The opening scene of Kick Ass begins with an establishing wide shot of New York City showing iconic buildings. There is dialogue over this scene to set the tone. It then cuts to a close-up of a pink backpack, surprising the audience when a gun is revealed to be held confidently by a feminine character. It pans up to show an intelligent but vulnerable character framed against rocks in the background, isolating the two characters in an abandoned area with buildings far away, contrasting them with the outside world.
2. The opening scene of Kick Ass begins with
an establishing shot, which clearly shows
that the movie is set in New York. The very
wide shot allows the audience to see
where the action will take place and
provides an overview of the scene that will
follow. The camera gradually zooms up
closer showing us some of the iconic
buildings in New York for example The
Empire States building can be seen at the
very back.
3. There is a pre-lap into the next scene as
dialogue can be heard being spoken over
the opening establishing shot. The pre-lap
shows the juxtaposition of the two scenes
as the busy city establishing shot contrasts
with the voice of the character saying ‘a
handgun bullet travels at more than 700
miles an hour’. This provides an ironic
impact to the opening sequence.
4. The cut in close up shot of the bag on the floor
takes us straight into the scene and action. The
mise-en-scene (props) colour of the backpack bag
is pink which connotes feminine traits and the
character is quite girly. The close up shot of the
bag allows us to see in more detail what she is
getting out of the bag which to our surprise is a
gun. This shot is very effective as we are not yet
shown the character but from the way she is
holding the gun suggests she is not nervous but
very confident.
5. The camera pans from the bottom to above revealing
another character. The low angle shot of the character
allows the audience to see the powerlessness and
vulnerability of the character. The mise-en-scene (costume)
glasses suggest he is intelligent. The character is framed to
the left of the lens where in the background you can see
nothing but rocks. This could suggest that the character is
also insignificant.
6. This very wide establishing shot shows us that there is two characters in a isolated
and abandoned place. This shot is very effective as we can still see the buildings
however it seems very far away from where the characters are standing. This could
suggest that the characters are away from everyday life and now in their ‘own
world’. It also shows the audience that they are still in New York.
The contrast between the background building with the abandoned area shows
also the contrast between the characters and the outside people. This shot
introduces the characters in the opening scene which connotes that they will be
important characters throughout the film as they are the first characters we are
shown.
10. Throughout the opening
scene quiet but
continual beat which
gets louder as Bruce
falls into well. The non
deigetic sound of an
orchestra in the
background sets a tone
of fear and panic. The
11. The camera pans
from right to left as
we see the garden
scene going so fast it
is blurred. This type
of shot is useful here
as it brings audience
into action and
12. The High-angle shot of the
top of well is used to
exaggerate the height of it
as well as get a good shot
of the boy falling. This
represents how far he has
fallen and could also
suggest the long journey he
is about to embark upon. The
close up of the boy’s face as
13. The mid shot of both
the characters shows
the mise-en-scene
(clothing) of the
characters. The
children are dressed in
contemporary which
gives the impression
that they are from
14. There is a close up shot
of the character
waking up from the
dream. The use of this
shot here is very
effective as we are then
introduced to what
seems to be the grown
version of the boy in the
same position as the boy
