Class Analysis of Maybe, Definitely
Titles
00-20 seconds - straight at the
beginning of the film we see Production Company’s logo at the beginning.
00:20-00:32-
the production company that is responsible for the film in question.
00:32-00:37-
spacing between different titles are not rushed and are slowed are a little
bit.
00:46-00:48-
another title introduced lasts 2 seconds.
00:59-01:01-
another introduction of the production company linked with making the film
1:41-
another title showing the directors or producers name.
1:41-1:45-
titles slowed as they go across the screen.
1:45-1:53-
the title of the movie is now shown and has been prolonged.
1:54-1:57-actor
1 is shown this is normally the main character
1:57-2:00-
another actors name is shown normally less important than the first character’s
name shown.
Mise-en-Scene
At the start of the real
footage of the film we see a formal envelope which gives the impression of a
business and sets the location of the film. The envelope also shows that it is
delivered by a messenger meaning the letter is definitely something to do with
business, on the letter we are able to see the main characters name so by 40
seconds we know where the film is located, who the main character is and that
it is business related. The envelope also has 3 names on the envelope meaning
it could come from a solicitor meaning the letter could be very important as it
has the names of three people on it.
The office is shown meaning
we are able to see that there is something business related inside the movie
and we are able to see where the main character is normally located, by the
clothes he is wearing we are able to see he belongs in the office as he is as
formal as the office looks. He is wearing a Blue Formal Shirt and Tie; this
signifies how accustomed to the office the character is. There are also
skyscrapers shown this can signify that the characters office may be located
inside the business district. He also has a pen in his hand meaning he is
working hard showing he is at his normal place of labour.
00:52- the
film becomes set up as we are able to see a divorce letter which can signify to
us that he may value his work and business over his family and can show the
characters passion for their work.
1:02- 1:06- we
see a smartly dressed woman and she signifies that there is a whole big company
and not only one office containing the main character. We also see other
co-workers walking around behind the woman this can reinforce the idea of the
character being one of the hierarchy in this business as an open-plan office
normally contains the low down the hierarchy system order and normally a one
person office is reserved for managers, CEO, Chief Executives etc.
1:23-1:34-we follow the character
from interior to exterior as the building shown can reinforce the idea of him
working in the business as most buildings are located in big grand buildings.
We also see the people and traffic that is outside and this can reinforce the
idea of a busy working day in New York
the use of the music player can signify this
1:34-1:50 - we
also see more landmarks reinforcing the idea of this movie being set in New
York City.
1:50-2:00- more
landmarks are shown to viewers again reinforcing the idea of a busy day in new
York and actually how busy working days in New York and reinforces the ideas of
how working life in New York is.
Sound
00:04-00:19
we hear the sound of the universal logo which is different as most logos have
no sound with them. The universal trademark sound is also made.
00:19-00:33-
we see the working title logo followed by a slight sound bridge which takes us
from the logos from the logos into the first scene and the sound is a discreet
background noise of murmuring which gives a feel of people talking somewhere.
00:33-00:37-
we hear footsteps coupled with the previous sound gives a sense of people
together somewhere and one is walking to see another and either talk to them or
give them something. Sounds up to now are in the world of the character and gives
us a sense of what the character is feeling
00:37-00:40-
a loud drop sound is made as a letter is dropped onto a table this draws the
attention of the audience as it can show the importance of the letter and can
gives a sense of something bad coming from the letter.
00:40-00:42- this
is a slight click of the pen which may show the character may be nervous or
bored as the letter arrives.
00:42-00:46- there
is the sound of the pen dropping this can signify the emotions of the character
and may show he is frustrated etc.
00:46-00:51-
a lot of Foley sounds are used up to this point to signify and empahizes the
scens shown the next Foley sound shown is the envelope being opened this can
give the audience a sense of intrigue of what is in the envelope.
00:51-00:58- the
character’s voice over steps in and gives us a fact about being part of the 46%
who become unhappy in marriages and this can make the audience immediately
empathise with the character as he is part of the unlucky bunch with failed
marriages.
00:58-01:06-his
co-worker tells him that he has got the Quaker oats account in a really happy
way and he is not so enthusiastic immediately giving the audience a sense of
something wrong.
01:06-01:11-
he tells us his never though he would spend his days, weeks and years working
in an advertising agency this can show that he does not like his job and is so
bored he counts the days, weeks and years that he is in his job.
01:11-01:17-he
has a resigned huff which can show he really does not like his job.
01:17-01:22-he
also says that his favourite days are when he finishes early reinforcing the
ideas of him not liking his job but also, how much he misses his daughter due
to the breakdown of his marriage.
1:22-1:33-the
background noise normally leaves as he wears his headphones.
1:33-1:38-he
accidentally plays the wrong song and this could signify how much mistakes are
made in his life.
1:38-2:00-
the perfect song he picks is very cheerful which is very contrasting to the
immediate theme that was set in the first few seconds of the opening.
Camerawork
00:39-00:41-
the first shot in the film was a
close-up of the envelope this shot is really effective because it can draw the
audience’s attention and makes them interested in the film right from the
beginning and it also gives the audience an impression of what the movie is going
to be like because of the use of an explosive close- up shot it may signify
action in the movie
00:43-00:46-
this shot is a medium close up and give us the reaction of the character to the
envelope he is about to receive this is effective for drawing in the audience’s
attention to see his reaction to the package
delivered.
00:48-00:50- in
this shot there is another close up on the envelope and the camera is tilted
upwards this can draw the audience’s attention in as they may feel something
important is within the envelope.
00:50-00:52-during
this shot we can see a close-up to the characters reaction at the sight of the
envelope this makes the audience engage with the character and immediately start
building a positive or negative relationship with him.
00:55-00:59-during
this shot there is a strong POV close-up shot and the camera starts pushing in
this is an effective opening as it draws in the audience’s attention.
01.01-During
this shot we see a master shot as this is the regular shot used within the film
opening and is used effectively in introducing the character to the audience.
01.02-1.06-
a medium close-up is shown effectively to introduce more of the character to
the audience.
01.06-01.08-there
is a medium close up and close up shown showing the audience more of the
characters and the characters emotions
01.09-01.17-we
again see the master shot and this again reintroduces us to the character and
again keeps the audience interested
01.21-01.25-an
exterior shot is shown is this part of the opening and we are able to see where
the character is located and gives the audience a sense of the characters environment
and the camera moves to the left with a pan and then becomes a tracking shot this
keeps the audience interested as the variety of camera angles can mean action
could be on the way.
01.26-01.30 –the
camera does a small arc from the one of the character’s ears to another
signifying what the character is doing
we also see a reverse angle shot which puts us in front of the character
giving us an idea of what the character is feeling after the character has left
work and how he is feeling.
01.30-01.32- there
is a low angle shot used at this point during the film which can draw the audience’s
attention into the film because it can signify the character may have a
weakness as low-angle shots are normally used to create this.
01.33-01.34-a
shot reverse-shot is used to portray his reaction to the wrong music being played
from his music player
01:34-01:35-another
shot reverse shot is used to portray the characters reactions
01:36-02:00-we
are now behind the character and we have gone into a split screen of the
character this is quite effective because it draws the audience’s attention and
they build an immediate relationship with the character.
We also have a
split-screen medium tracking shot of the character walking across the streets
of New York and we have a sense of what the day is like in New York
We also see a close-up
of his head as he walking down the street but this is used to show a grand
landmark so it is a landmarks shot and gives the audience a sense of where the
character us living.
We have another tracking
shot of the character walking across the streets of America and we also have a
foot shot of the character and a crowd shot showing how busy normal days in America
can be.
These camerawork techniques
have made the movie opening very effective because the different angles that
have been used have drawn in the audience’s immediate attention and already
have the audience building some type of relationship with the character.
