Little Birds Opening Sequence Analysis

We decided to analyse opening sequences of the coming-of-age genre and of an Indie style to find out the conventions of the genre and opening sequences, which we will later apply to our opening sequence.

Little Birds is similar in terms of genre and style to our film idea, and so we analysed it in order to see how they introduced characters, setting and themes.
 
MISE-EN-SCENE

• The girls are wearing shorts, t-shirts, and dungarees, so we know that they are quite young and playful characters
• Lily is wearing some kooky bangles on her wrist (which we see in a CU) and which tell us a little about her kooky character
• The girls travel on a bicycle – quite an old-fashioned way to travel, suggests that their town is behind the times, or has been left behind
• It is set in America (as evident by the varying landscape – mountains, flora and fauna, beaches and the sea, etc.) but the area where they live in particular looks very run-down, with grotty houses (or shacks), caravans and dust tracks instead of roads.
• There is also an abandoned, industrial area, again giving the impression that the town and everyone in it have been left behind.
• Lily has a packet of cigarettes secured underneath the strap of her top – suggesting that she is quite a reckless, misbehaving character
• Characters are often positioned at the edge of the frame

CAMERA

• CU of Lily underwater in the bath – making her seem quite vulnerable (CUs on people’s expressions allows us to see their emotions, and Indie focuses a lot on emotion)
• There’s a CU of the cuts at the top of her leg, where we can also see her kooky bangles (the cuts are a very essential part of the narrative) <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->
• There is a wide shot (establishing the bathroom setting) which makes Lily seem quite small and vulnerable, especially as she is sitting there naked.
• A LS of Lily and Ali on Ali’s bike allows us to see where the film is set as they travel through town
• There are many wide, long shots of things like the distant mountains, the flowers, and industrial, abandoned areas, giving the idea that the town is quite lifeless and lonely (these sorts of setting are usually settings for indie films)
• Characters often positioned at the edge of the frame in order to create a thoughtful mood, suggesting that there are no limitations, and also to show some of the setting.
• There is an aerial shot of the sea and sand

SOUND

• At first we hear Ali’s heartfelt voiceover where she explains Lily’s situation and begins the narrative
• There is little dialogue between Lily and her mother, showing that they are not incredibly close
• There are times where there is no diagetic or non-diagetic sound (just silence) which forces us to look and see what is happening on the screen rather than concentrating on what we hear

• Lily screams, at first with anger, and then with joy – highlighting her kooky, but reckless character
• The music enters just as they start cycling through town – the music is quiet, but calm, slow paced, major sounding and easy to listen to (perhaps a little bit ‘rock and roll’-y’) – it doesn’t distract us from the events playing out on the screen.

EDITING

• A simplistic font is used for the titles (quite typical to indie films)
• The shots all have quite a long duration, which makes the pace quite slow, allowing us to get a feel of how lifeless the town is
• The transitions are mostly cuts, which quickens the pace slightly
• Lily’s scream goes over 2 completely different shots, portraying her as a girl of many emotions
• Slow-mo is used as the girls cycle through town, allowing us to get a good look at the setting and their characters
• The narrative cuts from their bike ride to setting shots constantly throughout the opening – giving us a good sense of both character and setting.

By Emily Lawson