Engaging audiences essay

Analysis of the opening scene from The Hunger Games: 

In this essay I will be analysing aspects such as camera angles, editing, mise en scene, sound, etc, to help come to the conclusion of how they engage the audience and why each aspect is used how it is in the dystopia, action and adventure film that is the Hunger Games. 

Throughout the opening scene digetic sounds are used. We firstly hear them being used in a conversation where Caesar Flickerman is interviewing Seneca Crane. This conversation is used to help us gain some background information about the hunger games as they talk about why it occurs. Within the scene, we hear a crowd cheer. Although we as viewers cannot see these people, we can assume that they are in the room as the characters look to where we would expect a crowd to be sat. This is done to show how the characters are the main focus of the scene and which suggests their importance. Wethen come to another scene, in which we hear a loud cry/ scream. Again, although we cannot see the person, we can assume this sound is digetic as we are soon shown the source of which the sound has come from and can assume that the shot we were shown before is the outside of the place that they are. This is done to exaggerate the loudness of the cry/ scream. This scream is used to show that these characters are normal, ordinary people and makes the audience emphasise with the characters. This scene continues, and we hear digetic sounds as there is a conversation between Primrose and Katniss. As this part of the scene begins to end and Katniss leaves Primrose in her room, we are shown a shot of Katniss walking down her stairs however we still hear the end of the conversation she was having beforehand in Primrose’s room which shows a use of non-digetic sound being used. However, this doesn’t last for long as the sound quickly changes back to digetic with the sound of Katniss’ footsteps, her taking her coat off of a hook, a cat hissing and then her talking to the cat. 

Camera angels are an important factor used in the opening scene to help show what is happening more clearly to the audience. The scene begins by using two people shots and over the shoulder shots to show a conversation between two people (Caesar Flickerman and Seneca Crane. These shots help the audience to understand what kind of relationship the two characters have, which appears to be quite professional. There are also some close up shots used in this scene so that we are shown the characters when they are individually talking as this makes them the auidences main focus. The scene then switches to a different location where we are shown a rural area. This is done in a long shot to give the viewer an understanding of where the scene is set. In the rest of the scene we are firstly shown an extreme close up of Primrose’s hands and Primrose and Katniss’ heads on each other to show that she is shaking and hugging her sister. This helps the audience to immediately understand the close relationship that they have with each other and that Primrose looks to Katniss for safety and security. This helps to engage the audience as they begin to feel invested in their relationship and the characters themselves. We are again shown close up shots and two people shots to show their conversation and their relationship. This continues for the rest of the scene. At the end of the scene we are shown a medium shot so that we can see Katniss leaving her house. This shot allows us to see where she currently is and where she is going to, helping to add small details to the storyline. 

The audience is shown a difference between where the characters Caesar Flickerman and Seneca Crane are located, which is on a TV studio/ on a stage and where Katniss and Primrose Everdeen are located, which is in a rural, sparse area. This highlights the difference in social standing between the characters. This foreshadows that Caesar and Seneca are of a higher social position and have more authority as where they are set appears to look more wealthy as they are from the Capitol which is similar to a government and therefore have power. However, Katniss and Primrose are shown to be poorer and less well off which we can see through how they are shown to be of a poverty status. This is done to immediately in the film to emphasise the difference in authority and social positions each character has. With Katniss and Primrose being of a poorer status, people can relate to them more as most people would have been within this category at this time therefore, if we were experiencing this situation, would also probably be in the running to go into the hunger games. As they are similar to a majority of people watching the film, this makes them more relatable and helps the audience to engage  more in the film. 

In the opening interview scene, the characters are shown to be wearing smart clothes. This is one way in which we can infer that they have a professional relationship and are having an interview. Caesar is shown to have bright blue hair and eyebrows as well as wearing a blue suit. Whereas, Seneca is wearing a black and red suit, his hair is slicked back and his beard is shaped very unusually and uncommon for someone in this time period. The way they both look helps to set the time period for this film, showing it as a dystopia and suggesting it is set in the future (sometime after the year 2070). Their smart clothes also similarly allude to their wealth and high status, by showing that they can afford nice looking things. However, although we don’t see much of Katniss or Primrose’s clothes, they again infer their lower status as they don’t appear to be dressed smart. Their clothes are also quite dull, plain colours (dark blues, blacks, whites) which contrasts the bright colours that the other characters were wearing. As well as suggesting their poverty through the colours, this also perhaps foreshadows their mood and their feels. As the richer characters of a higher status are shown in brighter colours, were the lighting in the seen is also brighter and lighter. However the poorer characters are dressed in plainer, dull colours which perhaps reflects their sadder and anxious mood. 

Within the interview section of the scene, the 180 degree rule is used. We can see this as we only see one half of the room, even though we hear the other half we don’t see it. This way the audience doesn’t experience disorientation and instead continuity is felt within the scene. We can also assume, that because these characters are of a high importance and an interview is being conducted, that this is being shown on TV and what us as viewers can see is what viewers at home would also see. When the scene then cuts to a different location and characters, omnipresence editing is used to show that these scenes are occurring in two completely different places however the subject of both conversations is the same (they’re both talking about the hunger games), even though their opinions on the subject aren’t. Within both separate scenes, we see shot reverse shots being used to show conversations between both sets of characters and to show their different relationships. In the ending scene, we see Katniss walk down her stairs and leave her house which is shown by a pan shot. This then turns into a zoom lense as she gets closer to the door and therefore becomes closer to the camera. 

The mise en scene in the beginning interview scene is done by both characters sitting at a slight angle towards each other. This shows that they are conversing with each other. However, because their seats are not fully facing each other and are positioned somewhat towards where we would expect an audience to be, this shows that they also want to include the audience in their conversation and engage them as well. When the scene then changes to the rural area that their house is located in, we see a shot of what the outside area of their house is like. This scene includes tall trees, which are mainly placed on the left and right hand sides of the shot. There are also, wagons, pylons, what appears to be more housing and vegetation in the distance and a hut, which we can assume to be where they live as it is the only housing unit in the scene. The hut is placed somewhat hidden between tress and a wagon is placed in the foreground of it. This is done to suggest that their home is isolated, secluded and hidden away from anything else. This might be done to infer that the characters that live there are quite mysterious and private people. It may also suggest that they like to keep themselves to themselves. In the ending scene, where we see Katniss leaving her house, we are shown her taking a coat off of a hanger and a cat on the floor. These things are placed within the scene to make the audience understand that she is in her house and to make the situation feel more normal and realistic. This helps to engage the audience as it makes them feel as though Katniss is just a normal person, who goes through similar things to the viewer, making her feel relatable. 

Overall, camera angles, editing, mise en scene and sound are all used to helps set the scene for the film. They are used to show the relationships between characters and to engage the audience through hinting towards the storyline for the rest of the film and beginning to try and make the audience feel connected and invested in the characters. Appearance and location are also largely used to show the social divide between the two sets of characters we see in the opening scene, which is again used to hint towards the upcoming storyline in the film.