Analysing Film Openings - Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine- The first two minutes

The piece starts with the Fox company logo. This shows the viewer who made the film and helps build the company’s reputation.

There is a black screen, and suddenly an extreme close up of the main character’s eyes and glasses are in shot. The extreme close up is used to show that the little girl is watching the television as you can see the television screen through her glasses. The close up of the glasses also shows the vulnerability of the little girl showing that she need her glasses as it slightly distorts them to make them seem big.

The shot switches to a POV shot so the viewer is in the viewpoint of the little girl watching television; this shows the viewer what is playing on the television and helps the viewer understand more about the girl’s character. In the POV shot there is also a close up of the women winning the beauty competition to again show her expressions and to help the viewer recognise that the little girl is copying what the women is doing on screen.

The shot switches from the POV television shot to the extreme close up of the girl to show how intensely the little girl is watching and what is happening on screen. A low angle mid shot is used to fully show the little girl, it also emphasises how small the little girl is compared to the rest of the room and how she is not necessarily the skinniest, prettiest girl, like the girls in the beauty competition, because the low angle is unflattering and shows she has a tubby stomach. This creates a feeling of vulnerability around her, and we find her character touching.

A side angle is used to indicate where the little girl is showing the whole of her living room and again to emphasise her size. Graphic match is used to link the little girl’s actions with how the woman is reacting after winning the competition. A mid shot is used to show how the girl is putting her hands against her face and this switches to a POV shot to show that this is what the woman is doing. There is also a graphic match to link to the next scene as a mid-shot is used to show the woman on the television waving her arms and the girl doing the same thing.

The next shot is then on the man waving his arms around during a presentation, showing a link in the actions. Another graphic match is used between the two scenes as they are both showing inspirational situations: a little girl being inspired by a beauty competition, and a man giving an inspirational speech. This helps the viewer recognise the films themes and helps them link two scenes together. The first shot of the man is a side close up showing his expressions and to give the impression that he is talking to a large crowd, even though he isn’t.

 Again, to give the impression of the man talking to a large crowd, a side angle shot is used. This shot allows the viewer to see how big the stage is and restricts them from seeing the crowd that the man is talking too, suggesting that the crowd is big. For the rest of the extract a mid- shot is used to show the man on stage and what is on the projection screen behind him, helping the audience recognise the subject he is talking about.

Use of Sound

During the Fox company logo the Fox theme tune is used to help the audience associate the logo with the theme tune and building the company a reputation. As the film begins non-diegetic music is played, and this continues throughout the two minute extract. The music is simple but has an inspirational feel to it, this adds with the theme of the girl being inspired by the beauty competition and the man’s inspirational talk. Diegetic sound is used for the sound coming of the television, helping the viewer see the piece as realistic. Dialogue is also used when the man is talking in his speech; it gives an idea of what the man does as a job, helps the viewer understand the basic story and introduces the man as a character to them.

This is Fox’s company logo it is used to show the viewer who made the film and to give the company a reputation.

 

Here is an extreme close up of the girl’s eyes and glasses. It clearly shows the television screen through the glasses and shows how intensely the girl is watching the screen.

 

 

These are two POV shots so the viewer can see what the girl is watching. It helps the viewer get an idea to what the character is thinking and what the story is going to be about.

This is a low angle mid shot- it is an unflattering angle to emphasise how different the little girl is compared to the women on television in the beauty competition.

 

This is a side angle and shows the location of the little girl and again emphasises her size compared to the room.

 

A graphic match is used as the girl puts her hands on her face exactly as the women in the beauty competition does. This shows that the woman inspires the little girl and encourages us to compare them.

 

This is a close up of the man introducing his character and helping the viewer to recognise his emotions, and how he is trying to inspire a crowd.

 

A mid shot is used to show the location of the man, to show that the man is presenting something, and to show how large the stage that he is speaking on is.



Overall

This is quite an unusual and inventive opening. There is less establishing than you might expect - we start with the camera close in and as if we are already in the middle of something. It's actually not until the end of the film that you realise how cleverly this opening set up all the key ideas.