Transcript Example Moving Image Analysis – Star Wars

Opening scene
analysis
1. Low Angle shot – No Camera Movement
In this shot we see the distributor, 20th Century
Fox. Their logo is represented as a massive
golden monument – complete with searching
flood lights - that looks bigger because of the
low angle shot. There is a triumphant fanfare
playing. This makes the audience feel that they
are about to see a really important film that has
cost a lot of money to make.
2. Text on Screen
In this shot we see film production company,
‘Lucasfilm Limited’ in bright green font against
a black background. There is no sound or
movement. This creates a stark contrast to the
previous shot, and lets the audience know that
the film is about to begin.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
3. Text on screen
The change to blue font, aligned to the left as if
written as the first sentence in a book, and in
lower case, creates the sense that a story is
about to begin. The repetition of the word ‘far’
enacts the audience gratification of escapism.
The blue font suggests a tone of wistfulness,
and the lack of sound increases the tension.
4. Text on screen – zoom out from centre
The famous Star Wars logo zooms out from the
centre, coupled with the signature John
Williams soundtrack. The yellow title is the
ultimate genre signifier of a space opera –
connoting that this is essentially a war in the
stars. We also see the stars in the background.
The whole effect is to create a grand opening to
make the audience feel as though they are
watching something monumental.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
4. Scrolling text on screen
As the signature ‘Star Wars Theme’ continues to
play, the audience is given the background to
the story through the use of scrolling text. The
scrolling text features many powerful nouns
such as ‘battle’, ‘rebel spies’ and ‘freedom’
which grab the audience’s attention. There are
also powerful verbs such as ‘pursued’, ‘races’
and ‘steal’, suggesting that this will be a film
that is full of action.
Perhaps the most important feature of this
scene is the way in which the most important
characters, the protagonists and antagonists,
are written in upper case capitals to emphasise
the conflict which is central to the narrative.
This sequence makes it clear that this is a battle
between forces of good and evil.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
6. Shot of space – panning down
This shot of empty space almost acts as a
transition, except that there is no cut. The
emptiness of the mise en scene allows the
audience to have respite from the huge amount
of information that they have taken in at the
beginning of the sequence.
7. Establishing shot – No camera movement
This shot shows the audience the vastness of
the galaxy in which the action takes place. As
the camera pans down, we see three planets at
varying levels of proximity to the camera. This
gives an audience a sense of the scale of the
Star Wars galaxy.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
8. Low Angle shot – No camera movement
The binary opposition between rebels
(protagonists) and empire (antagonists) is
shown very clearly in this shot with the contrast
of size between the two ships. This is
emphasised by the framing and low angle
perspective. This engages the audience
because it makes them feel that it will be a huge
struggle for the rebels to overcome the empire.
9. Extreme Long Shot– No camera movement
The camera cuts to a closer vantage point,
allowing the audience to empathise more with
rebels (as they are in closer detail) , and get
more of an idea of the danger that they are in,
through seeing lasers, and the speed of the
chase.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
10. Two-shot – tracking backwards
The camera cuts to two of the main characters,
the droids C3PO and R2D2. C3PO has a human
shape and so his body language shows fear and
surprise as the ship they are on is attacked. The
use of the two shot shows the audience straight
away that these two characters are friends. The
white background shows a stark contrast to the
blackness of space in the preceding shots. This
is attention-grabbing for the audience and
additionally keeps up the pace of the narrative.
11. Close-up– tracking backwards
The continual tracking backwards adds urgency
to the scene, while the close up shot allows the
audience to get a closer look at R2D2 as he
speaks (bleeps).
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes
10. Over the shoulder shot
We then see the rebels getting into position to
meet the incoming imperial troops who have
captured the rebel ship. The use of the overthe-shoulder shot helps us empathise with the
rebels and see them as the heroes. The focal
point of the shot is the door at the end of the
corridor and this builds suspense for the
audience as they wonder what is going to come
through it.
Conclusion
The opening three minutes of Star Wars is an extremely well constructed sequence that engages the audience
through the use of music, camera shots and special effects. Most importantly, the sequence shows the
audience who the heroes and villains are, and sets up the conflict very well for the rest of the film.
Camera Angle – Camera Movement – Transition – Lighting – Sound– Mise En Scene – Verbal codes