The Art Of Getting By 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.

 

We chose to analyse The Art of Getting By's opening sequence as it is of an indie style and is also a coming-of-age genre.

MISE-EN-SCENE

• A city setting; high rise buildings, quite industrial, not very homely
• The boy is wearing a great coat, a checked shirt, smart shoes, and has a rucksack – he is quite unusually dressed, perhaps a little nerdy?
• There are lots of taxis, restaurants, cars, streetlights, etc, highlighting the city setting
• He crosses a zebra crossing twice in the opening – this could be a symbol of something that will later be discovered in the narrative
• His school looks quite welcoming from the outside, but the corridors are quite dark, a little depressing, and he manages to look quite lonely in the busy canteen
• He is reading a book in the canteen, showing that he is educated

CAMERA

• VLSs of the city setting from a few different angles (establishing shots)
• The camera tracks the boy as he walks across the zebra crossing (the shot is slightly LA, suggesting that he is of importance and is driving the narrative, and it is a wide, establishing shot, showing some more settings)
• There is a MS from the front of him as he is walking – the camera is also tracking here

• When he crosses the next crossing, the camera is still, and the show is a VLS, allowing us to see more of the mise-en-scene
• A tracking MCU is used from the side of him as he continues to walk
• As he walks into the school, an MS from behind is used
• A LS is used on 3 girls as they approach to school, introducing some new characters

SOUND

• At first there is no diagetic or non-diagetic sound (just silence)
• There is a voiceover from the main character in the opening sequence; this helps to establish the narrative
• Major sounding music is introduced shortly after, not too fast paced, but very easy to listen to

 EDITING

• The transitions between the initial establishing shots are all dissolves, creating a dreamy feel
• Some shots at the start are quite long, but they become shorter later on, quickening the pace slightly
• The other transitions are all cuts

By Emily Lawson