Research opening: Hairspray

Hairspray opening

Hairspray was made in 2007 and the film is certificated P.G. New Line Cinema produced this film. The director of Hairspray is Adam Shankman. One of the distributing companies was Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution  At opening weekend the takings for the film was $27, 476,745 (USA). Hairspray on a total of 18 awards some of which including MTV Movie Awards, Hollywood Film Festival awards, Teen Choice Awards and People's choice awards.

Target Audience and whom it appeals to.

After watching the opening to the film I can connote that this film has a target audience of people between the ages of 12 and 40. I think this because the storyline and the songs could appeal to a wide range of ages. I also think that this film would appeal more to females as the genre and storyline may appeal to the female gender more. I think people who go and watch this film would expect romance, musical and comedy pleasures from this particular film.

The titles

There is a small amount of titles in this film. I think this because the director may have wanted us to focus more on the narrative being shown on the screen. During the opening of this film we see the main character wake up and get out of bed. She then goes to the mirror and puts on hairspray. The director has used the fumes from the hairspray to create a transition in which the title of the film can fluently appear on screen. The typeface that has been used in the title for the film is quite bubbly and groovy which could reflect the time period in which the film was set in. After the title is shown on screen it then dispersed like hairspray fumes would normally do. This gives a good affect and makes the title sequence look more fluent. I think the colour of the typeface has been used because it matches the can of hairspray that the main character. I think that this shade of blue may have also been used because it could be representing the hairspray.

Sound

In the film there is a non- diegetic sound track which has been added to the opening sequence- the track has been added to this particular scene to make the audience believe that the main character on screen singing. The style of music is very upbeat, happy and groovy which also fits in well with the time period that this film was set, in 1962. I think this style of music would also be very popular which teenagers who where in high school in that time period. However in some parts of the opening sequence there is some diegetic sound such as the sound coming from the television in the living room and the sound of the door closing.

Representation of characters and Mise en scene.

In this opening sequence I can see that the main character is represented as quite bubbly and friendly- she also appears as someone who is very outgoing. From what the main character is wearing I can see that she is represented as a stereotypical high school student in that time period. The knee length yellow plaid skirt is a piece of clothing and print which was quite popular in the 1960s and was worn by a lot of the girls in those days. The backpack that the main character is wearing was also a popular style trend to follow in the 1980s. The close up of these things from the camera makes us focus our attention on them and can also remind us what era the film is set in. The lighting that has been used is high key lighting which makes everything look more brighter and more daylight. Her hairstyle also reflects the time period as big emphasised hair was all the rage in the 1960s.  The setting of the opening scene and the way that the buildings in the shot look like is also based on how things were in the 1960s. When the main character first wakes up we the camera goes to an extreme close up and the main focus of this camera angle is her eyes. I think that the director has done this to add emphasis to the fact that she is waking up and her day is starting. The director has also included an action match shot where the main character opens the door then cuts to her coming through the door. This gives us a different perspective whilst watching the film.

Atmosphere created.

From watching the opening scene I can see that a groovy kind of atmosphere was created because everyone seemed to be happy and the sound track used in the background helped to set this atmosphere. I think the way the mise en scene was created helped the viewer feel as if they were in the film and that time period. A happy and excited atmosphere was developed more by the sound track and the singing done by the main character it helped to intrigue the audience and make them look forward to watching the rest of the film.