Saturday 21 January 2012

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.

All the boys love Mandy Lane
00:23-02:27
This film starts with a black screen and then the title of the film appears slowly using a ‘fade in’ effect.  The words ‘Mandy Lane’ appear larger on the screen making them seem more important, the use of white words on a black background means that they are more prominent and easy to read whereas when words are over an image it can make them slightly illegible. The font also subtly suggests a horror. The music playing over the titles at this point is quite stereotypical for horror films as it is quite unnerving, there is a soft piano playing high pitched notes, which is suddenly cut off by what sounds like a slash of a knife and a distorted girl’s scream. Simultaneously the words ‘Mandy Lane’ get a blood splattered effect on the white, which instantly emphasises the fact that this is a horror, and possibly quite a gory ‘slasher’.  A drop of blood then drips down from the words and the camera tilts down to follow it.
As the camera tilts the screen fades to white and there is the sound of a bell ringing, instantly signifying a secondary school.  The camera continues to tilt down and there is now a bright orange exit sign right in the middle of the screen, making it extremely noticeable. At this point there is a non-diegetic song being played, In Anticipation of your Suicide- Bedroom Walls, it’s quite a calm, soft song, which contrasts to the usual rush and fast pace of a school when the bell rings.  We next see a door being open and two young boys jogging out of it, one looks back and waves as if saying goodbye to someone, the fact that these are teenagers reinstates the assumption that this is a school and the age of these boys allows us to presume that the main characters will be teenagers. As the camera continues to move back, on a dolly, a girl steps into the frame. This shot is a close up and at this point we cannot see the girls face; only her chest and hair, and this creates a certain enigma about her.
The following shot is a close up of a boy turning his head to gaze at something as the camera pans past him, this creates the impression that he is looking at the girl as she walks past. This makes the girl seem important as people are stopping to look as her and makes the audience take notice of her more.  The next shot is a close up on her face and she is positioned quite central within the frame.  She is quite stereotypically attractive she has long blonde hair and minimal make up. This stereotype is commonly used in horror’s to mark ‘the victim’ as it implies a kind of innocence.  The background behind her has been blurred slightly drawing the focus to her even more; however you can still see that the people in the background are watching her as she walks.    
After this there is a variety of close up shots on different people, all showing them turn their heads to look at her.  The people used here are a mixture of sexes and races which implies that everyone at the school, no matter who they are, stops to look at her. This raises many questions about her and what she has done to gained so much obvious attention.  This time when the camera straight cuts back to her the camera shot is a close up even more focused on her face, possibly so you can see more of her facial expressions. The camera tracks her for a while as she walks and shows her playing with her hair, in a stereotypical feminine way.  She also looks as though she is searching for something, or someone as her eyes dart around a lot and she tilts her head.
In the next shot the camera is tracking her from behind which again signifies her femininity and sexualises her more than the previous shots which seemed to show more of her purity and youth.  She then meets up with a friend who has been waiting for her and there is a long shot of them both walking down the hallway, which is now suddenly deserted.  This is quite an eerily effect as the lighting has been specially selected to be quite white and blue, making it seem like a cold, detached atmosphere. This is sustained through the use of instrumental music  which gives a sense of foreboding.    
Contrasting to this the next few shots are of them walking outside, where it is bright and sunny, the colours used here are very warm.  We then see a car pull up towards them and the next shot is a close up on the drivers face, he also is a common stereotype used in films, he’s blonde, tanned and looks quite ‘all American’.  He calls out Mandy Lane, and after a while the girl replies, this is the first conformation we get that she is the title character. Her hesitance in replying suggests that she doesn’t know why he is talking to her or doesn’t want to reply so already we are getting hints to what their relationship is. There is then some dialogue between Mandy Lane and the people in the car, where the boys ask her to come with them, with obvious jealousy from the girls. This sets the scene for the rest of the film as it shows strains in the character’s relationships which could be vital later on in the film.
The opening two minuets end with Mandy Lane agreeing to go with them and taking her friend with her, although neither he, nor the characters in the car seem happy about it.

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