The Player

The Player opening scene analysis 

The audience is immediately presented with a frame shot of the indoor of a well structured building, as the camera begins to fade out from a medium shot, a stereotypical dumb blonde is situated in the middle of the shot, which is later backed up by her silly response to her co-worker who seems to have some authority over her, whom quickly shuts her down and progressively moves on to ordering her to fetch an important package. The shot then slowly moves through to a long shot. The harsh chaotic sounds and music at the very beginning moreover, acts as an alert for the audience signalling to them that the film has began, and to pay attention now because this part is important, and that there is no time to waste getting into the film. The frame shot works well in establishing all the key elements of the plot and the relationships that each character has. This quick overview of all the main characters enables the audience to conjure up a quick idea of the character’s responsibilities within the film.

The camera then follows the scene round to another character who plays the typical arrogant business man, who’s higher up status is shown by his lavish suit and the way the other character rushes to speak to him, showing the viewers that this man is important and any chance in speaking to him is crucial.

The mise-en-scene is typical Hollywood; the bright filled lighting hyperbolises that feel of sunlight and warmth and the the almost chaotic atmosphere emphasises the rush of the day. This also connotes to the reality of what the scene is likely to be like backstage and helps the audience recognise the stress that comes with film making.

Cross-cutting editing now establishes the next scene and almost imitates what the security guard is saying “cut cut cut”. This humorous comment about film making, almost taking the mick out of the production, immediately demonstrates to the audience that he is going to be a funny character and play the fool. The camera follows him walking along the path until fading out into the next scene.

The scene then once again, begins to follow into the next shot but it abruptly interrupted with the brutal sound of a male being knocked over by a bike. While the characters around panic over his injuries the audience’s attention is drown directly to a post card on the floor, conducted with a large zoom in from the camera. This connotes that the post cards importance is higher then the life of the individual on the floor.

The audience then witness a Porsche 911 being driven onto the scene, and pulling up to a girl who is walking by. This behaviour demonstrates a stereotypical man with money in Hollywood, and shows the audience that he is going to be a bit of a lady’s man and play that role. This also highlights the wealth that surrounds the film making industry. 

The scene then focuses on 2 men talking about the possibility of a new film, using an over the shoulder shot. The discussion is done in complete secrecy which is shown by the way the scene is shot. The camera is positioned behind a bush, so visual is unclear, and the window and blinds adds to this. The one male then receives the postcard that we saw a close-up of earlier in the scene. The postcard had that words “I hate your guts, ASSHOLE” on the back. The male was quick to look around him showing that he felt he was under threat. The denotation shows the importance of the postcard staying conferential and the music changing from an upbeat tune to a lower pitch may connote to the audience that the man is hiding unlawful things.

To conclude, this opening scene from the players manages to simultaneously comment on both itself and its industry while setting up the whole of the plot to the audience and manipulate the character’s personalities and traits all within 8 minutes.