Friday 20 January 2012

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Opening

The first thing that the audience sees in the opening of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is the main institution logo. This is Columbia. There name and logo is extremely recognisable. Fans of the institution will want to watch this film because it is associated with it. The song Speed of Sound
by Chris Bell starts to play.




The next thing the audience sees in the other institution associated with the film - Mandate Pictures. Mandate Pictures isn't as well known as Columbia, however it is still reasonably recognisable. Speed of Sound is still playing. The music is slow creating a calm mood for the audience.
The screen then goes black for a few seconds before the film starts. This is the first image we see, a long shot of a house. In the corner of the screen we can see a yellow car, it is unknown to the viewer at the moment but this car has been placed in the shot on purpose as it will be an important part of the film. The music is still playing, however there is a telephone ring.
At the start of this shot the music fades and becomes background noise. The close up on the record player suggests that this is something key to film. We can also tell from the film name that music is going to be something important in the film. We hear the telephone ring again.
The camera then goes to a close-up of a wall full of posters, however there is emphasis on this particular one as the camera pans upwards to show the audience the full poster. This again suggests to the audience that the band "Where's Fluffy" will be key to the film.
The audience then meets the first character, Nick. There is a mid-shot of him as he's on the phone leaving a message to a girl called Tris. He then walks over to a window in his bedroom and leans against it. We can tell from the way that he's speaking he's quite an awkward character as there are long pauses when he speaks.
Nick then walks over to a wall full of pictures of him and a girl who we presume is Tris. From the pictures we can tell that she's his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. He then says "last time we spoke we both said some really nasty thing" which tells the audience that they currently aren't speaking and this may be part of the story line.
Nick then leans his head against the photographs on the wall which shows the comedic side of the film as this is something which will make the audience laugh at how 'pathetic' his character is. He then says "when you broke up with me" which tells the audience that Tris is his ex-girlfriend.
There is then a mid-shot of Nick sat down behind a computer. He starts talking about a mix tape that he has made and how it's the last one, then another one pops out of his laptop again showing the comedic side of the film. The theme of music is constantly being reinforced throughout the opening sequence. Speed of Sound is still playing in the background.
Next is a close-up of Nick's face as he lies on a bed. The close up here is used to show emotion. At the end of this shot as he ends the call a woman's voice says "your message has been deleted".
It then cuts to a long shot of him laying on a bed where he says "fuck" in response to his message being deleted. The use of the word 'fuck' immediately tells the audience that this film isn't suitable for little children as there is going to be swear words. Speed of Sound stops playing at the end of this shot.
An upbeat, fast tempo song then starts to play as the picture pans over more photographs of Tris and Nick. This is when the credits start. The first one is Columbia pictures.
The second credit is Mandate Pictures. The font is cartoony and looks handwriting which is quite quirky, linking with the character Nick. The writing is also in yellow which reinforces the mood that the new song has created - happiness.
Music plays a key part in this film so straight after the institutions are credited, all of the artists featured in the movie are too. Having a good soundtrack is an advantage to a film as fans of the artists will watch the film to hear the songs and then soundtrack can be sold afterwards to create an even larger profit.
The only actor or actresses name to appear in the opening credits is Michael Cera who plays Nick. This tells the audience that the Nick character they have just witnessed in his room is in fact the main character in the film. Having an actor like Michael Cera in the film will generate a lot of teenage interest as fans of him will want to see it.
The last thing in the opening sequence is the name of the film. We already know that Nick is going to be a main character, however we haven't been introduced to Norah yet. This will make the audience want to watch on as they will want to find out who she is and what part she plays in the storyline.

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