Research Opening: The Hobbit (2013)

The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins lives a simple life with his fellow hobbits in the shire, until the wizard Gandalf arrives and convinces him to join a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. The journey takes Bilbo on a path through treacherous lands swarming with orcs, goblins and other dangers, not the least of which is an encounter with Gollum and a simple gold ring that is tied to the fate of Middle Earth in ways Bilbo cannot even fathom.

Target Audience (Who It Appeals To)

After watching the opening scene to The Hobbit, I can infer that this film was primarily targeted to audiences between the ages of 12-50. This wide range of audience made this film a very popular film for everyone. As well as this, many of the older teens (16-20) may have read the book that was published earlier than this film, therefore likely creating a wider fan base for the film because they enjoyed the book, therefore they would then watch the film. This film appears to a wide range of people because of how amazingly filmed it is, and how good the storyline is for everything that watches. Many people over the age range of 60 may not enjoy the film as the story line may be confusing or too action packed for them. As well as this they may have not read the book, therefore may not be interested in watching the film, this is the same for anyone below 12, as they haven't read the book, or the storyline may be too confusing for them to follow.

Sound

Throughout the opening scene to The Hobbit, it starts off with slow and magical sounding music, this brings a sense of calmness and reminisces of his life. From this music I can really feel connected to the film as the light, quiet music really makes the audience concentrate more and feel more relaxed at the start which makes them more interested and makes them want to build more tension throughout. As well as the relaxed music, also while he is reminiscing about his old days, there is a narrative in the background which makes you feel more informed about the background story, and introduces the next bit of the story well, as it shows the history. This creates a very well known film, and also very informed audience which makes them be more intrigued about the story.

Representation of the characters and mise en scene.

In the opening scene I can see that the main character is very reminiscent about the hobbit he once was, the outfit he's wearing proves that he isn't that high up in the film, however his bravery and wit make him the main character he is. From how old the character is, you can see that he was reminiscing over how he once was a hobbit and from his face you can see how happy is was about it. The close up on the objects and focusing on them makes us focus our attention on them, and makes them more important throughout the opening scene. The dimmed lighting in the scene contrasting from the daylight outside really makes the character seem upset and how he is missing how he once was, as in the inside of his house is dimmed down, and the outside daylight is the only way of lighting up the room, which may signalise that he may be going on another adventure. From the narrative and the reminiscent memory scenes, a realistic feel is brought to the introduction. You can see in his head all of his memories, which the audience really enjoy as they get an image of it instead of having to imagine it themselves. This would make everyone have different views and imaginary thoughts on what happened through his memories, whereas by showing them we get a real sense of him. 

Atmosphere

The atmosphere in the opening scene is very inspiring as he has his memory thinking about the history he has been through, this really sets a calm atmosphere, and makes everyone more interested on being informed on what happened in the past. It sets us up for the rest of the movie because we know what has happened in the past, making the audience enjoy it more as they know the back story and history of the hobbit before the main story line.