Federico Martinez

10-20-16
The Hangover Opening Scene

Technical Codes
Diegetic Sound- The scene starts off with a conversation between what
seems to be the who main characters: Tracy and Phil. This dialogue is
diegetic sound
Non-Diegetic Sound- Other than the 30 seconds of dialogue between the two
main characters, the rest of the opening scene consists of background music.
This deals with wedding music at the beginning and connotes that the movie
will deal with this, and western music that shows where Phil and his friends
currently are.
Establishing Shot- Lots of shots that shows the setting. These shots deal with
buildings, points of interest, etc. from the area that Phil and his friends
currently are.
Close-up shot- There is a close up of the flowers and arrangements of the
wedding at the beginning of the opening scene. This shows to the viewer
that the movie will revolve around this wedding.
Slow-Paced editing- The scenes and shots change slowly. The background
music is also not too fast-paced and kind of calm at points. This can be used
to show the calmness in Phil even with the mayhem of the situation.

Propp: Character Functions

Various Characters in the main scene but only two actually speak
Tracy: She will be one of the main characters of the film as her and Phil are
the only characters that are emphasized in the opening scene. Tracy is
played by Sasha Barrese.
Phil: The other main character of this film. He is shown very messed up
which obviously references the title the Hangover. Phil is played by Bradley
Cooper.
Phils Friends: Seen in the background of the opening scene, but not
emphasized as much. They are Phils friends and they are all together during
the phone call.

Visual Codes
Typography- the font used in The Hangover was future medium. This type of
font was used because it is large, bold and really catch to the eye at first. It
is simple, yet very effective.

Mise-en-scene- The make-up and clothing of this opening scene is essential

to the rest of the movie. They introduce the viewers to the current situation
of the characters. Tracy and her family are seen dressed very nicely,
groomed well, and looking very presentable. However, Phil and his friends
are seen very dirty, with ripped clothes, and with several injuries.
Famous Characters- The opening scene features Phil who is played by Bradly
Cooper, a very known and successful Hollywood actor. This obviously makes
the movie more anticipated and awaited by movie fans.

Targeting
This movie is rated R so the intended audience is people above the age of
17. This is a crude comedy movie that would not be very suitable for
children. Profanity is used throughout and probably some types of sexual
references and nudity. This can be expected as the title of the movie itself is
The Hangover. It is not seen too much in the first 3 minutes of the film,
but can be inferred by the viewers.

Todorov
The opening scene to The Hangover does follow the Todorov narrative theory.
It starts off with equilibrium in the sense that everything seems calm and a
normal weeding seems to be occurring. The disruption quickly comes from
the sound of Tracys phone ringing. Tracy realizes / recognizes the disruption
and answers the call and is not surprised when it is Phil. She realizes
something bad has probably happened. She tries to repair the disruption by
reminding him of the wedding and reminding him its in 4 hours. The only
difference in this intro is that is doesnt return to equilibrium. The scene ends
with Phil saying the wedding wont happen and then hangs up the call.

Levi-Strauss
Good vs. bad (Tracy with the wedding vs. Phil with his irresponsibility)
Safe vs. dangerous (Safe place Tracy vs. Dangerous place Phil is seen at)

Responses
This film would not appeal to audiences other than adults because of the
profanity and the references de throughout the movie. First of all, children
would not understand most of the references and it would not be appropriate
for them to even listen to them.