The Hunger Games opening scene analysis
The hunger games catching fire was released in 2012 directed by Francis Lawrence,
Main characters: Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair), Jena Malone (Johanna Mason)
The film starts off with non-diegetic soft, slow music playing whilst white writing comes up on a black screen which is 'from the Treaty of treason' explaining how each district in the hunger games will offer up a male and female aged 11-18 at a public 'reaping' where the tributes will be lead to the custody of The capital and then taken to a public arena where they will fight to death until one remains, who will be the winner. As a viewer this gives them a brief overview on what the film is about making them understand from the very start of the film what will be occurring. Although they slight knowledge of what will happen, this insight into the film may leave them intrigued on finding out how this will all unfold.
As 'The hunger Games' title comes up dialogue is then played with a male voice saying 'I think it's our tradition' and then it is cut too the first set of characters. The aspects of mise en scene give the audience an insight of the roles these characters play within the film. In this medium shot there a two men seated towards each other on what is seen to be a stage with bright blue dots of lights in the background. They are both wearing suits which is a connotation of power however Caser has bright blue hair and a sparkly suit and Seneca Crane has an elaborately crafted beard which will leave the reader aware that this the extravagant style of the Capital with their futuristic attire.
With a lot of varied camera angles and a diegetic sound of clapping coming from the audience it is clear that they are in a studio and whilst their dialogue is of them explaining the hunger games openly the audience is aware that this is just entertainment to the capital and nothing is wrong with it. In the middle of the interview it then suddenly cuts too the next scene where it shows a location with a screen text informing the audience that it is 'District 12', which is a brief clip of wooden shacks, broken wooden-carriages with trees which denotes that the area is poor as well as the people living in it with it's dull surroundings. I believe the director made sure the scene suddenly cut too the district in the middle of the interview and it shows the audience a clear contrast in how the people in the capital live as opposed to the people in the district. Whilst the location is shown a sound bridge is introduced as a young girl screams 'No! No!' Whilst the diegetic sound is placed whilst showing the district I believe it emphasises how bad the area is compared to The Capital. The screams from the young girl will intrigue the audience, as they will be wondering why a young girl is screaming as if she is in danger. It is then cut too a clip with a close up of Katniss, showing the audience that she is a main character and she is seen consoling her sister after a nightmare which tells the audience she is maternal over her sister. Acting maternal connotes that she is a strong, independent person which is most likely how she will be portrayed within the film. Prim (Katniss's sisters) is introduced as quite young and very vulnerable as whilst she was overcoming her nightmare she needed to be comforted by her sister.
The camera work in Katniss's house is handheld and very shaky which is another contrast, compared to The Capital showing how raw and real the district is. The mise en scene in costume is used effectively to portray Katniss and Prim, they are seen wearing dull, plain, over-worn clothing with Katniss wearing no makeup implying she put no effort into her appearance which implies that they are poor. Within this clip, there is low key lighting giving the house a dull effect which not only signifies poor living conditions but the lighting could reflect how the characters in the district may be feeling which is helpless, sad and confused as to why they are only seen as a form of entertainment to The Capital.
As Katniss runs outside on her way to hunt a non-diegetic calm, slow song is played however it is not happy nor sad but more of a dull humming sound whilst it shows the pure poverty of the people living in the district. The sound is reflected on this when people are seen looking lost, thin and quite frail wearing old, dirty-looking clothing. People are seen carrying buckets, looking out of windows with blank facial expressions as if they are itching to be free which emphasises how badly people are living in the district causing the audience to feel sorry for them. A close up of a sign reading 'No access beyond this point' on the barbed fence is a clear indication that they are trapped in and have no way of escaping. However there is a long shot of Katniss going through the fence which indicates that she is fearless.
The camera work in Katniss's house is handheld and very shaky which is another contrast, compared to The Capital showing how raw and real the district is. The mise en scene in costume is used effectively to portray Katniss and Prim, they are seen wearing dull, plain, over-worn clothing with Katniss wearing no makeup implying she put no effort into her appearance which implies that they are poor. Within this clip, there is low key lighting giving the house a dull effect which not only signifies poor living conditions but the lighting could reflect how the characters in the district may be feeling which is helpless, sad and confused as to why they are only seen as a form of entertainment to The Capital.
As Katniss runs outside on her way to hunt a non-diegetic calm, slow song is played however it is not happy nor sad but more of a dull humming sound whilst it shows the pure poverty of the people living in the district. The sound is reflected on this when people are seen looking lost, thin and quite frail wearing old, dirty-looking clothing. People are seen carrying buckets, looking out of windows with blank facial expressions as if they are itching to be free which emphasises how badly people are living in the district causing the audience to feel sorry for them. A close up of a sign reading 'No access beyond this point' on the barbed fence is a clear indication that they are trapped in and have no way of escaping. However there is a long shot of Katniss going through the fence which indicates that she is fearless.
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