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FRANCES HA - OPENING SCENE - Coggle Diagram
FRANCES HA - OPENING SCENE
CINNAMONTOGRAPHY
Wide long shots
Emotional distance /
V EFFECT
FNW influence
B+W, observational cinematography
FNW influence
Slow pan
Like Noah wants us to notice it
V EFFECT
Frances has a slightly longer reaction shot in this moment
The film's protagonist is starting to come out of the two: the audience begin to RECOGNISE who it is
Frances starts to take up more of the frame
The RECOGNITION phase
No establishing shot in any of these scenes
Unconventional - proves to audiences that this isn't a mainstream film
POV shot of Frances
Subjective access
- allowing us to see through her perspective helps the audience ALGIN with her
Moves to a mid-long shot after Frances sees the cat
Fran has seconds thoughts and is disassociating
Physically and emotionally sutured with Frances
Long takes
Makes the scene more awkward since there's no filler or chance to look away
Moves to individual mid-close ups after Dan gets rejected
Broken apart, metaphorically
Fran framed to the outside window
She wants no part with Dan
Pan that follows Dan
The two are separated once again
Fewer reaction shots of Dan
The audience are now ALGINING with Frances, morally because of her emotional honesty
Low angle on Dan
Has the power over Frances
It's only until she decides to break up that the power becomes equal
MISE EN SCENE
Opens on the playfight
Foreshadows the break up between the 2
Establishes this child-like, playful world before the real adult conflicts begin
We're not just introduced to Frances, we're introdocued to Frances
AND
Sophie
Hard to recognise our protagonist
Physically sutured with both
Fran runs down this street later
NYC is her playground
France's perfect day that she tries to replicate throughout the film
On location filming
Authentic and immersive
The frittata comes back later
The montage establishes France's perfect day, and the rest of the film is her trying to replicate it
Fran and Soph have conflicting hobbies
The journalist never reads and the dancer never exercises: instead their counterpart does
"Same person, different hair"
Their private and work lives are different, more time to play
Soph is positioned behind bars
More of a restrained personality compared to Frances' free spirited nature
Dan is framed around darker tones compared to the lighter ones of Fran
Dan is angry >:(
Frances taller, in the light compared to Sophie in the dark
The audience recognise their protagonist better
Millennials were some of the first to adopt technological developments like laptops
Reflecting millennial lifestyles and verisimilitude
Frances is more self centered and naive - likes the spotlight on her
EDITING
Pace of editing speeds up during the argument
Tension is heavily brewing
Montage
Time flies when you're having fun
SOUND / MUSIC
Absence of soundtrack in the opening shot
Naturalistic, immersive
FNW influence
Non-diegetic banjo score doesn't sync with the onscreen banjo
Enhances the childlike and perfect day feel of the scene
Childlike joy
Happy go lucky banjo music fades when Frances is alone
Tells audiences that she's not good at being alone
No soundtrack in the breakup scene
Heightens the awkwardness and realism
PERFORMANCE
Frances wins the fight
Audiences RECOGNISES who the protagonist is, but only subtly and not as clearly as Selma
Frances is quite embarrassed to tap dance
She can be described as
endearingly awkward
Girls give money to buskers
Cute, manic pixie dream girl (MPDG) shenanigans
However, privilege talking: they busk for play while the actual buskers do it for a job
Frances flexing her privilege
A character of contrast - cute, charming, but sometimes doesn't recognise her privilege and makes some questionable choices
They run away embarassed
Fran and Soph live a life of privilege and play
Frances messes up their game
Starting to take control of their day - audience are RECOGNISING their protagonist
"Because I bought it?"
She moves for no reason other than PRIVILEGE
"Take off your socks"
Comes back later when Frances loses Sophie, and she's barefoot
Foreshadowing how life with Sophie will leave her homeless
Dan
Needy, always needing Frances
Uncomfortable, disassociative (eg leaning into Fran)
This is the
alignment
scene
Fran's consistent "I feel bad" and her overall childish nature makes it hard for the audience to align at first, but her emotional honesty to break up in the end definetely helps
Frustrating but honest
Heavy emphasis on the platonic female friendship
Unconventional - would likely be a hetero romance in mainstream
Frances does an awful job at breaking up
Endearingly awkward
SPECTATORSHIP
