Analysing Film Openings - Bend It Like Beckham

The opening scene starts with the ball flying through and the credits starts rolling through with the sound of cheer from the football match. The screen is dark so we can only hear the commentary for the first 40 seconds then it has a POV shot of what the main character is watching which is a football match. There are many close ups and group shots shown which links to the theme of football as it uses a team to play the game. Our film will probably flick between close ups of each character and group shots of them together.

We then see Jess, the main character, watching the football match in her bedroom, getting interrupted by her mum. This is shown in a  two shot and Jess becomes a little  annoyed by her mum because she interrupted her and turned of the TV while she was watching her favourite sport. Jess’ mum is seen as an angry woman wearing an Indian costume while Jess is wearing jogging bottoms and a hoodie, suggesting they do  not share the same culture. The mise-en-scene of her bedroom show how she is football crazy because she has a poster of David Beckham and all around the room there seems to be Manchester United related stuff.

This is an establishing shot because it shows how many people there are in the crowd and it gives a setting.

This is a two shot which shows the footballers tackling each other to get the ball which shows the rivalry between them.

This is a close up which shows how happy she is after scoring a goal which highlights her emotions.

This is a group shot which shows there is a relaxed discussion because two of the men are leaned back as if it’s a normal conversation.

This is a non-transparent shot because he is looking directly at the camera which gives a sense of reflecting the emotions of what the audience would have on their faces and also it gets us involved in the movie.

This is also a two shot which shows the chemistry of the mum and the daughter which obviously shown how the daughter is annoyed by the mum by switching off the television.

This shot is an over-the-shoulder shot which gives a sense at what the main character is looking at.

This is an extreme close of the poster which is so close to see the emotion and happens to have a disorientating effect on the audience, suggesting her obsession.

Titles and Credits-Bend it like Beckham

The first 6 are the production and the distribution company credits and logos. The final screenshot is the title. There are no transitions, just a simple cut that has been used. The colour scheme is black with a different font gold writing throughout. These slides just simply go through one by one without any other distractions going on. I think we need a simple colour scheme and for our credits not to disrupt the action too much. However, I don't think they should all come up at once like this. It would be better if we introduced them gradually through the sequence.

Use of Sound-Bend it like Beckham

Approximately the first 40 seconds are just the slides going through with the football commentary in the background which is an effective use of diegetic sound because it is played throughout most of the two minutes clip because it is being watched on television. Also after the game there is a use of dialogue which is used after the match when they are commentating on the game. The football match is on the background when the main character and her mother are having a conversation which gives the idea it is the background to the whole film. There is then a non-diegetic sound when the main character leaves the room.