Wednesday, 4 February 2009

Wednesday 4th Febraury 2008 Yazzmin Ferguson-Dillon

RESEARCH OF DIFFERENT GENRES

In class, we looked at a variety of opening sequences showing different genres.The first opening sequence we looked at was taken from the DVD Seven (1995).

It is an American crime thriller starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt. It was easy to identify that this was a crime film within a few seconds of it starting. Many of the conventions of a crime film were included in this opening sequence so the audience would immediately be able to recognise which genre it fitted into.

Clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l31X8rKCtak

Opening sequence of Seven:

  • Dark setting- dull lighting in the kitchen,

  • He picks up his badge- we can tell that he is a policeman/detective,there is a pen knife

  • Beside it,we see a dead body lying on the floor-blood,

  • Costume-Morgan Freeman is wearing a 'detective' hat suit and jacket, Brad Pitt is wearing similar clothing-suit and tie.

  • The bad weather-raining and gloomy contributes to the crime thriller atmosphere

  • Close up shots of the criminal reveal that this film will have a sinister plot,

  • Flashing titles,quick cross cutting emphasises and creates suspense and tension.
We also looked at a variety of other opening sequences which genres included: comedy, sci-fi,war and horror. Our group were given the task of researching gangster conventions and finding a suitable opening sequence that would fit into the conventions for a gangster film. The film that we chose to analyse the opening sequence was Snatch.


The clips of the opening sequences that we watched are as follows:








I have decided to research the conventions of comedy films. Below, I have included examples of some comedy films and given a brief analysis for the opening sequence for the film AceVentura: Pet Detective.

Comedy Conventions

Definition: A type of film where humour is intended. There are many different sub genres of comedy which include romantic, action, fantasy, sci-fi and military.

Examples of sub genres in comedy films:

• Romantic comedies:


Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

• Action comedies:


• Fantasy comedies:



• Sci-fi :




Analysis of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective


The opening sequence that we looked at from the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was an example of an action comedy.It stars Jim Carey,an actor who we would usually associate in comedy films so the opening sequence is expected to generate laughter from the audience.

It begins with an extreme close up shot of his shoes walking along the pavement and the titles begin to show.The camera pans up from the feet upwards to show the body of the main characrer which is Jim Carey. His character is a delivery man and you can easily see this from his costume. He is wearing a brown uniform that has a badge above the left breast pocket Then some lively music starts to play and this contributes to the comedy.
The mise en scene shows a sunny location as there are plam trees and a bright yellow apartment block. The medium shot of Carey throwing a parcel in the air while walking down the road tells us that his character is not a serious one. The title of the movie appears after a long shot of Carey still walking along the pavement. The long shots show him doing cartwheels along the pavement and running the parcel along a wall clearly with the intention to destroy it. His behaviuor causes an elderly man to stare at him in bewilderment a cut a way shot reveals his shocked reaction.



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