Opening sequence analysis

This opening sequence analysis is taken from the film Hot Rod which is a slapstick comedy. Films reassure the audience by demonstrating the conventions of the chosen genre. The characters of a comedy genre are usually ordinary people with nothing really out of the ordinary going for them and they are usually inferior characters that the audience find amusing. The character in this extract is wearing clothing that is associated with the superhero/stuntman clothing. The main character is wearing a boiler suit with a golden cape. The amusement in this extract is with the juxtaposition, this is because superheroes are supposed to be strong, dominant characters that wear suitable serious clothing. While this character is amusing because he is thin and wearing accessories that are very much inferior and dated with the stick-on mustache trying to make him look more manly and strong while his crash helmet is an old fashioned wrestling helmet that wont really protect at all, which makes the audience laugh as they understand that he is being naive to the dangers of falling. The other characters in this extract are the main characters friends, in comedy films they are also ambitious friends that are of the same stereotype as the main character, in this case they are geek stereotypes with them wearing polo-shirts tucked into there high waisted pants with amusing accessories such as the open top cap, that very few people would wear unless they were oblivious to the latest trends. These characters sat on the chair are reassuring the stuntman that he will be alright while they sit there in there old fashioned deck chairs looking on hopelessly this will amuse the audience because they are very much serious characters.

Locations of a comedy film are usually a suburban landscape this is to allow the audience to relate to the stories and feel like they are at the scene themselves.The locations of a comedy are usually open spaces, this gives the main characters space to hurt themselves. In this extract it is set in a suburban American street with a large ramp that the character is going to "attempt" to jump. The large size of the ramp and the inferiority of the main character makes us believe that he will not be able to land this jump and he will hurt himself, because knowing that comedy story lines usually consist of the main character recieving injuries the audience can tell from the start that this will happen and this builds tension and increases the humor. The lighting in a typical comedy is natural lighting as they are supposed to reflect everyday life and are not artificial, this is shown in this extract with the natural outdoor lighting.

The props in this extract are inferior and these don't help the main character but even increase the protagonists chances of hurting himself, this is evident in most comedy films with the main character making decision that worsen there chances of injury. Such props that decrease the protagonists chance of safety is mostly evident with the motorcycle that he is riding. The paradox is used here with the main character revving the engine showing the smoke emitting from the exhaust portraying that the bike is normal until he sets off to the jump and we notice that it is and old fashioned pedal operated motorcycle that makes the audiences prediction of him hurting himself almost certified as it is very slow and will not gain enough speed to reach the other side. The audience also have the knowledge that the takeoff ramp is not secure because they didn't have enough time but he still tries it anyway, this also leads the audience to believe that he will fall.

 Common ideologies of a comedy are usually ideologies that the audience will find strange and amusing. In this extract the main character has an American badge on his boiler suit this portrays that he will have the dominant ideologies of an American. This would be the idea of patriotism and the idea that he is making the world a better place by doing stunts, the American ideologies are seen as amusing to the Uk audiences because we have different views. The stuntman also has ideologies of believing in his golden eagle which is the sign of the American ideologies too and this is amusing and different from the audiences ideologies as they would see the eagle as a figment of his imagination and would become to believe he is strange. I also get the impression that the stuntman doesn't really value his life and is prepared to hurt himself in order for fame which is amusing.

Enigmas are usually set up, this hooks the audience so they watch the rest of the film in order for these enigmas to be resolved. This is present in this extract as there are such enigmas as to; why is he attempting to jump the large ramp? The audience would expect to see such elements of a comedy such as the main character hurting themselves which might be done using special effects or stuntmen, in this sequence it is likely SFX was used to show the man hurting himself. In films there is also an establishing shot to show place and time, in this extract this comes at the end when there is a tracking shot of the man riding along the motorway on his bike.