Dear John Opening Scene

Dear John

Use of Camera: The scene starts with a high shot of the main protagonist, from this angle the audience can see that he is injured, this makes the audience feel sympathy for him as he is seen as weak as the camera is looking down on him. The camera then cuts to a medium shot of John as a young boy, showing him happy, which is a contrast from the moment he's in at the moment. This flashback shows the audience, him as a young boy at a coin factory. The camera then cuts back to him being injured with a extreme close shot of his eyes, this shows him to be dazed and not in control. The camera then changes to another soldier which is a low shot looking through the main protagonists eyes, this angle shows him to have authority as he is above john and is shouting at him. Also with the close up the audience can see the terror on his face showing the brutal situation they are in. The camera then keeps cutting between the flashback and the present moment showing john to be helpless as the last shot is a high shot of him lying on the floor. This suggests to the audience that he is vulnerable and not the strong brave soldier in which you'd expect. The last shot makes the audience emphasise with john as the audience feel sympathy for him and this entices the audience to watch more.

Sound: Before the scene starts there is non diegetic music which creates a sense of sadness and suggests to the audience that the scene will have an upsetting aspect to it. Then scene then moves on to the music being interrupted by a non diegetic voice over, the voice is of the main protagonist telling the audience what he was thinking when he was shot. As the voice over carry's on, the melancholy music is still present, this enhances the mood and attracts the audience more into the film. The scene then cuts to a flashback with diegetic sound of coins falling, however this could reflect on the situation he is in as the coins falling and hitting the ground sounds like bullet cartridges falling in gunfire. The scene then keeps cutting between the flashback and the present moment, the audience can hear the diegetic sound of war and destruction showing how bad and brutal the situation is for him. Near the end of the scene John says that the last thing that entered his mind was "you" which creates a mystery as the audience is left wondering who he is speaking about. The use of the non diegetic sounds intensifys the atmosphere of the scene and nicely compliments the diegetic sound of the war which creates a sense of realism and lets the audience picture themselves there.

Narrative: The scene starts with a soldier injured who the audience assumes is the main character as the scene is mainly focused on him. The scene in then introduced to a voice over of the main character explaining what has happened, this captures the audiences attention as they start to understand and realise that he has been shot and start to feel compassionate for him. The scene then cuts to a flashback which shows the main protagonist John as young boy at a coin factory which shows a contrast in the situation he is in. It then cuts back to the war in which we see him lying helpless and it makes the audience start to wonder what is going to happen and if hes going to be okay. The story focuses on a soldier who is speaking to a loved one in a voice over  and we are seeing the events of the past in which he is speaking about. Also the title 'Dear John' suggests that it is going to be about a soldier as it sounds like a letter from a loved one. The audience is left wondering who he is speaking to, this attracts the audience to watch more to find out who.

Genre: The film is of the romance genre and has many indicators such as the helpless soldier, making the audience ephasise more with the character, also the sad music indicates that it is a romance film as it enhances the sad nature and makes the audience connect with the character. The way the title is used suggests it is a letter and could be a letter from a loved one writing to John who is fighting for his country. In the romance genre there usually is a dominant brave man which is clearly shown as he is a soldier in war. Stereo typically soldiers are strong and brave and are usually the main protagonist in a romance film as the role shows authority. Romance films are aimed at young women as it makes them wish for a man who is courageous and heroic like John.