High Fidelity's opening is in terms of audio exactly what I want to recreate in my film. The classic "You're gonna miss me" by the 13th floor elevators begins as an intro but then gradually fades to give the impression that it is being played through headphones this technique is known as sound perspective. This shift from non diagetic sound into seemingly diegetic makes the audience understand immediately that music will be a major theme throughout the film. It also shows us that Rob uses music to escape from reality because all the audience can hear is his private monologue. This is also highlighted by the fact that when Lauren unplugs the headphones she immediately uses dialogue to present problems showing the audience that as soon as Rob is exposed to reality he is faced with problems. Also the lecture that Rob gives about the correlation between music and rejection gives a very intellectual and emotional feel to the film.
However whilst the auido in this opening scene is very similar to what I want to recreate in my film the mise-en-scene is not at all similar to what I want to film. The mise-en-scene of this clip works very well with the theme it is trying to create. The vinyl record spinning on the turn table highlights the importance of music this coupled with the numerous posters and alphabetically organized records also give the impression that Rob has a compulsion for list making. The headphones on Rob's head when he talks about the misery that pop music creates add to the idea of the inevitability and all powerful nature of pop music, the fact that even Rob who understands the pain that pop music causes wears headphones suggests that there is no escape from the pop genre. Whilst the mise-en-scene fits high fidelity's genre it does not fit the genre of film that I am trying to make and thus sadly I cannot use many of the props and pieces of set design within my film.
The cinematography of this clip contains certain elements that I would want to use within my film. For instance the close up of Robs face as he does his monologue creates a very personal and sincere feeling adding to the emotional impact of the message. Earlier as the camera tracks the length of the headphones it creates a build up of suspense as we wonder who the character that is listening to the music is. However even as the camera reaches Rob it only displays the back of his head further increasing suspense to almost X-factor proportions. Then after Lauren enters the room the camera shows us a close up image of Lauren's hand pulling out the wire from the headphone jack, almost literally wrenching Rob back into reality.
