Analysing Film Openings - Fun with Dick and Jane

'Fun with Dick and Jane' – Scene Summary

 The scene fades in from the titles to a painted drawing which then turns into an establishing shot showing us that it is a drive way with perfect houses and good looking front gardens. This could lead us to assume that this is a wealthy community. It could also suggest that it is summer. The drive way could be a busy one, because we see a car pass by in the establishing shot.

The first character is introduced by a close up. It is a long close up which allows the audience to see the character's emotion and to create a memory of the character. He looks confused at the beginning, but his actions shows that he is an active/charismatic character. He is dressed smartly with a tie and a blazer. This emphasises his class and his personality. His sunglasses makes his face stands out and more expressively. There is lot of day light and sunshine on his face which shows that it could be an early morning. He opens a monologue while he drives. The way he talks presents his personality and sounds normal (not posh, or informal).

 When he drives he ignores the colour light which could tell us that he is rash and we see an aerial shot of the car when he drives through the camera light. The photo adds humour to the film by emphasising the action. In the group shot we see lot of people dressed smartly and well presented. And the character we met earlier is leading the way, giving a presentation. This could reveal more about his career. 

 We are introduced to the other main character through a two shot. The use of the two shot could tell us that she is not as important as the first character or that her relationship with him is the most important thing. She is also smartly dressed. Her temper could tell us that she is doing a stressful job at work. We see her again at home cutting vegetables while talking on the phone and looking after the child. In both scenes she is very busy and the focus is on her. We are then introduced to their child. He is wearing a blue shirt with shorts. The lighting was very bright which could show happiness (usually bright light represents something good).  

The opening establishing shot gives us knowledge of which year and the time of year. The area looks like a wealthy one.



The close up shows his facial expressions. He looks confused. It is a long close up to establish the main character.



Character's name is introduced with big bold letters on the screen. It is a paused image which shows us that he is a very active person.

In this group shot we can see what sort of job he does. They all are smartly dressed and in a building which looks very classy.

In this two shot we are introduced to another character. She looks very busy. She is also smartly dressed, which could tell us that she has a good job.

Here we are introduced to another character which seems to be their son. He also looks confused.

Deep focus shot. This shows how busy she is and she is multitasking.

  

These are the only two titles we see during the extract. These two are production and distribution company credits and logos. The title of the film is not yet established. This means that all the events are leading towards the introduction of the title.

 Use of Sound

Colombia pictures logo appears with their own music and their classic/non-edited logo (to suit the film in any way). Then the Imagine Entertainment logo follows with their own music. The background is black. Not much about the film is revealed from the logos or the music used in them.

 Then happy/excited feeling non-diegetic  music follows with some diegetic sounds of dog barking and the door opening etc. Piano music adds excitement to the extract. Then the voiceover appears which adds humour to the extract. The piano music keeps playing in the background. We are introduced to the other character who was talking on the phone and seems to be very busy. The same character appears to be cooking later on and feeling of  business/restlessness is emphasised from music and non-diegetic sounds.  

 The music used creates a happy feeling and it feels very entertaining. There are lot of non-diegetic sounds alongside the music track. Music begins just after the end of titles and stays there for the whole of first two minutes. During the two minutes, we were introduced to three characters and given good knowledge of two characters. During the two minutes we can recognise that they are a well established, busy family. The genre is established straight away.