In the opening 7 minutes, we find out a lot about the plot line of the film, Spider-Man 3, just from the mise-en-scene and the diagetic sound. In this essay, I will analyse how this is done.
This film has been filmed both on set and on location. The very opening scene is of Peter Parker watching himself dressed as Spider-Man on the big screen in New York City. You can tell that this has been filmed on location due to the vast amounts of people on the streets, and the real sky which is visible. This could quite possibly signify the danger that Spider-Man is quite possibly facing as he is in a very open and exposed area. Also, no doubt the director wanted to ensure that it was as believable as possible. Also, it has been written and produced to be in the current day, this enables the audience to relate and feel like they are truly a part of the production opposed to just watching a film. In another part of the opening sequence Mj and Peter are in the theatre. It’s quite dark in this room, and has a sense of seclusion. As Peter’s enemy, Harry, is also in the theatre, we feel tension as the camera flits from both Peter and Harry, and we can see that Harry has a very evil look on his face. This is just one of the signifiers that Harry will be his enemy. The final setting which I have chosen to comment on is the Laboratory which Harry is in towards the end of the 7 minutes. I picked this out because not only does it display Harry coming up with a master plan and emerging from a machine with an evil look on his face and a very strong stance, but it clearly displays the Sci-Fi genre which is carried on throughout the film.
More evidence of the Sci-Fi genre follows with the black substance that appears at the end of the 7 minutes. This is a very large signifier of the genre, but also adds to the plot line of Peter and Mj getting into some sort of trouble that has to be sorted out by Spider-Man. Another genre which is a part of this film is action. This is clearly displayed in the very first few seconds of the opening by Spider-Man flying through the streets of New York. This is effective because it immediately informs the audience of the main genre and is also very captivating because you want to see what he does and who he is saving, even though it is a bit of an anticlimax as he doesn’t actually do anything, it is just a video playing on the big screen.
The lighting throughout the opening sequence goes from one extreme to the other. When Peter is in the streets of New York there is natural lighting. This can signify how exposed he is in the open air, there are no shadows, therefore there is nowhere for Peter to hide, he cannot get out of any situation of which he is forced into. Not only does this show how exposed he is, but it also shows he is the hero in the situation. As we meet Peter in the day time, we feel like we can trust him a lot more, due to the light being bright and the sun shining on him like he is an honest man. Also, the use of the actor, Tobey Maguire, makes the audience a lot more reluctant to see his as a “baddie” within the film as he has a very cute, immature looking face, and this makes him appear an unlikely candidate to be the villain in any film. In contrast, the lighting in the theatre is completely dark with just the spotlight on Mj. This indicates that the focus of every character in the theatre is in on Mj, even the villain, Harry. In this theatre the audience has the light reflecting from Mj onto them, however, Harry is more in the shadow than Peter. This gives us, as the viewers, the impression that he is an underlying villain because he is more hidden than Peter. With Mj being in full view of everyone, and all of the attention, and bright lighting on her, we can infer that she is going to be the character which gets into some kind of trouble, and needs Spider-Man to come save her.
The costumes which the character Mj is wearing are very simple. Even though she is dressed extremely glamorously on stage, they are still simple white colours. This tells us that she isn’t the one that is going to be saving anybody, as that is a complex job and her clothing doesn’t really display a complex side to her. Also her clothing is quite tight fitting; this suggests she is going to be the sidekick, as in the majority of action films where the man is the protagonist; he has a female side kick which helps him in his quest to defeat the antagonist. Generally, it is the female sidekick which gets into trouble; the tight fitting clothing also suggests the she will be the antagonists, Harry’s, target. The sidekick then becomes the heroine, because the protagonist wants to save her.
The movement in this opening sequence is very significant in terms of discovering the characters roles within the rest of the film. This is evidenced in Harry’s lab when he is exiting the large machine. His stance is extremely strong and prevalent, his facial expression initially look quite concerned, most likely due to what he is going to face later on in the film. It then changes to a much more comfortable yet fierce expression. This practically confirms our suspicion of thinking he is the villain of the film. Props in this scene are also very prominent in the demonstration of the Sci-Fi genre. These props include masks, computers and metal wings.
In relation to the framing and composition, we’re not seeing things from one person’s point of view as in the street we watch the screen from Peter, in the theatre we’re spying like Harry, and in the park we’re viewing it from the black substance.
Finally, the diagetic sound in this opening sequence includes the sounds of the cars in the city. It shows that the city was very busy signifying a possible fast paced film, and also maybe that quite a few of people will get in harm’s way during the film. Some other diagetic sound is Mj’s voice. She comes across as quite whiney and needy, always wanting to be the centre of attention, and wanting to constantly be the subject of discussion. After her performance, she continuously asks Peter to tell her how great she was in her performance, and as soon as the subject changes, she finds a way of relating it back to her. Another point is when they are sitting in the spider web, and she asks Peter to tell her he loves her. All of this shows a possible damsel in distress, due to already showing the whiney, crying out for help signs.
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