General Film Opening Research - Drama Revised 12/10/10

Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly 2009 [IMDB]

• This is a Sci-Fi, mystery thriller
• It had a budget of $4.5 million and had 58 screenings in the USA
• We begin with a black screen and an Audio bridge of music
• The music signifies horror because it is slow and low pitch
• The lighting is dark also a signifier of horror
• The first take is long which establishes the setting and creates polysemy and narrative enigma
• The protagonist Donnie is laughing and outside in his pyjamas which signifies he is phyco
• The sans serif Chinese style lettering of "Donnie Darko" appears signifying he the character we just saw is him
• The long introductory take is then juxtaposed with short takes of him riding a bike back home
• We are first introduced to his father and sister
• The music of Echo and the Bunny Men used signifies that this is aimed at an older audience
• The lighting changes to a brighter scene this is known as elliptical editing
• The town he enters is middle class a stereotypically representation of social class
• Richard Kelly is an auteur

RocknRolla by Guy Richie 2008 [IMDB]

• This is an action comedy crime
• It's budget was $18 million

• It was a co-production of Dark Castle and Warner Brothers
• We being with an audio bridge as we fad into the setting
• The logo's are branded on the walls of the set
• The audio bridge is a voice over, social class is represented stereotypically with what appears to be a tough guy signified by the fact he is shirtless and smoking a drug this is voiced over by a southern accent of an old man, the toughness is a stereotype of southern characters if using the commutation test a younger female voice was used it would signify a Rom Com not an action film
• The framing of the characters, mise en scene and use of wipe cuts signifies that this is like a comic book as the narrative comes from
• We initially only see the back of the antagonists head, his shiny shoes and his jewelry this polysemy creates narrative enigma then we see his face
• Their is an establishing shot of the building
• The disequilibrium is signified by the 2 men who can't afford to pay the money
• This would have an audience between 15-25 and male although their is no male gaze

Marley and Me by David Frankel 2008 [IMDB]

• This is a Rom Com
• Normally in rom com's there are 3 main characters and the central protagonist has to choose between the other 2 to date in this case the 3rd character is the dog
• It had a $60 million budget
• There are 40 seconds of credits this would have to be shorter in out opening
• The male voice over signifies that he is the protagonist
• The audience is mislead as the the protagonist because there is a boy on screen as we hear the voice over therefore we assume he the voice over is the boy but he's not
• We begin with a long establishing takes of the the field
• We then cut to shorter takes of the dog chasing the protagonist
• The pace of the chase is reflected by the rock music this appeals to a teenage audience
• The protagonist provides exposition in his voice over
• The next seen involves a woman in a wedding dress this appeals to the male gaze and man in a suit drinking from the bottle which signifies that they have got married and come back after the party
• They are dressed and in an elaborate setting which signifies they are upper class a stereotypical positive view of America
• This film is rated PG so is for a wide age range of audience
• In the UK it grossed £15 million