Note Book-Opening Analysis

NoteBook

Character

The only characters we see are the two ladies and the man in the boat, the lady is old, weak and looks sad. In this scene she looks like she has lost her husband and this could be the reason for why she is very sad. You can tell by her facial expressions that she is upset and wishes she could change things. She also looks helpless because of old age, and this can be a bad thing for people who are old because loosing the person you love can be a big bring down on life, and this can lead to depression and that is why most elder people feel alone, and feel like they can't do anything. The man in the boat could be represented as the husband of the lady, you can tell this by her looking out of the window and looking at him. The man is in the boat and is rowing towards her like he is trying to go back and see her, so they can be back together.

Sound

The sound which is used is mainly non-diegetic sound which is the music. The music is a typical example of a romance film, that being it sounds sad and like someone has lost someone. Romance music is usually played by a piano to reflect the emotions of how the person is feeling at that moment in time. For example the woman seems very upset and you can tell this by the piano music which is reflecting her feelings. There is hardly any talking in the opening scene, which is different to other romance film, but it is near the end of the clip where the lady says "Excuse me? Come on lets get you to bed" This shows that the lady is weak and is struggling in life but this could be different if she had her husband or the person she lost.

Camera Angles

The camera angles which are used in this opening scene have a lot of difference between them. For example there is an establishing shot of a lake which has a man on a boat this shows that it is a romance film because the boat could represent a way that they first met. Also the sunset or sunrise in the background which makes the sky orange is a very romantic thing because it is a stereotypical setting for a couple to meet and make love. Also They use medium shots of the birds flying above the water, this shows that it is going to be a nice and calm film to watch, something that you can relax and watch with your family and girlfriend/boyfriend. This could also represent something else like lost or sadness, like something bad has happened, but it is mostly represented as calm or peaceful like it is something innocent because birds are represented as peaceful, A close up shot is used on the woman in the house to show how she is feeling about her husband. She looks lost and sad because they were in love and did everything together.