Research Task 3:Conventions of an opening sequence

By Aaron Alderman

Bold blue text contrasts with background to make for easier reading for the audience. Font is kept mostly capitalised for emphasis.

Opening frame of the film, immediately credits the producers/distributors.

Clear, black background to keep things simple yet effective.

We can immediately hear a radio broadcast playing, reveals the location (Chicago).

The first shot of the film is a wide-angle shot of a house from across the street – this creates a picture in the audiences mind of where the opening scene is set.

We see a large, suburban house which seems to be family friendly, suggesting a light tone for the narrative.

The peaceful-looking setting is quickly disturbed by the shouting of a concerned mother (which we assume is inside the house).

White house indicates peacefulness, which contrasts to Ferris’ personality.

The camera cuts to this shot when the mother says “Look at him!”. This engages the audience, as if we are being directly addressed.

This is a very close-up shot, immediately introducing Ferris Bueller, who we know is the main protagonist of the film.

From the distressed look on his face, the audience can tell that there is a problem – he may feel ill.

There are several visual prompts that tell us this – for example the bags under his eyes, as well as generally dark lighting (contrast to previous shot).

The camera then cuts to a shot from our character’s perspective. This makes the audience feel even more engaged, which helps the overall immersion of the narrative. The mother looks very

distressed and concerned, whilst the father has a more serious, straight face – this could link to social roles (father looking less sympathetic?).

The clothing being worn by the parents suggests they are ready for work – this lets the audience know that time this is taking place is probably early morning.

Now we are introduced to Ferris’ parents. The immediate introduction of them indicate they play an important part in the film.

A total of 3 shots are used to bring Ferris’ sister into the scene starting at her feet, then her hips, to finally reveal her face. This introduction means that her character is most likely one of significance in the narrative.

Her body actions during the revealing shots suggest her personality to the audience. For example, she is tapping her feet to let her presence known to her family, and stood with her hands on her hips. This could mean she is a disruptive character.

Her attitude comes across as quite snobby and mischievous, as if she is a threat to Ferris. She seems to think that he is up to no good, which contrasts personalities with her parents. Her voice comes across as very blunt and straight to the point, further enhancing her role in the film.

After some more shot-reverse-shots of the characters we are given a wide-angle view of Ferris’ bedroom as his parents are leaving. The mise-en-scene includes decorations such as posters, which signifies a typical teenager’s room. Because of this we are led into a false sense of belief that Ferris is just a regular teenage schoolboy who has an illness.

The typography on screen has remained a bold blue colour which heavily contrasts with the background – this makes it easy to read, but not interfering with the scene.

The detective looking figure behind the door (top left) could potentially signify however that Ferris is up to no good, as it is watching over his whole room.

In the final shot of the film, Ferris waits for his parents to leave the house before sitting up and directly addressing the camera in front of him. His facial expressions completely alter from sad to one of troublesome.

His final words “They bought it” set the tone for the rest of the narrative, as the audience now know of Ferris’ mischievous personality. The phrase is key because it’s short, snappy and straight to the point whilst very informative at the same time. It also ends the scene with the audience intrigued to find out what happens next.