

Camera, Editing, Sound, Mise en scene - What I've learned so far

Throughout these past few weeks I've learned a lot of areas that must be covered in order to properly analyse any film or TV drama extracts.

Camera
Shot types-

• Establishing shot- to establish usually the location/set where the action takes place. 
• Closeup shot- to focus and increase attention on a specific thing. 
• Extreme closeup shot- same purpose to a 'closeup shot'. 
• Mid-shot- shows the general action. 
• Wide shot- broader shot to show more of the set, etc. 
• Shot, reverse shot- usually used to show a conversation or reaction between two characters. 
• Point of view shot- used to show what the character sees through their own eyes. 
• Aerial shot- shot from high or above the action. 
• High angle shot- shot looks down on an action. 
• Low angle shot- shot looks up at an action. 
• Over the shoulder shot- shot where camera faces a character behind another character. 

Movement-

• Pan- shot that moves steadily across the action. 
• Tilt- when the camera looks up/down. 
• Track/dolly- shot filmed from fixed track camera. 
• Zoom/ reverse zoom- when the camera gets close or moves away from the action. 
• Crab- movement on the horizontal (left or right) 
• Crane- camera fixed on crane so it can move dramatically up or down. 
• Handheld- camera filmed by a person, shaky movement. 
• Position- the distance between the camera and the subject/object. 

Composition (Depth of field)- Refers to the focal length. A frame that shows everything sharp, or in focus is called 'deep focus'. When a particular part of the frame is picked out and the rest is blurred, the term for that is called a 'selective focus'. When the focal point changes within the frame it's called 'pull/rack focus'.

Editing- The process of cutting and assembling film footage.

Functions of editing: connects action together. maintain rhythm and pace. elimination of dead time.

• What is the pace of the sequence? 
• How does the pace affect the sequence? 
• How does the editing distribute narrative information 
• Transition- process of cutting one shot to another. 

• Straight cut
• Fade to black
• Wipe
• Cross fade 

Shot Duration- the duration of a shot reflects the narrative context.

• Short shot duration usually conveys action and urgency. 
• Long shot duration conveys intensity and intimacy. 

Sound
"Sound is used to create a more involving and believable narrative."

• Diegetic- any sound that the characters in the film would hear. e.g. 
• Dialogue- speech. 
• Sound effects- footsteps, gun shots, etc. 
• Ambient sound- background noise, wind, traffic, etc. 
• Non-diegetic- sound that is added to create a certain mood or tone, which characters can't hear.
• Music- ominous music 

Mise en Scene French term -means 'everything in the scene'

• Setting and location 
• Props 
• Costume
• Performance and movement

Performance and movement -refers to actors and their physical performance

• Facial expression
• Gaze
• Posture
• Gesture
• Body contact (proxemics)
• Appearance
• Spatial behaviour

Opening title sequence analysis- 'Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2'

This is the opening sequence to the movie 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2', produced by Marvel Studios. The movie is a sequel to 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and tells the story of the main character, Quill and his long lost family. 

link to opening scene

The opening sequence starts with a closeup shot of one of the main characters, Baby Groot, standing in front of two speakers, attempting to set up the music. In the background we see a blurred image of a fight taking place. The use selective focus informs the audience that they should pay attention to Baby Groot. The fact that the exciting fight isn't the main focus immediately adds a comedic element to the film. Near Baby Groot, credits are placed briefly, announcing the production company and the director. The letters are medium sized, neon blue. The choice of color connotes to space and future, which links to the main theme of the film. Faint sounds of the fight can be heard in the background until Groot is finally able to plug in the two wires together.

The song 'Mr Blue Sky' by Electric Light Orchestra' starts playing. The upbeat, happy music creates a pleasant atmosphere as well as contrasts to the action taking place in the background which continues to add humor to the scene. The music increases slightly in volume until a freeze image is used. The music becomes a non diegetic sound during the freeze scene. Like in the movie 'Sexy Beast', the freeze image includes a bright and bold title as well as a funny freeze position from the character Groot. The title takes up most of the space in the shot and is written in a matching font from the previous ones. As the image unfreezes, the camera slowly shifts using a crab movement, to show Baby Groot as he begins to dance and walk forward. 

The Director continues to use a closeup shot with a selective focus on the character. Behind him we are still able to see the fight and buildings exploding. A giant wheel in flames rolls out of the shot. The chaotic scenery... The camera then zooms out to a wide shot to show Groot jumping on the spot, as one of guardians, Quill, is seen being thrown to the floor near him. By the body gesture and posture of the guardian it shows the audience he seems exhausted. The guardian notices Groot and calls out for him. In that split second the monster's tentacles push him out of the shot. As this action is taking place our attention goes back Baby Groot who continues to happily dance, clueless of what is happening. The camera once again closes up on Groot as he walks around the "battle field". The camera follows him around, showing one of the guardians in the background as he is being repeatedly thrown to the ground by the monster. The camera continues to track the character's actions until it stops in a wide shot. A sharp focus is used to shows one of the guardians in the background. The guardian warns Groot to step away and he replies with an innocent wave. The character's clueless actions convey the innocence and continue to make the sequence comedic.

Analysis of two past Hurtwood opening title sequences- 'Alibi' and 'Death List'

'Alibi' is one of Hurtwood's past opening title sequences. The opening sequence starts with an over the shoulder shot of man, hiding a woman's body in the back of a car. Initially the set is unknown as all we see in the shot is the back of a car, however by the use of the diegetic sound of a train passing by, it informs us that the action takes place somewhere outside, near a train station. The lighting also indicates that it is nighttime since it's very dark. A faint red light is used for us to be able to see the occurring action. The choice of the colour red gives us connotation of danger and death. 

As the man closes the back door, a straight cut is used to transition to a black screen. Immediately by this initial bit we are informed the genre of the sequence is a thriller. The opening credits introducing the production company and director are placed in the middle of the shot in small white letters. The title 'Alibi' is put in slightly bigger letters and in a matching font. During the opening credits, the sound of the train can still be heard. A fade is used to transition to a high angled shot of a simple room with a table and two chairs. In the room a man is sitting down on his phone while another takes a seat in front of him and places a file down. A black and white filter is used to perhaps represent a security camera. 

An extreme closeup shot of the man's phone is used. We see him check a location on google maps. The extreme closeup shot is used to focus and increase attention on what he is doing. As this shot is used the lighting goes back to normal. 

Dialogue is introduced and the audience is now aware that this is an investigation on a missing girl and the character who was previously on his phone is being interrogated by a detective. The audience also makes a connection as the missing girl is the one from the initial scene of the car. Throughout the conversation shot, reverse shot is used along with some closeup on the man in order to focus on his facial expressions. 

A cross cut is used as we see another action take place. It shows a series of short paced shots of the man driving the woman somewhere. The lighting used is similar to the one in the initial scene to represent this took place in the past, when the event took place. The set is very dark but flashes of orange/red lights passing by show the two characters. The reason for the lights passing by is to convey the car is moving. A voice over is used during the action where the man denies having seen her that night despite the fact the audience is seeing a flashback that proves the opposite. 

Another cross cut is used, taking us to a different set. Again the place is dark but neon lights placed around the corner of tables makes us able to see the occurring action taking place. By the set up the audience can tell the action takes places in a bar. A diegetic sound is used, in the background a calm music plays which creates a pleasant mood. There is a short scene of two characters, the missing girl and a bartender talking briefly. By the character's facial expressions and body language, it suggests that they may fancy each other in some way. 

 

Cross cut back to the present, a closeup shot is used to show a new suspect being interrogated, the bartender. Like the previous man, he lies about having seen her before she went missing. Sound is used effectively in this scene as whenever the action would cross cut back to the bar, the faint music would be added in a way that makes it realistic and well done. A closeup on the detective's face is shot asking a question. As the camera turns back another character is introduced. This is to show the detective asks all the possible suspects the same series of questions as they would in a real investigation. The new character is said to be the missing girl's husband which gives leaves the audience confused to why did she seem so interested in the bartender in the previous scene. It also leaves them clueless on who to believe due to the many lies told throughout the sequence. A series of short clips are played of extremes closeups of his face and shots of the girl in the bar. The sequence finally ends with a mid-shot of the husband reading a book with his child, followed by an extreme closeup shot of the husband's face as he looks over to see who opened the door, leaving the sequence end on a cliffhanger.

link to sequence

The second Hurtwood opening title sequence is called 'Death List' The opening sequence starts off with a black screen where the opening credits are introduced. In the background a diegetic sound is played as we hear a male's voice humming. We can also hear sound of birds chirping outside which might be a non diegetic sound. A straight cut is used revealing an extreme closeup shot of the tip of a pool stick. It then transitions to a mid-shot of a fairly looking man with a colorful red shirt and combed hair. The title 'Death List' is placed right next to him. As the man begins to speak, he makes direct eye contact with the camera, breaking the fourth wall. 

The camera slowly zooms out to a wide shot as the man prepares to take a first shot. As he hits the ball, an extreme closeup is used to shows the balls moving around before moving back to a wide shot. The conversation and action taking place seems to be fairly normal however still quite strange as we can't predict what's about to happen. The man then walks to the other side of the table, as he is halfway he jumps for some reason the audience can't understand. He continues to speak normally and the camera uses a crab movement to subtly follow him around as he plays. 

Once again, the man walks to the other side and jumps. As he jumps the scene cross cuts to a closeup shot filmed underneath the pool table. Underneath lays a dead woman's body, finally informing the audience the reason why he kept jumping. The sequence seems to take a dark turn and the peaceful silence becomes eerie and dangerous. 

The man carries on with his monologue and a variation of mid-shots to closeup shots are used throughout it. Another cross cut is used to take us to a new place. A mid-shot shows the man sitting down in a wheel chair with a blanket on his lap. The change of costume suggests the following action takes place in another day. The usage of the wheel chair leaves the audience suspicious as it is quite unusual since the man was seen walking perfectly fine in the previous clips. Still using a mid-shot, the man pulls out of the blanket a gun. As he begins talking an extreme closeup shot is used to show him placing bullets inside the gun. Diegetic sounds of the bullets entering the gun can be heard. 

A closeup shot on the man's face is then used and in the background we see a blurred image of a young woman walking up the stairs, towards the man. The use of selective focus is so the audience's attention remains on the man and what he is speaking but still to see the lady getting closer to build up tension. As she gets closer we can foreshadow what's about to happen. Once the lady passes by, the man's facial expression changes to a softer one and innocent. The sequence then ends on a low angle shot showing the man pointing the gun at the woman's face and another straight cut is used to a black screen as the sound of the gun being shoot can be heard. 

The sequences were both really good and enjoyable, they both had me really tense as the scenes escalated. I personally think shooting an opening sequence in a studio indoors is far easier than shooting outdoors because you have more control and don't have to worry about time. In terms of lighting, despite shooting outdoors gives the film more credibility, you have a lack of control in, the sun could suddenly be covered in clouds during the shooting or it could start raining. Shooting indoors, you get to create exactly the lighting you want using professional equipment.

link to sequence