Similar Products – Nine Shots

Love Actually

The opening sequence to Love Actually is shot in Heathrow Airport and they use shots of different families couples etc. While the different shots are being showed an voice over of the actor Hugh Grant and he is having a monologue where he talks about the happiness of other people and he shows how love does matter. This picture is the first shot used and it is also where some on the titles start to appear. They keep the shot for about 30 seconds then they move onto another kind of shot. This particular shot shows how happy the couple are to see each other again and it’s effective because it fits in with the film genre perfectly and it easily gives us clues with what sort of film is it going to be by just looking at the reactions of the actors and the way they capture just this shot. The type of shot is a long shot.

This is the next shot of the opening sequence and it is where a young girl is hugging her mum after not seeing her for a while. This shot also gives clues with the genre of the film because it shows how people’s reactions are the same because in the title of the film, ‘Love’ is the first word and the opening sequence shows how the different actors show their love. The fact that the young girl is smiling is effective because it could have a reaction on the audience the most because it could make them smile too. At the start of the shot the young girl and her mum are running towards each other and they immediately give each other a hug which could add to the reaction of the audience. This type of shot is a close up.

This shot is where two women, who may or may not be particularly related are hugging and the smiles on their faces show how happy they are to see each other. The shot they used is effective because they are capturing the reactions of the actors perfectly to see show the audience some of the meaning of the film. The costumes of some of the actors is just their own items of clothing and they are dressed in their own style. The soundtrack to the opening sequence is a soft, calming, instrumental and it settles you into the film. After the track is finished, we hear Hugh Grants monologue about how seeing these people makes him happy. This type of shot is a medium close up.

These shots are all the same because they are all either over the shoulder shots or medium close ups. They are effective because they are all capturing the different reactions of the different actors and it adds to the positive reactions of the audience. Most of the actors all have smiles on their faces and they are adding the positive effect to the film.

This shot is an over the shoulder shot of the woman approaching her husband to greet him. This shot is effective because the gentleman’s reaction is quite important because he has been the one who has been away and the reaction he has when he see’s his wife, most people would describe as priceless.

This shot is a close up and it is the shot that I find most effective because you can see both of the actors reactions and the smiles on their faces say it all. Seeing both of the actors reactions shows a positive and it adds a positive light towards the rest of the film.