43221 Darlington, Queen Elizabeth

Friday 15 January 2010

Textual Analysis - The opening of Love Actually

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsnruVriVYw

(embedd code disabled by request)

The opening sequecne of Love Actually is a short scene in the arrivals department of an airport. There is mainly medium close ups used in the sequence to see expressions on the faces of those greeting each other giving the viewers a feel good, happy feeling. We get a zoom in as children run to meet parents, this helps emphasise the happyness and feelings of the characters. The shots are all closed framed which encodes the togetherness and the closeness of families and friends. The scene is bright and colourful by the clothes of the characters also setting a warm environment for a romance film. The whole opening sequence has no diegetic sound, we dont need the dialouge to know what is going on or how people feel. About 20 seconds in there is a voice over by Hugh Grant, one of the main characters in the film, talking about the fact that love is all around, representing the whole narrative of the film. I think the voice over is a good idea for the opening of a film, especially the subject of the voice over, talking about love is a good idea for the opening of a romance.

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