Wimbledon – Film opening

• Diegetic sound of tennis ball begins the music sequence


• Titles flit from one side to another, reflective of a game of tennis


• Artist like impression of Wimbledon crowd, flick between two images, to give impression they are watching the ballgame


• Without seeing the actual game, audience aware that it is about tennis, audience turning from one side of the court to another, and clapping, diagetic sound of tennis ball continues throughout


• Flips to images associated with Wimbledon, e.g. the ‘judge’ and the paparazzi


• Non diagetic commentation, clearly the main character


• Low angle shot in slow motion to show the importance of the tennis ball within the game and superiority


• Other main character established in short excerpt showing her winning a game, superiority, and the flip side, him struggling to place/rank high enough – Opposites attract (codes and conventions)


• Through costuming, shown in navy to stand out, whereas others are in white, is he less important, inadequate maybe?


• Main character – made clear he is negative towards tennis due to his disposition


• Extreme close up shot of his blue eye, pulsating, and non diagetic voices that are within his head, shows he is clearly stressed, and anxious, struggles to get away from it all


• Mixed non diagetic music of his commentary and also music to built the tension and pace of the current tennis match he is playing


• Throughout the game the ball is followed, showing the great importance within the game about keeping your eye on the ball – which could also work as a metaphor later on when romance plays its part


• The main characters name is also introduced when a name plate is lifted by another character within the film


• Upper class society, shown through setting in a country house and gardens, with numerous people sat in white tennis clothing sipping drinks, civilised, Peter (main character) doesn’t fully fit in, untucked shirt, jeans and blazer


• Element of humour, helps audience to warm to their character, as does the non diagetic commentary.


• Setting presents Britain in a positive light – the countryside, green grass and beautiful old houses, perfect scene for romance.


We’ve found out that:


 The makers of 'Wimbledon', who also made Notting Hill, Bridget Jones and love actually, frequently like to use the codes and conventions of opposites attract and the use of non diagetic commentary from the main character to help the audience truly connect with them, and warm to them.


 The presence of romance within the film does not need to be over emphasised in the opening sequence of the film, the audience just needs to be made aware of the character, and are automatically able to make the connection between the two.


 The importance of the main theme should be emphasised in the opening sequence, so the audience are aware of the importance of it within the story


 Costuming is important to make the main character stand out from others, but not too much that it’s too obvious


 It would be clever to use a metaphor within the opening sequence to hint towards what may follow further on in the film in relation to the reoccurring theme