Opening Sequence Style Model Analysis- Lost In Translation

GenreLost in Translation is a comedy-drama film. It uses certain conventions throughout its opening sequence which fit with this genre. This is done through the narration, titling, mine en scene, colour lighting, soundtrack, camerawork and editing.

Effect on the AudienceThis opening sequence is uncrushed and will make the audience question the link between the two characters. It will also make them connect and build a relationship with the main male protagonist in the car because of the camerawork and editing used.

NarrationThe picture begins by showing the lower half of a woman lying on a bed.You do not see the woman’s face in the opening sequence as it then fades out to black. While the screen is black you hear the sounds of an airport and you hear someone speaking in the overhead speaker in a different language then you can hear her say “Tokyo”, this shows that there is most likely a plane going to Tokyo and it is of some importance. The black then cuts quickly to a shot of the main protagonist, who looks asleep, in a car; behind him you can see the city lights passing by. He then wakes up and looks around and looks out of the window and the camera shows his reaction and also shots of the city around him. At one point it shows a bulletin which is for an advert and you can see that the character in the car is also the man in the poster, this suggests that he may be famous or his character may be of some importance within the story. The end shot is of the car pulling up to a building and someone opening a door for him.

TitlingThe titling is only on for the first minute of the film but it begins by showing the focus films productions on a separate section, this is because they were the biggest production company used in the making of the film.

The rest of the information is shown over the picture. it is presented in white sans serif font and is reasonably small. It also shows the companies names in capitals so they stand out more, for example, it says ‘in association with TOHOKUSHINSHA’. This plain, simplistic style is very conventional in comedy dramas. These all fade in and fade out, this links with the editing which also fades. This makes it all continuous and gentle.After then production companies have been named it shows the title. This is also sans serif, however, it is blue and much bigger ad bolder. This makes it clear that it’s the title of the film. It comes in gradually and slowly word by word, this again adds to the noiselessness of the beginning.

Mise en SceneIn the first shot you see the bottom half of a woman lying on a bed, she’s wearing a top and underwear. Past the woman you can’t see a lot of the room but from what you can see it is plain. This could suggest that it is a hotel room. Throughout this first clip you do not see the woman face once, this adds an air of mystery to the character. This links to Barthes theory of enigmas as it leads the audience to wonder about who the woman is and what is her significance. The screen then fades to black slowly. This will increase the anticipation for the film because the audience will be wanting know who the woman is. You also do not see anyone else in the room when the woman is in there, this leads the audience wondering if she is alone and if so why. Attract the audiences attention.

The next shot after the black is of the main protagonist. He has his eyes shut and is leaning his head against the window because he is most likely tired. You can see the lights of a city going past behind him, this suggests that he was the one on the plane and he is now in Tokyo. It later on shows the billboards and the writing is in Japanese confirming this is where he is. When he opens his eyes you can see his surprised expression and looks out of the window and you can see him neck and stretching, this is to show he has been on a long journey.

He is then shown looking out the window, this shows the character in a child-like way because it seems like somewhere he has never been and he is taking it all in like it’s somewhere magical. He then sees the picture of himself on the poster, when it shows his face he rubs his eyes, this could either suggest that he is trying to see it better and tiredness is making it more difficult or it could connote that he is slightly amazed that he is seeing his poster in Tokyo and he’s rubbing his eyes to look again to check it’s him. The rest of the opening sequence carries on like this with him looking out of the window. This character is wearing a shirt and a jacket, this is reasonably smart. This could suggest that he has a fair amount of money, the jacket could also suggest that he is there on business.

The final shot then shows a car pulling up to a building, this is most likely a hotel as you can see the staff standing out side and the building is large and bare. You can then see the people walking up to the car and opening the doors, there eagerness suggests that the character is much loved or of high status.

Colour/LightingThe lighting throughout dim this is because when she’s in the hotel room the curtains are closed. This also adds a duller tone to the film which connotes that it isn’t a happy scene and represents how the woman in the bed is feeling, which could be lonely and down.When you see the shot from the car and it’s outside it uses the natural light which is obviously dark because it’s nighttime. However, you do get the bright and neon lights from the signs, this causes the more magical feel of anew place and unexplored territory and mounted on the big building when looking up at them they can feel quite intimidating. You can also see the signs reflected on the window. The signs add a big contrast to the original tone of the film.The colours this sequence are mostly blues and darker tones this is shown mostly through the first and last shot. This adds an unpolished and not hollywoodized look. This is common in comedy-dramas, as it gives the cool feeling of a drama but it isn’t to dark so it starts to feel eerie. It makes it feel more like real-life.

SoundtrackWhen the picture comes on you can hear ambient diegetic sound the first thingy you can hear is the sound of a car accelerating and then you hear noise which sounds like a city like an ambulance siren. This helps to establish the setting (in a city or busy town). You can also hear when the woman moves but otherwise it begins very quietly. The second bit out sound you hear is when the main title appears, this is when the background music starts and it’s a gradual crescendo, getting louder. The background music then fades out when the screen goes black and before it’s completely gone you start to get ambient non-diegetic sound of a plane and the two different sounds overlap until the background music completely fades ti silence. This overlapping connects the two scenes so they’re fluent and continuous.The ambient sound continues and you still hear the sound of planes and how an airport would sound, this again shows the soundtrack having a big part in setting the scene and making the story more understandable. You then hear a speaker announcement (As you would at an airport) of a woman speaking in a different languages hows this airpot is in a different country and you can hear the woman on the speaker say “Tokyo”. So this sets the scene of where the airport could be or where the plane is going.The background music then starts up again and the picture starts. The background music in this section has a build to when voices join in. The music sounds almost like a sigh of relief and the build up also enhances the excitement. Also when the music starts the picture comes up and you see the main protagonist, this music will help to establish the relationship between the audience and the character because the music presents him in a positive way.

CameraworkThe shot starts with a still medium shot of the woman lower body. This shot adds an enigmatic sense because you cannot see the woman’s face. The stillness of the camera also puts emphasis on the inertia of the action on screen.

The next camera shot you see is a close up, low angle shot of the main protagonist. It shows him in the left hand side of the screen and covering the rest of the screen you can see the blurred lights from out the window, it’s blurred because it has a shallow depth of field. This puts more attention onto the characters face. Because of the close up shot you can see the characters face clearly— it shows his eyes shut, this shows he is tired (possibly because he’s just had a plane journey) and he looks like he is asleep, you can then see him wake up and you can see the slight expression of surprise on his face.

It then cuts to a medium close up from outside of the car looking into the window, this add more to the surrounding for the audience to understand where he is and clearly establishes that he is in a car.The camera then goes between showing long shot of the characters surrounding like the bulletin boards and the people walking past and then going back to the character. This shows the audience clearly where the character is.

EditingAt the beginning the editing is smooth and fades from black at the beginning then fades back to black when the picture of the woman goes. Between these fades you have one long shot with no cuts. This smoothness adds to and emphasises the very little that is happening on screen and encourage the feeling of lifelessness.The editing then changes when the other character is shown in the car because it uses straight cuts. This shows that there is more going on in the scene and could represent the characters feelings of being in this new city. It also uses shot reverse shot between the character and his surroundings by showing the character then going back to the city. This is also an eyeline match because it follows where his eyes are looking, for example, when he’s looking up at the billboard the camera will show that. It also uses panning which puts the audience in his point of view because it’s like him looking around, making the audience feel they are seeing what he is seeing.