Analysis ByRichard Stockley

Overview on Opening Sequence• Already within the first 3 minutes, we are given a summary of the

general plot, the genre and what to expect within the rest of the film. They even edit the institution logo by making it an 8-bit version of the Universal logo and theme tune which shows the target audience what to expect. So straight away we can tell that the Target audience are people who grew up in the 70s and 80s as well as well as appealing to young people as they are stereotypically known to play video games. The audio then becomes a voice over which reads out the words on screen saying "Not so long ago, in the land of Toronto, Canada..." this is a clear reference to the classic "Star Wars" movies, who's credits start with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away" which is already making a retro reference that appeals to their Target Audience so already in the first 40 seconds we know the setting, genre and the Target Audience so we can tell that it will be a face paced film.

Camera Shots• The First shot we see if a continuing scrolling shot from the text to trees and then a street of

houses. This is used to This is as if it’s fallen out of the video game genre, and back down to reality. It then cuts into a wide shot of a small kitchen/dining room whilst drawing attention to Scott as he is the only one standing up and as the conversation progresses the continually cut from over the shoulder and close up shots this allows them to have a 4-way conversation and not ‘cross the line’ as it rapidly changes from one person to another. As a new character gets introduced, they use another wide shot but this time it is from the outside, it is a very quick shot to keep up with the pace that they have started and as ‘Steven and Scott’ try to have a quite conversation, the camera quickly zooms in on them, which excludes any other people to emphasize that only they can hear it and as they finish the camera zooms out again. As they go into the ‘band room’ they establish it with a wide shot showing all the instruments and amps, they also follow the rule of three in this shot as they keep “Knives” justified onto the left and they have the top of the sofa on the bottom so we know it is there. As the band gets ready to play they have taken it all in one shot by panning from one character to two and as ‘Kim’ counts in from four each number said, the camera zooms in which shows that action building up. While they play, the cameras keep switching from close ups of the instruments being played and a zoom in on ‘Knives’ which shows her being entranced by the music. To introduce the credits, they zoom out and extend the room to exaggerate the effect of the music and it then cuts to stylized backgrounds with the credits as overlays

Editing• The editing in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is one of it’s unique selling points as it

is so well done and different as they give the movie a comic book-like feeling towards it. You can tell editing will be a huge part in this film as they have even edited the institution logo buy making it “8-bit”. The editing emphasizes the action in the film as when the sound of the doorbell rings, the words “ding dong” floats from the ‘Scott’s’ ears. The editing also introduces characters as throughout the opening sequence, profiles keep popping up to new people whom we are introduced to which keeps the pace up. When the ‘Kim’ shouts the “ONE TWO THREE FOUR”, cartoon-like words zoom out of the stick at the same time. This yet again, shows us that it’s like a video game, with all the editing. Throughout the next 20 seconds, this is continuous with the lightning-like symbols coming out from the instruments and cartoon woods and drawings popping out. When the credits start to come in, they make the room ‘shake’ and light up to the sound of the music which emphasizes the music .When the sequence cuts to credits and the song continues to play, these effects continues to play on beat, creating a psychedelic experience and when the title is shown the band almost appear to be onstage with spotlights on them.

Credit Sequence

• I found the opening for Scott Pilgrim versus The World credit sequence effective as they are very creative and they have even edited the institutions logo. The movie is very much focused around this idea of video games and music the and the credits reflect this with the actual band playing for the music used. The font used for the credits is a very ‘comic book’ like font with sharp edges and a curved type. The credits are overlaid on quick moving art like sketches which reflect each characters personality which I think is very clever and an effective way to portray what the film will be like.