Back To The Future analysis

This film beginning is set in a room that looks like a garage, in there is lots of clocks, a bed, dog bowl and lots of mess. This opening sequence tells the audience about the type of character that lives there. The boy who comes in calls the person living there ‘Doc’ so that would enhance that the occupant is male. Also, the boy calls the dog Einstein. Due to these two names the audience is led to believe that the man is an inventor and likes to invent new items.

The colour of this scene is very dark the only bit of light coming in is the light that brightens up the room is from the doorway and windows. By having this dark scene enhances the un-tidiness of the room and also makes it more mysterious for the audience. The lighting is ambient as, there is light coming through the windows however it is brighter outside and the amount of light coming through doesn’t represent the daylight, this enhances that this home cannot be a permanent home because it is hidden away and cramp and not suitable to live in.

You only meet one character in the opening sequence and this is the boy, he is wearing trainers, jeans and a jacket. He is also carrying a bag and a skateboard which tells the audience that he isn’t old enough to drive so, must still be quite young compared to the ‘Doc’ character. The props in this scene are the skateboard and the scientific machine that is controlled by time. When the clocks get to a certain time they set certain machines off to do the ‘housework’ which is feeding the dog, making toast and turning the TV and radio on. On the TV there was a report that mention plutonium being stolen and when the boy enters he puts his skateboard down and pushes it. This then bumps into the plutonium under the bed. By seeing this missing plutonium and knowing that the man who lives here is an inventor suggests to the audience that Doc stole the plutonium.

In this home there is a bed but it is covered with lots of stuff which could suggest that it isn’t used that often. Also, the bed isn’t made properly and the whole place is a mess. This could suggest to the audience that his lifestyle is very busy and manic and he is always busy inventing new machines and gadgets. In this room everything is controlled by time and nothing is done manually, this could suggest to the audience that with the link between the time control and the title, this film is all about time and how to change time.

When the boy enters he knows where the key is kept and because it was locked it suggested that no one was in and that he had been there before and was good friends with Doc. This boy is the first and only character you meet in this scene and even though the audience hasn’t met Doc yet they can gain a good understanding of what he may be like.

This opening sequence is all done in one shot, one long pan up and down, left and right. There are also a few zooms in and out on specific items. One of these is the newspaper article, this enhances to the audience that this has something to do the man living here. The audience can gather that the film may refer back to the event on the article later in the film because of the specific zoom. Also, at the start the camera was zoomed in on a clock before the pan so, this shows the audience that this whole film is about time as this concept of time is very key to the plot. As the audience is taken around the home of this man all you can see is clocks and machines everywhere so, that helps to explain why Doc might be an inventor.

The sound of this film is very key because the film is all about time and the sound of time passing is a very important concept. At the start all you can hear is silence and then the ticking of clocks fades in and for the duration of this scene all you can hear is ticking with the added noises of the TV report and the dialogue from the boy. The Dialogue over powers the ticking when the report is about the

plutonium because the audience need to hear that it has gone missing and need to realise where it is now. But, as the camera moves away from the TV the next machine is heard.

This film opening tells the audience the key features of the film and the audience can gain a vague perspective of what might happen next but, they still haven’t met the other main character or the dog. After this opening they have still only met one character but, they know more about the inventor than the boy.

Back – some good detail but you need to read your work so it makes sense. Try to organise your points so they make sense. Try to be more analytical, less descriptive.