Openings

VANILLA SKY
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Produced by Cameron Crowe, Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Budget was $68 000 000

• The bird’s eye view shots of NYC are an example of anchorage. They give us a setting and a time period, they also give us the impression that we are an all seeing power, a theme that occurs later on.  The use of ambient sounds gives the appearance of normality and also shows us how busy the city is.
•  One camera shot pans around the room and takes in the setting. The moving television and expensive furniture is an example of how mise en scene can give us some back story; he is well off and leads an easy life, this is reinforced by the relaxed soundtrack.
•  As he reaches empty Time Square, the music fades back in and a close up shot shows us how confused he is. There are lots of panning shots and as he starts to run, the music builds up and the shot zooms out to an extreme long crane shot to confirm that he is all alone.
• The voice over tells us that this is in the past. Confirms that it was a dream and introduces the theme of the movie. Also introduces the shrink which tells the audience that something bad happens.
• Vanilla Sky is aimed at everyone over the age of 15. However, due to the amount of symbolism it may attract a more analytical audience. It was advertised with posters and trailers  however it received many very good reviews so on the weekend it was released, it made a total of $25 015 518. 

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MEMENTO


Directed by Christopher Nolan
Produced by Jennifer and Suzanne Todd
Budget was $5 000 000

• The music is very melancholy and low key which sets the tone for the film. The first camera shot is a very close up that is one continuous shot for 1.15 minutes. The only object in this shot is the photograph, the nature of which is very disturbing and leads the audience to wonder what sort of man would take such a photograph. It also tells the audience that this film may have a fair amount of violence in it.
• The fact that the opening has been played in reverse is done very subtly so that it takes a while before the audience realise and it comes as a surprise. After the first shot, the pace of the piece increases very quickly and is over in a matter of seconds. The effect that this has is that it leaves the entire back story in the dark so no hints about the characters or how they came to be there are given away – this is a very effective suspense builder.
•   The only ambient sounds in this piece are the noise of the camera shutter, the character waving the Polaroid and the noises of the bullet, gun and victim. This gives the sense that nothing else matters at that moment other than the actions of these two people.

Again, the film is rated 15 so anyone over this age is permitted to watch it, but because of the unusual nature of it (storyline is backwards, cuts to present day at different points) it attracted a huge variety of fans such as film boffs, people who like the ‘whodunnit’ genre, people who like the action aspect etc. Because it was considered a yardstick by many in film making, it caused a lot of hype and was advertised on television by trailers, on the sides of buses and on bill boards. It got fantastic reviews and therefore was a massive hit in cinemas. 

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SHAUN OF THE DEAD


Directed by Edgar Wright
Produced by Nira Park
Budget was $4 000 000

·         A comedic effect is achieved in this piece by likening the population of Britain and therefore the audience to zombies. Each camera shot lasts nearly exactly seven seconds and moves to the right giving the effect that it is panning across all of Britain taking in the stereotypes (head banging youths, business men by the bus stop) and showing how fundamentally, we are all exactly the same. The fact that everyone is moving in unison in each shot and that each shot is uniform is presenting the statement that we have all lost our souls through routine.

·         On the surface, this is amusing because it is making fun of ourselves and creating stereotypes. The soundtrack emphasizes this and adds to the comedy because it seems slightly out of place. However, the odd, playground style melody has an eerie quality to it that relates this piece to many other classic zombie pieces.

·         The only diegetic noises in this scene are those created by the two men and the game they are playing. This gives the characters significance.

This was a fairly low budget film compared to the other two but it makes light of this by overdoing to gore scenes so that they become unrealistic and comedic. Like the other two films, it was advertised in the standard way, using trailers and posters. However, because it was nothing out of the ordinary and because Simon Pegg was not yet well known, it did not cause lots of excitement until after it had been released although it did receive many good reviews. Initially, it was aimed at the whole zombie/comedy loving population mainly made up of young men and teenagers. But, due to Pegg’s endless amount of references to other films, it attracted the attention of many serious film boffs and he is now known to have a vast knowledge of film.