2 Fast 2 Furious ALEX RAYNER

Opening scenes- quick summary

In the opening scenes for 2 Fast 2 Furious there is a red truck that puts two road closed signs down and cones so people know the road is closed. This is so no one disturbs the race that is about to happen. We then see two Motorbikes go past doing wheelies. After the second sign is placed it cuts to a man in a garage getting a phone call. After engaging in dialogue the man turns around and walks outside his garage. He then yells to some people and as the camera zooms out we see about 100 people around so cars that have been tuned. The title of the film is then played and we see ‘attractive’ girls wearing next to nothing, the cars and a couple of bikes. The opening scene then ends.

Sound

For the first few seconds we can hear the engine of the truck before we hear the brakes pull to a stop. There is then chatting before the sound of the cones hitting the floor. The truck then makes a noise before you hear it leave again.

The chattering is quite quiet meaning that the people do not want anybody to know who put these cones down. Later on however when the guy in the garage yells to the racers they are less worried. Possibly to build up hype but also because they may be away from sleeping people.

The sound the cars make sound particularly powerful. Due to this being a film about racing you wouldn’t want to hear weak cars. The more powerful the car sounds the better the audiences reaction.

Sound continued

There is music all the way through. It is quite up beat and more of a pop track than anything else. This style of music fits in well with the film because typically this is what these types of people will listen to. It also creates an atmosphere of tension because you ( the audience ) are eager for the race to start. If the music played was something like jazz then people wouldn’t be so eager. If the music was something like heavy metal people wouldn’t want to watch. Music is very important in films because it’s the main factor in creating a certain feel. If used correctly you can get the audience to feel any emotion you want. Pop music in this case works because you need the audience to be happy.

Representation

The people in the opening credits have been shown a certain way so that you automatically get a feel for them and an idea in your head. For example if you take the garage guy while he is on the phone you cant see most of his head. This gives an essence of mystery to this character. This works well because he perhaps doesn’t want people to know that he takes part in illegal street racing and this is his big secret. So by creating a feel of mystery you can learn a lot.

The girls in the opening credits are seen to be thin and fairly ‘attractive’ and in skimpy clothing. This tells us that only these types of girls are into racing. You don’t see a typically nerdy girl with glasses and books in her hand because that’s not the impression the director wants to make. Typically men go for women that do dress like this because it appeals to what most of us want. So to boost both ratings and view women are portrayed in this manor.

Representation continued

The bikers are wearing black helmets when they are shown. You could say this is for safety reasons but the helmets are just pure black. This would be so they are harder to spot in the night when these events are taking place and to hide the identity of the rider. Because the event is illegal they do not want to be seen so they will wear a black helmet. This gives off the impression that these bikers are both sneaky and clever.

The cars them selves are quite unique colours and have visibly been tuned. This is so the film isn’t so boring and because it makes the owners look good. A lot of time has been spent on these cars and the director makes sure you know that. The fact that they look tuned is also meant to create a feel of competition. The faster your car looks the faster people will think you go and this will make people go faster creating a more dangerous sport.

Editing

The first piece of editing I saw was the name of the film. The camera pans across so you can see the cars and all of a sudden these red flames almost start appearing on the screen. These last for about 7 seconds before the name of the film is shown in the lights with the letters made of ‘flame’. You can tell this has been editing in because 1) flames don’t fly and 2) flames don’t wiz about and spell words.

The use of this editing is quite cool as you get a feel for how this film will be. They used fire which to a boy or man is quite awesome and buy having cars, fire, women and good music really gives off a good feeling for this film.

How much editing?

There wasn’t to much editing to be seen, cuts and different camera angles to give effects mostly. It has been used in a subtle way up to the point where the flames come in. you don’t really notice it but I suppose that’s to keep your attention on the cars.

Mise-en-scene

Everything is set up and placed in a way that it gives off an ordinary feel. For example the garage is just a normal garage. Theres lots of equipment in there that the viewer could recognise (even if they had no clue what it’s called). Even before the race begins the cars are set up so that there is one maybe two meters between each one and crowds of people around them. It just gives of an ordinary feel considering this is what you would expect it to look like.

Occasionally there are buildings that look modern, perhaps it’s set in a large city or a newly renovated area. There aren’t any old homes and every looks to be 2 stories tall or bigger. This completes the modern feel for the film because when it would have been released what the girls were wearing would have been fashionable ( in America ) and the cars were all new models of that type. And all the buildings were all large. The people even play on this too being that they look in their 20’s so they look modern as well.

Mise-en-scene continued

The weather is quite good, obviously its dark so you can’t tell if its cloudy but it looks to be alright. There’s no thunder storms or snow and because people are wearing shorts and vests you can assume it’s a summers night.

It’s dark which also plays on the mystery effect. The fact it’s dark gives the racers a blanket to hide under while they do their illegal sport. This has been well chosen because the roads will be empty, or more empty than they were, so the race can happen.

How will sound affect my film?

Depending on what sound the cars make they will sound more powerful. This will engage the audience because the faster the cars go the more the audience will want to see.

I will choose appropriate music; for example I have chosen Motor head- ace of spades because it builds up tension and gives a good feel for the race.

For the party afterwards I will have some sort of pop or drum’n’bass music just to give a happy feel to it and make sure the audience are enjoying it.

As the actor gets shot however I will change to Johnny cash – hurt because it’s emotional and it really works well with the scene.

How will representation effect my film?

This will affect my film because every one will need to look a certain way in order to give a good feel. I’m aiming for the same kind of feel as the 2 Fast 2 Furious film so the same dress code and style will apply. Just updated a bit.

As for the cars well I’m only using two cars and both are fairly modern so it’s just showing off speed and power to get the representation right. The way I will do this is by careful editing and good use of sound.

How will editing affect my film?

It will affect my film by how I use it, for example if I were to use to much in every scene it would take the audiences attention of the cars and story and they would just focus on the editing. However if I use it little and only in shots and for the name and credits then people will focus on the story. Obviously no one is going to be interested in the actors because none of them are a list celebrities but it is a chance for me to get there names on screen.

I will mainly use it for the name of the film when it has to be shown. I’m thinking of making it appear when I have the birds eye view shot above the recently shot actor. It will fade in and the name will be revealed.

How will mise-en-scene affect my film?

I will have it set up so it gives the same feel as 2 Fast 2 Furious. It will be night so it’s mysterious and it will be on an empty road so no one knows it’s happening.

Any buildings you see will all be modernised so it gives a modern and update feel to the film.

The people will all be crowded at the end to give a party like feel to it.