opening scene analysis of 'Never Back Down'

Analyzing an Opening Scene to a film Never Back Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-8DjSyiaM

Sound:

Sound is very important within an Action film to help set the tone mood and atmosphere. Non-diegetic music is used to reflect the narrative events such as the tension that is building within the football game. Diegetic sound is used in the dialogue between the characters.it reveals that there is tension between the two quarterbacks on each team and that there is clear upset and drama in the rest of the film, this shows that the genre is Action as it build tension and heated arguments between the two men.

Camera Angles:

A close-up shot is used to show the character Jake Tyler to show the humor he gains when stopping the opposition scoring and the reaction of his opponent when he does this. An establishing shot is used of the setting that is the football pitch. This establishes where the narrative is going to take place. A two shot is used of the characters Jake and his opponent to show their relationship which is hate for one and other. A tracking shot follows the action of Jake Tyler to reveal to the audience that the drama that will take place will always involve him .This engages them because they can see that this is going to be the main character as he will be Jake and that he will be taking on many fights after the one in the opening scene.

Characters:

The main characters are introduced in the opening scene when Jake and the boy he has been arguing start to fight, the audience recognizes that they are the main characters through the use of the dialogue/camera shots/events that they are involved in. Although in the opening two minutes of the film there is only one clear main character and that is Jake this is because he is given prevalence in the opening scene.

Narrative Events: The opening scene features certain narrative events such as two collage teams playing a football game following by a fight scene that starts of with two players but ends up with the whole team fighting. These conform to the genre as other openings such as ‘Fighting’ feature similar events.

Props/ costumes:

The audience can see that the character is wearing football kit this shows that the boys are playing football; this is typical of the genre because most fighting films consist of popular jockeys that play American football. Props are featured such as a football and football equipment this is typical of the genre as it shows that they are sporty and popular.

Clichés:

Noticeable clichés are used in the opening scene such as attractive and muscular men that are sporty and strong. This engages the audience as they recognise these features and can predict what is going to happen in the narrative.