Film Opening Analysis

The Hunger Games

1. Identify the film and its genre
   The film is called 'The Hunger Games' and it is an action/thriller film.
   
   
2. Identify where the story takes place and the timescale
   
   The story is set in the future with futuristic hovercrafts and various technology advances such as holographic presentations. It is set in America in a town called Panem, in District 12. It is also set in the Capitol.
   
   
3. Summarise what happens in the sequence in chronological order. How significant to the story telling is the order of events?
   At the beginning of the opening sequence there is an establishing shot of District 12 where we can see the run down houses and the dirty streets. Katniss goes to hunt. We then see an interview between a presenter and the host of the Hunger Games. There is a stark contrast in setting as the capitol looks very weird with very weird wealthy people. We see Katniss (main character) comforting her sister as she has just had a nightmare.. After this it is the reaping. Katniss's younger sister's name is called out but Katniss refused to let that happen and volunteers herself to be this years tribute for the Hunger Games. Then a boy is picked (Peeta Mallark) and the opening scene finishes with both Katniss and Peter shaking each others hands. The order of the story is important as it builds up tension slowly and the slow reveal of information about characters and settings.
   
   
4. Do events link to each other or are the distinct, unconnected events?
   
   The events link to each other but are also sort of distinct. You can work out the different scenes but there is chronology to it so that the distinctive events link up to form the story as a whole.
   
   
5. Which characters are introduced and what are their roles in the film? How do we find this information out?

• Katniss Everdeen - she is the main character in this film and we can tell this as most of the opening scenes are based around her. She also comes to the rescue of her sister which is typical of the good main character to do. It also foreshadows that she will be doing a lot more saving throughout the film.
• Peeta Mallark - he will be Katniss' supporting male character as he is also sharing the stage with her and the opening scene closes with them shaking hands. We can see he is very innocent by his facial expression and we can deduce that these two characters have some past history as Katniss has a vague flashback when he comes onto the stage
• Primrose Everdeen - she is the sister of Katniss and we can see that Katniss is very protective of her as she comfots her after her nightmare and also puts her life on the line to save her sisters. This kind of suggests that something bad will happen to her in the future as she is Katniss' weak point and cares for her a lot. The antagonist will do something to hurt Primrose in order to hurt Katniss. 
• Mum - she is there as a moral support for both her daughters but we can see the hurt expression on her face when Primrose's name is called and her comforting her daughter after Katniss volunteers
  herself.
  
  6. How much information is revealed and how is it revealed to the audience? What is deliberately withheld?
  
  There is a slow reveal of information but the audience still doesn't fully know what will happen in the rest of the movie. The fact that Katniss volunteered herself shocked us as she is the very first volunteer from their district. We are introduced to the main characters, the settings and the genre. The director has intentionally withheld important information about how brutal the Hunger Games are in order to build up the action and keep the audience hooked.
  
  7. What do you think the audience needs to know at the start of your film? Explain your answer.
• I think the audience need to know the main characters as the story will be based around them and it is important to establish them very early on in the film.
• I also think the main setting needs to be revealed, so an establishing shot, showing us the area that we are in and so that the audience get a feel of where the rest of the film will be shot.
• The genre needs to be clearly identified as the story will be based around this and if the audience are unclear at the start as to what the genre is then they are more likely to be confused throughout the film.