Film opening Bruce Almighty - Evaluation

Evaluation - 40 seconds to 3 minutes 20 seconds

Bruce Almighty begins with a black screen and a running audio where you can hear a man moaning. It is then followed by close up shot of a character wearing a a hair net. This shot immediately emphasises that this character will in fact be the main character of Bruce in the film as he is the first thing the viewers see. The use of the hair net is effective as it creates humour by relating to the audio before the scene. By including humour so early on in the film it makes it evident that the film is a comedy. Bruce continues moaning in this shot, it then changes to a shot establishing the setting which is to be a bakery, displaying the crew and Bruce who is the broadcaster. This establishment shot allows the viewers to understand where the beginning is taking place. It is then followed by a medium shot of Bruce including two staff of the bakery in the background. Bruce's body language suddenly changes and he acts professional which adds further humour. Also the characters in the background (one man and one woman) are used effectively to add humour as they are standing there motionless and emotionless. It then moves to a over the shoulder shot of Bruce make a humorous comment to the man. This clip then changes to a medium shot of two members of the crew showing their reaction. One member of the crew is holding a professional video camera. This use of props suggests he's a cameraman, making it clear that this is a broadcast. Throughout this scene there is a constant soundtrack which is cheerful and happy, adding to he humour.
This is followed by a clip of Bruce having a conversation with one of the staff and is merged into a over the shoulder shot. This clip appears to be an out take and adds further humour. Bruce then walks out of the scene.
The setting then changes to the outside with one continuous clip where the camera follows Bruce rough 90 degrees. Lastly, the setting changes once again to another location. This clip is in slow motion as Bruce pours milk into children's cups but spills it everywhere. This adds to the humour. The camera angle is directly ahead of Bruce, it then changes to a side view and then back to the front angle. Throughout this scene a typical famous soundtrack is playing which relates to slow motion and adds more humour. Bruce's facial expressions also add to the humour.