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The opening of the documentary is a 30 second long animation. It shows the individual states falling

down and hitting the ground to form the USA. Stephen Frys America then appears before

everything fades out. The music used is a fanfare.

The opening begins with a hand on a wheel and the words New World appear to showas a chapter

start. The camera then pans to reveal his face and he begins to talk. He starts with an anecdote,

telling the audience that he could have been born in America, and why he wasnt. This allows the

viewer to have a personal insight into Stephens history. It also explains his interest in the country.

This anecdote continues as the camera moves away from his face and a wide panning shot of the

road on a bridge is shown. The camera continues to pan and the black London cab drives past,

revealing the London waterfront.

It then moves to a more comical shot of it going across the beach and a quick montage of places in

America and their associated items, such as the statue of liberty and the grand canyon. The cab he is

driving is shown driving past these landmarks. There are also shots of him doing certain activities

such as being in a shark cage, going down a ski lift and walking along a mountain The song America

from the musical West Side Story is played in the background as it is relevent and upbeat. The pace

of editing is quick to match the soing, speeding up when it speeds up.

The music ends with a shot of the cab in a s lightly more British setting of a rainy peir. The voiceover

of his voice begins again as he explains where he will be going with the cab. A shot of the tiles from

the animated opening are shown in real life on the car. A recording, possibly sampled at the peir or a

sound affect, of seaguls and the sea is played in the background. As he continues, he explains where

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he will be going in this episode. A map is layedred over a wide paning shot of the coastline on the

map.

He tells the audience that they will begin in Maine which is coupled with a shot of the area. He

then gives a couple of facts such as it being the lobster capital of the world. A shot of him on a boat

with a local family. This begins at 2.31, halfway through the 5 minute extract. There is the

background noise of the boat and the sea as the man talks to Stephen. As the camera moves away

and shots of the lobster pots being thrown in, their conversation continues to play. A comical shot

of a crab that has latched onto Frys hand adds humour. The shots go to and from the conversation.

It then ends with an extreme long shot of the boat, and Stephens studio recorded voice over starts,

informing the audience of the historical context. It then goes back to them talking.

As they arrive at port the next day shots of them packing the lobsters up are shown and Stephens

voice over begins again. He introduces the next person he is talking to, giving the viewer a little

background about them, before showing them. A couple of close ups are shown when more

detailed things are being done. Here, the man is teaching Stephen to put a lobster to sleep. A shot

then quickly moves to a boiling pot of water and they cook them. He says to the man I feel a bit

mean but, the shot them switches to a full table and him clapping. This adds a little humour.

Various shots of people eating and the food are shown as he talks to the locals.

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