Opening Sequence Style Model Analysis- Jerry Maguire

Genre

Jerry Maguire is a comedy-drama.

TitlingThe titling starts with the Tristar logo. This is separate form the actual picture. This is done because they are the main production company used on the film and want to become recognised from the film. It then goes on to show the producers and director and also says the name of the main actor within the film. This is all the credits shown, This is presented on a plain black background and the writing is white and uses serif font. You then get the main title. This is different from the rest of the titles because it fades in and transactions from being big to small and fitting over the world. This gives the impression of it moving backwards. The fact that it is titled over the world suggests that Jerry Maguire sees himself or his life as the only one in the world or he is the most important guy.

Narration

The film starts with the institutional information and then you are shown the picture of the world a long with the main title of the film. When this happens you here the voice of the main character (Jerry Maguire played by Tom cruise). He is narrating what is happening on screen as if he is talking to the audience. On screen after the first scene you can see the world and then a satellite flies past and it shows you a closer look at America. It then cuts to a boy playing basketball and explains who he is. It then does this with 5 other teenagers. All are playing different sports: gymnastics, boxing, baseball, (American) football, and golf. It is made clear in the opening sequence that sport is going to be a main aspect of the film.

Mise en SceneAfter showing the title sequence you are shown Earth and then shown America. This shows whee it is set. When you are shown the first person on the screen you can see that he is a teenager and he is playing basketball, the narration is telling you about him, the mise-en-scene in this section is complimenting the narration by making it clearer for the audience who he is. This happens 4 more times. In all the clips you can see teenagers playing sports. This suggests that this is an important aspect of the film story,You can also tell from the clothes and surroundings that this film is not set in this time (possibly set in the 80’s 90’s). This is shown through the people clothing. For example, the boy at the start who is playing basketball is wearing baggy, light blue jeans and an over-sized t-shirt this is common in that time. It also suggests that this is not set in recent times because of the room in the scene with the second teenager because of the layout and the floral prints.In this the character shown on screen are also almost all positioned to be facing or directed towards the camera, doing this putting emphasis on the fact that the audience are being introduced to the characters.

Colour/lighting

When introduced to the first, second, fourth and fifth characters (the basketball player, gymnast, footballer and golfer) there is natural lighting, this gives the effect of an average normal setting. You also get high key lighting, you can see this in the first one because of the reflection in the persons face. This lighting is used often in comedies to give a brighter feel. In the third one it is inside so the lighting is different. It uses a key light from above, this gives the feel of intimidation that you would feel in a boxing game.

The colours used in this film opening sequence for the actual picture are bright and warm colours. This is common in comedy films because it sets a happier tone for the film. This is also shows that it is always sunny in the opening sequence this shows pathetic fallacy.

SoundtrackThe first bit of sound you hear in the opening sequence is non-diegetic ambient sound of a crowd and it sounds like a sports game. This then transitions to a beat, you first hear something which sounds like a ticking (maybe of a timer) and it turns into a beat, along with this is more cheering and you can hear an in time clap which is something like you would hear at a sports game with people motivating and encouraging the players on. You then get an electric guitar playing over the top of that. This music is effective because it sets the tone of the film as upbeat and maybe encouraging. It also does not drown out the narrator’s voice or any diegetic noise like for example, the actors voice.

You then throughout the opening sequence get the diegetic sound of the main protagonists voice narrating. From his voice you can start to get an idea of what kind of person he is, for example, it allows the audience to guess what job he has because he knows a lot about sport and when talking about one of the teen sports players he says “He’s my client”. It also tells the audience that he is a confident man and unlike the people he is talking about he isn’t a teenager.

CameraworkYou begin with a picture of the Earth which is placed in centre screen. It then closes in on America, showing where which country he film is in. You are then shown a high angle shot of someone putting a ball in the hoop in basketball. This angle emphasises the height of the hoop and therefore increasing the impressiveness it. It then cuts to a a front view of the character and the camera move forwards towards the character getting closer to his face. This introduces what the character is doing, then because of the zoom you can notice that he is finding it easily. You can also see the sweat on his head.The next shot shown is a long shot. This is to show the whole of the girls body and you can see the room. This is showing her doing gymnastics and shows that isn’t doing in a stadium or any where professional. It then cuts to when the person mentions olympics. To a low angle shot of the girl diving. It also places her at the side of the screen and shows the blue sky on the rest. This again is showing the weather being sunny and puts emphasis on the bright mood.The low angle also put’s emphasis on the olympics being a professional level and of high standards.The next girl is a boxer and it shows a long shot, this shows the ring and also what she’s wearing making it obvious that she is a boxer. It then cuts to a medium close up of her face and shows this shows her serious expression.The next person shown is a baseball player, this again starts similarly to the other by showing a more distant shot- in this case it’s a medium shot- which shows the surrounding and shows what clearly what sport it is and what they are doing. Then it cuts closer to the face to show the concentration on the baseball players face and then a smug smile when he hits a good ball.This happens again with the next guy who’s a American football player. It starts with the long shot showing his attire and him throwing a ball and then going to a medium close up of his expression.The final person shown is the golfer. This starts by showing the trainer then the boy getting ready to putt the ball and the it shows a long shot which shows there surrounding showing they are on a golf course. It then goes to a close up of the hole. This shows the audience that he misses, it then cuts to a medium shot of the coach and the boy throws the club at him which shows the audience he’s annoyed he missed it.Throughout the sequence it uses hand held movements but it is smooth. This makes use of the lightweight start and puts the audience more in the movie. This puts emphasis on the informal style put across in the opening sequence.

Editing

You begin with a picture of the Earth which is placed in centre screen. It then closes in on America, showing where which country he film is in. You are then shown a high angle shot of someone putting a ball in the hoop in basketball. This angle emphasises the height of the hoop and therefore increasing the impressiveness it. It then cuts to a a front view of the character and the camera move forwards towards the character getting closer to his face. This introduces what the character is doing, then because of the zoom you can notice that he is finding it easily. You can also see the sweat on his head.The next shot shown is a long shot. This is to show the whole of the girls body and you can see the room. This is showing her doing gymnastics and shows that isn’t doing in a stadium or any where professional. It then cuts to when the person mentions olympics. This put’s emphasis on the olympics being a professional level and of high standards.Throughout the sequence it uses hand held movements but it is smooth. This makes use of the lightweight start and puts the audience more in the movie. This puts emphasis on the informal style put across in the opening sequence.

Effect on audience

This opening sequence makes the audience aware of the down to earth tone to which this film is going to be. It also leaves the enigma of the main character because you can only hear his narration and you never hear his voice.