J.Cork - Analyzing An Opening Sequence

I have chosen to analyze the opening of “The Borne Identity” (Greengrass, 2002). It is an example of a thriller film, that is in the same kind of style that we will aspire to achieve, when we are creating our own film opening.

Genre

1. The films belongs to the action/adventure thriller genre.
2. The audience’s expectations for this genre are upheld by the opening sequence because they are immediately subjected to strange occurrences, such as the dead body floating in the water. The dark shots of the sea in the rain are also typical of this genre, as they connote bad things happening, this is an example of pathetic fallacy being used within the film. However the audience would not be wrong to expect an action scene, filled with violence and shooting in the opening sequence. In this way the film’s opening does not conform to the audience’s expectations of the genre.
3. Within the opening sequence of this film, the audience is not actually introduced to any of the main characters. This is done so that suspense can be created, as the audience are wondering who the dead body is, and how what they are seeing will relate to the rest of the film.

Film Language

1. Mise-en-scene is used to convey meaning within the opening sequence in many different ways. One of these is that the shots are very dark. The film opens with an establishing shot of a fishing boat in the middle of the sea. The wether is very stormy and there is think cloud cover making the scene very dark. This makes the audience feel that something bad/dangerous is doing to happen, as it always does when the weather is very bad. Another way that mise-en-scene is used in the opening is to show that the people on the fishing boat are friendly men. When we see them playing cards their body language is friendly and we see that they are having a laugh with one another. This is needed so that when they find the man in the water later on in the scene, we know hat they will treat the man well.
2. Camera techniques are also used to show various things in the opening of this film. One of the things that they are used for is to show the severity of the storm. The camera seems to be using a wide-angle lens so that the audience can see just how big the storm is, and show how rough the seas are. The camera is also positioned under the water when we first see the outline of the body under the water. This shot is framed so that there is lots of water all around the body (its a LS), and this gives the impression that the man is very small in comparison to the sea that he is drifting in. We also get a shot-reaction shot when the man first spots the floating body, and we see that his face is shocked an worried about what he has seen. This again help the audience understand that the men on the fishing boat are friendly, and they are trying to help the man who was floating in the sea.
3. The soundtrack backs up the images that the audience are seeing . At the start of the film when we are seeing the shots of the huge storm, there is a high pitched, but mellow string sound. This is accompanied by the dietetic sound of the wind and waves, and together they make the audience feel like something bad is about to happen. This music picks up with the introduction of a drum beat, this coincides with the man waking up and immediately threatening the man who has just saved his life by taking bullets out of his skin. This helps give the audience an incite into the man who has woken up, as the fast paced music connotes that the man is dangerous, and this backs up the fact that the audience has just seen him with his hands around the doctors neck.
4. There is much to learn about the characters through dialogue and non-verbal language. We get to see that the man is very vulnerable when he first wakes up, as he cannot remember who he is, and when he is talking and shouting at the man you can tell that he is nervous and slightly self conscious, as he doesn't know how to treat the man that was actually helping him. Through dialogue we also learn that the men on the fishing boat are not English, as when they are playing cards they are shouting and joking in a foreign language. The doctor can however also speak very good English, and this suggests that they have been educated. Non-verbal language is also used to show the audience specific character details. An example of this is when the man grabs the doctor who is trying to help him, around the throat. This immediately tells the audience that this man id dangerous, and that he has been trained to fight. Another very significant example of non-verbal language in the opening sequence is when the doctor and the man shake hands as he is getting off of the boat. This shows that the man is not always aggressive and really does appreciate what the doctor did for him. This shows another side to that man, that is not all about violence and confusion.
5. Visual techniques??

Narrative

1. Narrative organized and structured?
2. The audience is positioned as if they were actually on the fishing boat and in the same room as all of the men. A specific example of this is when the doctor is helping the man. During this scene the audience sees what is happening from the p.o.v of the doctor and so we are being positioned with him. This creates a preferred reading within the opening sequence that sides with the doctor rather than the man.
3. There are not many techniques of identification and alienation used in the opening sequence of this film. However one that is used is the fact that we do not see the face of the floating man until the doctor is treating him on the boat, and this acts to alienate him from the audience. Another way that the man is alienated is by the opening undershot that we see of him, floating in the sea. Undershot’s generally connote extreme danger or something sinister, and as this particular undershot is very dark, it helps to alienate the audience from the man even more.

A technique that is used to help the audience identify with the men on the boat is the high angle shot of them all playing cards, and having a laugh with one another. This shows that they are friendly men, and the audience is able to relate to what they are doing.

1. The major theme in the opening narrative is one of mystery. The opening sequence is about finding the man in the water and helping him recover. However this is done in a way that does not allow the audience to know the complete picture, and this is why their is an air of mystery about it.
2. Tension is created by a combination of the soundtrack, and images that connote trouble and danger. This draws the audience in and makes them engage with the plot and characters.

Representation & Ideology

1. The only social group that is portrayed in this opening sequence is that of foreigners. We see these people as they are on the fishing boat that picks the floating man out of the water. The men on the boat are shown to be happy, kind men because we see them laughing and joking with one another, and they also help the floating man. This is done be creating a preferred reading within the text, by using techniques such as full lighting on the men’s faces so that you can see them. Another way to create this preferred reading is to make the actors have very open body language so that they do not look dangerous or suspicious in any way.
2. The only values that are evident in this opening sequence are the ones that the fisherman have to save the man who is floating. It would have been very easy for them to simply ignore the floating body, as it already looked dead, however they didn't do this and it lead to the mans life being saved.
3. ?
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Media Audiences

1. The target audience for this film is predominantly men between the ages of 15 and 50. This is because the film contains lots of action sequences that would not really appeal to the elderly or man women.
2. The probable audience reading of the text is that the audience feel like the fisherman have done the right thing by helping the floating man. They are also probably shocked by the mans violent reaction when he finally wakes up, however they will soon come to feel sorry for him as they realise that he is very venerable.

The other possible readings for the opening sequence are that the fishermen are doing the wrong thing by helping the floating man, as they do not know who he is. They could also retain their probable initial opinion, of the floating man being violent, because of his actions as soon as he woke up. This would mean that they would not want the man to succeed throughout the rest of the film.

1. As a British teenager, my interpretation of the text is that the fishermen did the right thing by helping the floating man. However I was not that shocked when he awoke and was immediately violent, I think this is because I have become slightly desensitized to violence though the media’s portrayals, and also the fact that I am a 16 year old boy. I did however empathize with the man when it became evident that he was very vulnerable, I think this might be due to my background where I do not come into contact with many venerable people, and so this was quite a hard hitting image for me.

Institutional Context

1. The bankable star that was used in this film was Matt Damon. This would have been important to the production company, because in 2002 Damon had already had several box office hits including ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’. This would have make the production company more confident that the film would do well because Damon is a very good actor, and people know this so they are likely to go and see the film.
2. This film is an industrial film, as it was produced in conjunction with Warner Brothers who are one of the biggest film studio’s in the world.
3. Some of the strategies that were used to market this film we putting the bankable star on the poster along with Matt Damon’s name in large text. This would emphasize the fact that Damon appeared in the film and would draw an audience. Matt Damon also did many press interviews and went on television chat shows, in an attempt to get the film talked about and to ensure that it received enough column inches. Money was also invested in making a website for the film that was user interactive, and that contained film trailers, photos, and behind the scenes interviews.
4. ?