The Host opening analysis

1. The Host Title Sequence Shots
Shot 1: Open Road presents
Shot 2: In association with IAV International and Silver Reel
Shot 3: The Host
The Host Genre
Main genre: Post apocalyptic/sci-fi genre.
Other genres in the narrative: Action/thriller, romance.
Narrative/Plot shortened
A race of non-corporeal, parasitic aliens who go from planet to planet looking
for hosts have come to Earth and taken over the human race. When an unseen
enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their
memories, Melanie Stryder will risk everything to protect the people she cares
most about - Jared, Ian, her brother Jamie and her Uncle Jeb, proving that love
can conquer all in a dangerous new world.
Colour codes: white
connotes minimalist,
techno, clean.
Bold, capitals – stands
out, contrast to the
dark background.
There are no
connotations which
indicate a specific
audience which implies
that the colours chosen
are to suit male and
female. Where as if the
colours were
pink/purple, the
audience indicated
would be for females.

2. The Host Camera Shots/Angles/Movement
The first shot in the mise en scene is a view of the stars and the
earth. When the title sequences are appearing the earth is slowly
coming towards the camera. The audience feel like they are getting
closer to the earth which draws them in. This extremely wide shot
establishes/implies what the genre of the film is: the stars, earth and
sun infer that it is about the whole nation, not just a certain place.
We associate the whole nation/society in most post apocalyptic
films.

3. Graphic Match is used in these three
shots: earth expanding/exploding 
eyeball  extreme close up of eyes
on a woman.
It goes from a wide establishing shot
to a extreme close up of a characters
eyes. From this shot, the audience
can imply that the person is
apocalyptic/ an alien creature due to
the abnormal colour in the woman’s
eyes.
There are connotations of the genre:
white, blue, black. They give a sense
of sci-fi/techno.
The way the camera has moved from
the earth to the woman may hint to
the narrative: seeing through
someone else's eyes.

4. There is a continuous montage of shots – different people are shown.
Graphic match is still used when zooming through people’s eyes, into
others. This indicates that everyone is the same/has the same vision
and are part of the same species like a family which relates to the
narrative.
There is movement of the camera as it zooms from a close up to a
mid shot for all of the people shown and has transitions fading in
and fading out and overlapping. The editing is not to quick either.

5. It then cuts suddenly to a
different scene. This introduces
the main character in the film.
This close up identifies the
character and her facial
expressions. It suggest that she
is uncomfortable or worried
because she looks like she is
confused and looking at
something/someone.
The lighting is very
dark which connotes
evil, problems etc.
This shot is a long
shot which shows her
being surrounded by
the aliens.

6. The next part she is fighting and hitting
the aliens – match on action is used. The
shots are quickly swapping from different
angles to create tension. The editing
speeds up which keep the audience
interested and alert. There are mostly mid
shots used when she is hitting the
opponents.
MATCH ON ACTION IS USED A LOT
SHOT 1: smashing through glass SHOT 2: falling through the air
SHOT 3: landing on the floor

7. When she is falling, a low
angle shot is taken to
exaggerate and show
how high the height is:
the buildings look huge
compared to her.
In these shots there is eye line match. The woman (alien) is looking over the girl.
The close up of the alien shows her facial expressions and then cuts to a POV shot
to show what she is seeing. This puts the audience inside her view. The high angle
shot shows the dead girl which makes her look small and useless. The angle makes
the alien look more powerful as she looks down on her.

8. It then fades from that scene to establish
another location.
A wide angle long shot shows the setting change and
shows the characters involved. The layout of the
building is stereotypical sci-fi/post apocalyptic genre
based – minimalistic, clean, futuristic.
Mid shot shows the main
character – shows the
damage done.

9. Clever technique: shows
the persons actions in
the reflection.
Close up of the silver
container.
Extreme close up of the mythical alien creature. The audience are
questioned and challenged because they don’t know what this is or why
they want to give it to the girl.

10. There are three main shots to show the alien creature being put inside the girls body.
A close up of it being put into her neck, the creature moving into the back of her neck
and into her brain and the effect it has on her. They are all close ups to show the
audience what is happening. There is a rotation of the camera going from her neck to
her face. The extreme close up shows that her eyes have changed and she is now like
the others. The mythical alien entices the audience because they want to know what
it will do to her and why she has been targeted. The camera movements are slow still
to show clearly and carefully what’s happening – it sets the narrative up.

11. The Host Sound
One thing that is used a lot in post apocalyptic/sci-fi films are voice overs. In The
Host, the voice over is used right from the beginning up until it cuts to the
woman’s/alien’s eye. This is significant because it explains to the audience about the
context – “we’ve been invaded… by an alien race”. It explains that there are only few
humans left and that they are on the run from the aliens. The voiceover helps set up
the narrative and it makes sense when the aliens are running after the girl who is still
human.
There is non-diagetic sound (music) in the background when she is hiding round the
corner. It is tense music because it’s quiet at the start and gets louder slightly when
she runs off to the middle when she is surrounded by the alien enemies.
When she is swiping her weapon at the aliens, a ‘swish’ sound is used to make it
more realistic. This may be a foley sound.
When she starts to hit and cut them, sound effects are used (foley maybe) to make
the hit sound harsh and realistic. It is a graphic sound which shows the action and
violence.

12. The Host Sound
Throughout the chase, there is a upbeat action soundtrack.
The track used creates tension for the audience. There is
still diagetic sounds eg. When the glass breaks when she
goes through it and a bang sound when she hits the
ground.
When the aliens find her body there is a slow tense
soundtrack used, the mood has changed.
There are sound effects used such as: sci-fi, techno,
futuristic sounds.
In some parts, the music gets louder to build tension.

13. How are the character types established?
Melanie Stryder: Main character
She is one of the few humans left on the earth and the aliens are after her to change her into one of
them. She is put across as a ‘good’ character trying to get away from the enemies. She is young (16-18
we presume) so the audience can feel sympathy for her. She is shown as a strong, brave character as she
stands up for herself against the aliens. Stereotypically, women are seen as objects and attract male
audiences, however in this case, she has a masculine personality eg. Power, fighting, violence.
Alien race
The aliens that are taking over the human race infer that they are in charge and have more power over
the humans. The main woman is shown more than the other aliens which infers that she is in charge. In
terms of costumes, the men are wearing full black and the woman is wearing all white. The colours
represent futuristic and relate to the genre. The white eyes also show that they are aliens/post
apocalyptic creatures because we know as an audience that having white eyes is fiction.

14. Narrative
Enigma: Barthes' Enigma Code is a theory that suggests a text
(whether that be television, film, a poster etc) portrays a mystery to
draw an audience in, pose questions and, as such, become intrigued
in the piece. For instance, a murder mystery will often not reveal the
identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which poses the
question "Who is the murderer?"
The host uses enigma codes because the audience don’t know why
they want Melanie Stryder (the human) and they may ask questions
like:
• Why have the aliens taken over? How?
• What’s happened to all the humans?
• Does Melanie escape?

15. Do I think this is an effective opening?
I think the opening is good because it represents the post apocalyptic/sci-fi genre very well.
The camera angles, shots, sound and characters all establish a futuristic film which the
audience can identify easily through the use of codes and conventions which represent the
specific genre.
From start to finish, the genre is easily recognised:
Beginning: the earth, stars and sun with an exclamatory voice over
End: the human being taken over by an alien.
Audience
The target audience for this kind of film and genre would stereotypically be
teenagers from about 15 onwards due to the romance and the young characters in
it. The genre mostly appeals to a male audience however, because of the romance
storyline, the film will appeal to a female audience also. Maybe the romance
narrative has been used so that the film is targeted at a wider audience rather
than just at males.