Analysing Film Openings - 27 Dresses

Analysing opening sequences – 27 Dresses

 

1. The opening shot of this film is set at a wedding, making sure we know that weddings will have a lot to do with the rest of the film. It is a mid shot which is used to show emotion but also the surroundings and from this shot it is clear that the little girl is going to be a recurring feature.



2. The next shot shows the bridesmaids and could be from the point of view of the little girl because she is clearly watching her surroundings with awe, this makes the audience feel she has a fascination with how a wedding is and how pretty it is like every other little girl. But we get the sense that it’s going to be a big part of her future.

 

3. Shot 3 is a close up shot clearly documenting a man’s emotion, this shot is important but at this moment we are not sure why. This shot also secures the audiences interest as weddings are meant to be happy occasions and we wonder why his face is portraying otherwise.



4. This shot is a mid shot and an over the shoulder angle, it shows her admiring herself in the mirror but we are positioned to see that she is slightly sad. This image gives connotations of a child imagining herself older.

5. This shot is a POV shot from the little girl’s perspective and we see the significant rip on the wedding dress as the camera angle allows it. This shot is important as the dress itself is important for the wedding to happen. As the camera work focuses so much on the dresses and the flowers we see a pattern and begin to realise that this will shape the little girl’s future.

6. This shot is a close up shot and it is significant because it shows a happy emotion on the little girl’s face as we haven’t seen very much emotion from her before.

Useful For

- establishing a character. We need to introduce our characters in turn so we need to use a mix of close ups and the character in a context so the audience gets to know them quickly.