Analysis of opening scenes - General Adaptation

The first movie which I will be analysing is the movie Adaptation from the year 2002, it is in the comedy-drama genre and has a very unique storyline; based on a screenwriter who is offered to turn a famous book into a movie but develops Writers Block and is unable to do so. The movie then follows events which happen to him when trying to screen write the famous book The Orchid Thief. The introduction to the film starts off with the well-known and popular logo for Columbia pictures, there is no type of sound in the background when the logo is happening. It is a very bright and eye catching logo, compared to others which may represent and give an idea to the audience that film is in fact going to be joyous and happy. This prepares the audience to a film which will be of the comedy or rom-com genre. The movie than fully starts when the screen cuts to black and almost hesitant and afraid male voice starts speaking in the background. A few seconds after the screen cuts to black, in the bottom centre of the screen, in typewriter font the credits start to appear one by one, starting off with the production company and making its way to the cast names. This lasts from the first 25s till 2.04 minutes which the screen is completely black and there is credits coming on in the bottom centre which are all in the same font. The size of the font is very small, sans serif and petite and also never changes throughout the whole title sequence. Despite the warm and joyous start which the Columbia pictures gave to the audience the black screen and small typewriter font which happens after gives of a very serious, formal and almost thrilling feeling to the audience. The reason being that firstly the colour black does not represent good and is a dark colour which may be foreshadowing death or bad things to happen to the characters. Secondly the font which is used is also a very serious font, which is mainly used in police or crime movies which is what the audience are familiar with. Seeing the same font here with a dark background may make them think that it is in fact not a happy film but one which could be of many unpleasant and unhappy problems. And also make them feel a bit chilled as it gives of the effect of a thriller film.

Throughout the whole title sequence the hesitant male voice speaks all the way through and is describing and moaning about his many problems, asking questions which he is answering himself and finding new problems which link with the one before. This will be a non - diegetic sound as we cannot visually see who is speaking or where the voice is coming from, this may make the audience feel as if he is telling a story or talking to a therapist or that the audience is able to hear what his thoughts are inside his head. Just what he is saying gives of an unhappy effect to the audience making them feel worried about the character/narrator as the narrator is very depressed with a deep lazy voice which is completely moaning about his life. The uncertainty and depressing tone to the mans voice creates enigma for the audience as they are confused and puzzled about what he is talking about as everything seems very random and nothing makes sense to them, as the audience do not know what has happened to the man and why he is so depressed. Another reason why enigma is created in this part is because the audience has no mood music to tell them how to feel or anything playing on the screen which they can visually see and help understand what is going on, all they can do is hear the man talking in the background to a empty black title sequence. The first visual shot and scene which we are provided with, is of a busy room full of people which is being filmed with a handheld camera constantly zooming into the face of one particular person. Without causing further confusement for the audience about what is happening, we are provided with a heading in the bottom centre of the screen stating 'On the set of being John Malkovic summer 1998'. This informs the audience of the time and location which they are in, helping them understand more of what is going on. The font used for the heading later is different to the film's original credits, it is bigger in size and also more relaxed giving off a feel of comedy for the film which they are filming. The person which the camera is filming during this time is the actor who plays the character 'John Malkovic' and he is getting everyone's attention by yelling out shut up!. He is talking about how they need to keep the camera work good for that day. This statement is very ironic as when filming this the camera angle and quality of filming is very poorly as the camera is handheld and very all over the place. It also keeps on zooming in an unorganised manner, making it hard for the audience to watch. However this is done purposely to create the behind the scenes effect therefore it is understandable. Otherwise the camera work within the opening sequence is very clear and good at eye level easy to see and read for the audience. The mise en scene in the scene is very limited as there is not a range of different aspects to look at. However the ones which there are were presented very well. The costume choices were very appropriate and represented exactly creating the atmosphere of a behind the scenes and set environment. Everyone wore casual clothes which did not carry a specific meaning creating

a normal and casual message to transfer from screen to audience. The set design was also very casual with not much props around, there was round tables spaced out fairly with a group of people sitting around them. There was also some camera equipment which the camera man was using to film the current scene, I do not think that the set design conveyed any meaning apart from the fact of creating a set atmosphere. The lighting in this scene was very sunny and bright, it was natural light which was coming through the windows. This created a joyous and happy feeling amongst the audience as the right sunny weather and lighting which was in that scene made it seem like it would be a happy and enjoyable family movie to watch. However similar to the camera work this will also be very ironic as although the lighting will be representing a happy day the narrator's speech and voice suggests the opposite. By doing this they might be trying to create the effect of loneliness and give a message which suggests that despite one person being upset and depressed does not mean that everyone else would be that way and that for someone else that day would be a very good and joyful day. The spacing was in the scene was also very accurate and appropriate for the environment which they were set in. Although the tables were fairly laid out the area was quite cramped and had small spacing however this refers back to the fact that they are trying to create and a set environment which is how it is meant to be. Overall I only analysed the mise en scene of this scene as it is the only detailed and appropriate scene to analyse in the opening sequence. It very good and accurate and well planned out as they have managed to create the right environment and transfer this to the audience in an effective way. While this is taking place the camera was moving around the set and filming crew members alongside titles of who they are, they were also in the same font and size as the first title which was put in. The next title is Lance Acord Cinematographer and shows a van holding a big camera and filming what is going on. Finally they show us a man standing behind a glass screen which looks like a sound room with the title of Charlie Kaufman Screenwriter. This is the last shot of that scene and does not convey much meaning or connotation to the audience. The next scene and shot shown is the screenwriter Charlie Kaufman leaving the set and walking outside, stopping and leaning/crouching against the wall. Shortly afterwards the narrator starts speaking again, which is where we realise that the narrator is Charlie Kaufman. We are informed of this as the narrator is speaking and the movements of Charlie is suiting his words and the verbal and visual aspects

link together. This is clarified by the sentences he says which is asking why he is here and how did he get here. You are able to tell that this is a connotation and that he does not literally mean where he is but the place he has come in life to today. Now that we are aware that Charlie is the narrator, we understand from the stuff he said previously and that he is a very depressed and confused being with issues. This does not last for long as at 3.11 minutes we see a shot of what looks like a planet with colours familiar to the sun with the title Hollywood CA 4 billion and 40 years earlier. This leads me to think that the questions Charlie asked about how he got here is being answered with a clip of how the earth was form and all of its forms from than to today. The shots which show this are very quick and snappy shots of different events which took place, this consists of the earth forming, new life etc. The slideshow of shots each represent an important event in the world, explaining to the audience and also answering Charlies question how he got there. The fast and quick changes make it more exciting and eye-catching for the audience making them want to look and see everything in the finest detail making sure that they do not miss a moment. The colour of the shots have a very smooth effect which suits the whole idea of telling and explaining a story of life, the last which are shown is of what is thought to be Charlie being born into the world, explaining how he got here. That is the last shot of the opening sequence, which is a very effective and interesting one as it is a type of cliff hanger, which makes the audience want to watch more and understand the whole point of the film and also what problem Charlie is in. Overall the opening sequence to the film adaptation is very interesting and also a useful form for research as it can refer back to this and gain ideas from the different methods and techniques which I can also use in my final piece.