Today we are going to re-watch the opening scene from Ready Player One and begin to textually analyse it.
TASK: Using a textual analysis grid you are going to watch this opening three times focusing on each of the four areas of textual analysis.
- Camera Shots / Angles
- Editing
- Sound
- Mise en Scene (Costume, Lighting, etc.)
TASK: Once you have the notes from the viewings; answer the following questions.
1. How does Spielberg introduce the audience to the futuristic setting initially?
2. Spielberg then uses an establishing shot to visually demonstrate the future;what elements of mise en scene define what the future is like?
3. What camera angle does Spielberg use to introduce us to the protagonist?
4. How is the protagonist represented? (Costume, Actions)
5. What is the importance of the advertisement? Is this diagetic or non-diagetic sound?
6. What is the importance of the other characters we see as we follow the protagonist down the building?
7. What is the purpose of the conversation Wade has with the old lady at the bottom?
8. The non-diagetic song playing is Jump by Van Halen; why do you think they selected this song?
9. What key information are we informed of in the narrated script?
10. What elements of mise en scene are noticeable in Wade's truck? What do these establish about his character?
TASK TWO: Now we are going to look at some shots and scenes in closer detail. You are going to watch the clip above again and this time you are going to select three key shots of your choice. These must all be a different shot and from a different section of the clip.
For each shot you select you need to answer the following questions in a paragraph format identifying the key media language (terminology: establish shot etc.) and explaining its effect on the audience in establishing meaning.
GRADE 9 EXAMPLAR:
Camera Shot/Type:
Effect:
Sound:
Effect:
Mise en Scene:
Effect:
TASK TWO: Now we are going to look at some shots and scenes in closer detail. You are going to watch the clip above again and this time you are going to select three key shots of your choice. These must all be a different shot and from a different section of the clip.
For each shot you select you need to answer the following questions in a paragraph format identifying the key media language (terminology: establish shot etc.) and explaining its effect on the audience in establishing meaning.
GRADE 9 EXAMPLAR:
The long shot presents Wade Watts in his van at a slightly low angle giving him importance and authority. He is dressed in casual, ill-fitting clothes to establish that he is a teenager and within the population in poverty. The lighting is from behind (as though through the doors of his van) but it is bright white giving him an angelic glow to establish he is the hero. The mise en scene presents creates the impression that Wade is messy but intelligent as he appears to have built most of this by hand and yet there are some object littered over the floor perhaps suggesting that the game's virtual reality is more important to him than his own. In this scene the sound is diegetic, to create a realism although the 80s soundtrack can still be faintly heard to appeal to Wade's sense of nostalgia for the past and appeals the audiences sense of nostalgia also. The song, Jump by Van Halen, also foreshadows the theme of risk-taking as suggested by the lyrics.
Camera Shot/Type:
Effect:
Sound:
Effect:
Mise en Scene:
Effect:
EXTENSION: Answer the following example style question.
How does Ready Player One quickly establish the protagonist of the film in the opening scene?
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