The document provides an analysis of the opening scene of the 2007 film "Gone Baby Gone." It summarizes the following key points: 1) The opening scene is set in a rough American town, as evidenced by American flags and a community gathering after a young girl goes missing. 2) The characters appear rough based on their dull, washed out clothing like hoodies, jeans, and chains. The town also seems run down. 3) Sad, subtle background music and a voiceover by the main character establish a serious, emotional tone as he describes growing up in the neighborhood. 4) Slow, panning shots introduce various members of the community and gang-like teenagers, reinforcing the

1. Gone Baby Gone (2007) Film OpeningAnalysis
I decidedtolookat thisfilmopeningasithasa verysimilartheme towhatIam usingin myfilm
opening.Iwantto lookat the use of the technical elementsinthisfilmextractinordertosee how I
can adapt my filmopeningwell inordertosuccessfullypresentthe same theme.
The filmissetin an Americantown,andthisisevidentasthere are Americanflagsaroundthe town
itself.There seemstobe a communal gatheringata pressconference following ayounggirl going
missing,andall of the residentsof the townare joiningandsupportingeachother.
It seemstobe quite a rough area,howevertheyall seemto be happyintheirenvironment. The
characters inthe openingof the filmappearratherrough.May of the girlsare wearinghoop
earrings,lowcutjeans,hoodies, andbigchainnecklaces.The boysare wearingtracksuits,vesttops,
jeans,hoodies,fatcaps, andchain necklaces also.Theydon’tappearveryexpensive orhighlythough
of piecesof clothingtothem.Theircostume coloursare verydull andwashedout,generallyblack,
white,grey,andthe girlstendbe wearingpinkandblack.The painton the woodof the deckingin
the townis verywashedoutand ruined,itgivesthe impressionof the townbeinglivedin,andalso
that itisn’tverylookedafter.There are variouspropsusedtotie in the ideaof the area beingquite
rough.A fewof the characters are filmedsmoking,
The soundof the filmopeningiscreatingquite asadatmosphere,as if somethingverytragichas
happenedinthe area.Throughthe entire filmopeningthere isanon-diegeticorchestral background
musicplaying,thatisverysoftand subtle.Itincreasesvolumeanddecreasesvolume inseveral
placesto highlightcertainareasof whatisbeingshowntothe audience.There isalsoaconstant
non-diegeticvoice overof whatappearsto be the maincharacter. He istalkingaboutthe
neighbourhoodthe audienceare seeing,andbeingstogointosome detail abouthimself.He says
thingslike:‘I’ve alwaysbelievedthatitisthe thingsthatwe don’tchoose,that makesyouwhoyou
are… People roundhere take pride inthese things,like it’ssomethingthey’ve accomplished…I’ve
livedonthisblockmywhole life,mostpeoplehere have…Whenyourjobisto findpeople whoare
missing,ithelpstoknowwhere theystarted.Ifindpeople thatstartedatthe cracks,and fell
through…You’re a sheepamongstall the wolves,be wise asservants,butinnocentasdoves.’This
voice overtakesus through hisneighbourhoodandwhere he hasgrownup,and theyare very
sentimentalphrasesandwayof lookingatthings,whichallowsustopickup on the fact that the film
isgoingto be veryserious,andquite movingemotionally.
The cinematographyis invitingthe audience intomeetingthe people of the neighbourhood,andit
alsohelpscreate the mood.The firstshot we see isof a mansat on a porch smoking,andittilts
upwardsand showsa youngwomanstoodwithherjeansundone,atattooaround her bellybutton
and a short cut top,both lookingquite dreary.We instantlygetthe image thatthe areais quite
roughand unpleasant,sothe genre isgoingtobe quite serious.Itthentakesusaroundthe
neighbourhoodasthe maincharacter speaks,showing usseveral differentkindsof people,we see a
wide shotof a man on hisporch, lookingquite down,anditfocusesfromanAmerican flagto the
man,and anotherwide shotof a womanlookingdownonherporch.We thenmove ontoa panning
shotof a womanwalkingpasta wall coveredingraffiti,and peoplepaintingonthe wallsatthe end
of it.There isthena slowpanning,wide shotgoingacrossgroupsof teenagersinwhatappearto be
gangs,reinforcingthe ideaof the areabeingrough.Thenthere are several mediumshotsshowing
activityof the neighbourhood,showingthingssuchasyoungpeople playingbaseball,people inthe
hair salonsandbarbers,smilingandjoking,youngkidsinthe playground. We getareal sense of a
close communal areathroughthe shots.

2. The editingof the openingscene isveryslow,asitisaimingto get the audience totake inthe
surroundingstheyare seeing astheycome acrossas keyfeatures tothe settings.Itusescontinuity
editing,tellingthe audienceastoryas it unfolds.