Analysing Film Openings - Pirates of the Caribbean

Scene Summaries- Pirates of the Caribbean

When watching the Pirates of the Caribbean, there are no credits at the beginning of the film. The only wording that we see on the screen is the title ‘Pirates of the Caribbean- the Curse of the Black Peal’. This is a very different way of starting a film. This is because usually at the start of a film it starts with the company that was part of the production in making the film. The style that the title is written in give an effect that makes the person watching think that it is going to be an action film, as does getting straight into the action.

The first shot that we see in the first scene is an establishing shot. The reason that the director has chosen to use an establishing shot is to set the scene and the location – the open seas. The establishing shot shows that the sky is foggy and you cannot see far into the distance. You can also see that is set in the sea because you can see that water at the bottom of the shot. By the use of this establishing shot the audience knows that the scene is going to take place in the sea. In the establishing shot you and also vaguely see the front of a superior ship. You can tell that it is superior because of the crest on the front of the ship.

 The next shot is a close up of the ship and in the corner you can see a little girl standing there. This shot alone gives quite a scary appeal to it. You can also hear diegetic sound which the girl is singing in a very quiet voice. The use of the close up of the boat really emphasises that the boat is important and of relevance to the rest of the film. You can also see that because of the condition of the boat, by this I mean in the way that it is kept, that it belongs to very wealthy people.

This next shot does not use the rule of thirds making the shot boring and not very interesting. However you start to see the girl’s face and what she is wearing. This confirms that the boat is owned by very wealthy people. You can still hear her singing the song (diegetic sound). During this shot you can clearly hear what the song is about, the song is about pirates. This is a forbidden subject on this ship.

The shot after is a POV mid shot of the back of the girl. She is still singing the song about pirates. You can see that from what she is wearing and then way that her hair is done, that her family is very wealthy. You can also tell that she is of a high class because of the way that she is standing; she has good posture which shows etiquette.

The next interesting shot that we see is a close up of a two shot. This two shot includes a man talking to the girl that was singing. He is telling her off because she was singing about pirates and this is forbidden on the ship. The reason that the director has chosen to use a close up of this two shot is to show the expression on the man’s face. This tells the audience how to react in the situation. It also allows the audience to share a connection with the character.

The shot after this is a mid-shot showing a man dress in high-class clothing. The mid-shot shows the expression on his face, the look on his face is not very interesting. It doesn’t really show any emotion which could mean that he is not a very interesting character or that he is one we are not supposed to like.

If we look at the next shot it is an over the shoulder shot and we can see the man and the little girl looking at the man in high-class clothing. The expression on their faces are the same, this means that they have the same opinion on what is going on. Even though the man that was talking to the girl was telling her off for singing the song it does not reflect his view on it in this particular shot.

One shot that I found very interesting is where the man that told the girl off walk away. A shallow focus has been used with the man’s face a being in focused and the little girl in the background. It is also a close us of the man’s face and with this you can see that he disagrees with then men in charge about having the little girl on board.

The next very interesting shot that we see, the reason is because it brings great mystery to the film, we see an umbrella floating along the sea. The screen shot that I captured is when the director has used the rule of thirds, making the shot much more interesting because there is nothing focusing on the middle third. This therefore makes the audience question where the umbrella has come from and makes them look at the shot differently as a pose to the umbrella being in the middle third.

The final shot of the scene is very interesting and would leave the audience in question. This shot also uses the rule of thirds. You see a boy in the distance come up to the boat laying on a piece of wood from another boat. As the scene is foggy you cannot properly see the boy on the wood.

I think this is a useful film to watch to learn how to create an opening that captures the audience's interest. There are a lot of puzzles set here - who are the girl and her father and why are they on the ship? Who is the boy? Where are the pirates? What is going to happen next? This atmosphere is created through suggestion more than plot. Nothing particularly dramatic happens but we try and interepret what we see e.g. the song the girl sings and the umbrella.