One hour photo- analysis of film opening

Film title: One hour photo.
Year: 2002.
Director: Mark Romanek.

The groups that are represented in this film:

• The male gender- The protagonist is a male so clearly represents the characteristics of this sex.
• Middle/upper class individuals- The protagonist in this film is of the middle class as he has a low paid job in a photography shop but is still shown to be able to eat out in restaurants. However the antagonists are of the upper class as they have a big ouse and are presented nicely.
• The ethnicity that is represented in this film is mostly White-Americans.
• The age groups that are in this film range from adults in their late 30's to adults in their late 40's, teenagers (16/17 year olds), and children around the age 6.

Mise-en-scene:

• The use of colour in this film is very pleasing to the audience. Even though the protagonist is usually pictured wearing plain, dull coloured clothing like beige, crème and grey, when he reaches a point of insanity the whole room turns red, this colour has a negative connotation of danger. This contrasts with how the protagonist is meant to be presented as he seems dull but really he is devious.
• There is high-key lighting used in certain settings of this film such as the photography shop where the protagonist works and the lab where he develops the photo's of the antagonists. There is also low-key lighting used mainly in the antagonists house and when the protagonist is seen looking through the photo's of the family in which he is stalking.
• The settings within this opening are very normal and are everyday places which people would have experienced going to. These consist of a shop, a restaurant, a lab and a house. This shows to the audience that something like this, what the family is experiencing in the film, can happen to everyone as they are presented as a normal set of people, living in a normal setting.

Use of camera:

• The movement of the camera is fairly consistent throughout the opening of this film. This is due to the fact that the camera uses tracking shots to follow the protagonist walking. This adds tension to the film as the audience feels as if they are moving with the main character and with his thoughts.
• A worms eye shot is used to show the protagonist whilst he is developing the photos of the family he has stalked. This is to show that he has the power in the situation.
• High angle shots are used frequently throughout the opening film to show that what the protagonist is doing is wrong, as the aim of this camera movement is to get everything in the one frame.
• An over the shoulder shot is used at the start of the opening to show the conversation between one of the antagonists and the protagonist. This builds tension as you cannot see the antagonists face, only her face in the protagonists pictures can you see.

Sound:

• The sound throughout the opening scene is upbeat which contrasts to the atmosphere of the film as what the protagonist is doing is quite a dark action.
• The music that is being played however, has a very cynical tune, this shows a key element of a the pyscho thriller genre.
• There is a steady beat during the opening sequence for this film, this creates pauses between the character's speech but also acts as a lead up to the big moments that will be shown within the actual film.

There is unrestricted narration throughout the opening for 'One hour photo.'