Rachels Lesson
Script Writing
Today we watched opening sequences from different iconic films. They get the audience interested in the rest of the film.
Three opening scenes that appeal to me are
1. Titanic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtVyu-A3vkY
2. The Impossible - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmEkpSd1THk
3. Nowhere Boy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvL3pwdjy4k
Nowhere Boy
Character Questions
Which characters are in the scenes at the start?
In the beginning scene, John Lennon is dreaming about himself being chased by lots of girls. Then finally he is woken up by his mother. He is then later eating breakfast and his mother and father are both in the shot. They are both significant to the beginning and to the rest of the film because without those two key characters John wouldn't develop the way he did throughout the film. John has a lot of friends and is very popular with the ladies, so I think from the time he leaves the house to the time he arrives at school, his whole persona changes, he becomes a cocky, bigheaded boy, around girls he acts like nothing fazes him. He will do anything for attention.
How does the casting of particular actors influence how you see the characters?
Aaron Johnson who plays John Lennon, I think has a massive influence on how I see the character. From a girls point of view looking at Aaron, I think he is very good looking, most stereotypical 'good looking/fit' boys are the dick head type, and his character John fits in well with the stereotype, so for me he influences how I see the character.
In the film the characters in very standard 1950/60s. Mimi, Johns mother wears very dull colours to show herself as the strict not 'fun' parent. John wears the typical 1950s 'lad' outfit, but after he listen to some 'new/different' music he starts to dress more 'rocky' and this shows he isn;t afraid to be different...which is always a good thing especially in his case because he ends up becoming very famous for him being himself. Setting
Where do the scenes take place?
The scenes take place in Johns house, his school and along the roads of Liverpool. The school is very 1950s and Johns school has a lot of flower patterns on to represent and show that they are in the 1950/60s.
The film has a set order to how we see the film. It starts off with his fantasy of him running away from something and then he comes back to reality (him in bed, in his mothers house), it switches from location to location because he is travelling too school, so you see him riding his bike with friend, through the woodsey area, and the roads of Liverpool and then eventually at the school gate.
Why do the scenes take place in the locations they do an does it help to tell the story or does it distract from it?
I think the locations help to set the story more about how John lived his life and how they didn't have all the advantages that we have nowadays. There are a few scenes that have different loactions e.g. when they play there music on the back of a truck, they are in a massive field having a summer fate and by doing this, it breaks up having the same looking locations.
Mise-en-Scene
Harmonica - This was given to John by his father and he promised John that he was going to give lessons to John everyday. This signifies there love for eachother and the love the John has for music.
Glasses - Johns glasses are used, when he doesn't wear them when he leaves for school, so his auntie says 'Glasses John', this shows the relation they have, because John listens to her and puts them on an then leaves.
Lighting
How are the scenes lit? Most of the scenes are using day light. Opening of the curtains, sitting by the window, outside cycling to school. The whole opening scene is all used by natural light, so I don't think that I would changed anything about the lighting, because it is supposed to be morning and I don't think it would look right using artificial lighting to represent morning time.
Sounds and Music
The music in the opening scene is all set in that era, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and more of Johns own music, but as far as we are aware, we don't know that John is going to be a musician. The music definitely sets the mood of the film, sets it up to be a happy, jolly film.
We also had a look at other opening scenes, to see how other directors look at different aspects of putting across the setting of the film.
Action Opening - the film 'Cliffhanger' it gets straight into the action.
Character Driven - Location establishing - 'Perfume'
Backstory - dramatic music - montage of life events the film 'Up'
Music/Location - the lion king
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