I have chosen three scenes that I think display similar emotions, but they have different backgrounds and settings. The first of the three is the first scene after the beginning credits, where William Thacker is introducing the story. The second is the Dinner party for William's sister Honey. This is also where Anna meets William's friends for the first time.
The third scene that I have chosen is the small collection of shots at the very end of the film: the wedding of Anna and William, a film premier, and then a pregnant Anna on a bench in the park, with William next to her.In these three scenes the mood is joyful and the atmosphere is relaxed. Even though the moods and atmospheres of the scenes are the same, the scenes all show different backgrounds and have different topics. In the first of the scenes, there is only one character, William, the narrator of the story.
The second, there is the small group of 6 friends: William, Anna, Max, Bella, Honey, and Bernie. The third however has lots of people who we have not necessarily met before in the film. There are also people here who the other characters may not already know. In the first of these scenes after the credits, there is no dialogue.
The speaking in this scene is just a monologue voice over by William. His language is formal, almost as if he were writing a letter and the pace of his speech is moderately fast, slowing whenever there are places of strange happening. A good example of this is when a man with a tattoo displaying 'I LOVE KEN' and William says the text in a slower tempo. William also uses a lower pitch to emphasise this particular phrase of the speech. William is dressed casually in this scene, wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled p and black trousers.
The shirt he is wearing is only partly tucked in, revealing the black belt he is also wearing.This image would show not that he is stressed, but he is relaxed and content. This point is emphasised by the jacket he has over one shoulder and the loaf of bread that he lets hang from his hand without a bag to hold. This scene is set in Portobello Road on a busy market day.
I would assume that it was morning because William was on his way to work and also the sun was shining. The tension in this scene is the tension of mystery. The mystery is created because the udience does not know the plot of the story yet. However, the audience only feels this tension if they have not seen the film before.In this scene, the camera movement is very basic, following William.
As William walks round a corner at the beginning of the scene, the camera backs away giving a wider picture of the market. The picture also becomes enlarged at the top and bottom of the screen as the picture starts off in letterbox size. When the man with the tattoo and the women with the hair are being spoken about, the camera closes in on them. In this same scene we meet Tony, a friend of William's. To start we see a restaurant with "Tony Crown" being painted above the windows emphasising that the shop is new.
The next shot emphasises that Tony is a chef as he is sniffing fish and then nods as if to say yes to buying it. The language used in the second scene is very relaxed and informal. Anna does not speak in a posh tone of voice when in the company of the other people. She speaks the same as them and becomes a friend rather than a film star.
In this next scene, Anna wears clothes that could help her become a friend a friend of the group, as she is not dressed as a posh film actress. In this scene, Anna is wearing a flowery blouse with jeans. This is very similar to Bella's outfit of a dark flowery blouse and a dark skirt.This similarity makes Anna look casual, yet still smart and like an old friend, an ordinary person with the rest of the group. This second scene is based around a discussion of the saddest case sitting at the table, whoever is the decided saddest case wins the last chocolate brownie.
This discussion creates tension that is a variety of shock of the unexpected and shock of the expected, as well as tension of mystery. The expected is knowing that someone will get the brownie in the end, but the unexpected is not knowing who will get the brownie.This is also tension of mystery because the audience do not know the outcome of the argument for the saddest case there. The audience not knowing the argument that the friends will put across to win the brownie also creates mystery. In this scene, the camera focuses on the people around the table rather than the scenery.
Most of the time, the camera focuses on the individual peoples faces, but occasionally the whole group is shown sitting at the circular table in Max and Bella's onservatory. These overhead shots show that the group is close and that the people are good friends.The use of a round table rather than a rectangle table shows that the group have accepted Anna as a friend and a member of the group. Most of the time, the camera focuses on the person who is talking.
If something shocking or really funny is said the camera zooms in on other members of the group to display their emotions. These emotions come across really strong as each person displays them differently but clearly. This scene is set in Max and Bella's house, in the conservatory. It is set in the vening after dinner and is to celebrate the birthday of Honey, William's sister.There are six people surrounding the table and they include Bernie, Bella, Anna, Max, Honey and William. Max is Bella's husband, who is William's ex-girlfriend.
Honey is William's sister and Bernie is just another friend. Max is also William's best friend. The third of the three scenes is the conclusion to the film of Notting Hill, the consequence of all the events in this film. As well as this large scene there are also three individual scenes inside this scene, each showing Anna and William after they are married. The three also show in each that both members of the couple are happy together.
However, in these three scenes there is no dialogue, but many emotions are displayed. The emotions shown in these scenes are all positive and we can see they are happy by the smiles on Anna and William's faces. The first of the three different scenery changes in this scene shows a posh garden with a large marquee and a large number of people. At the start we see both Anna and William dressed very smartly and it soon becomes obvious that it is their wedding day. In the marquee, there are people shown dancing, Anna and Max, with Bella looking on laughing, and Spike and Honey.
Honey is also shown with very young girls of around 5 or 6, and they are all dressed in a similar way. They are all wearing peachy coloured dresses and headbands with flowers in their hair and this has been used to show that they are all bridesmaids. In this sub-scene the camera is behind William and Anna showing the audience the many people at the reception. When Honey is shown with the other girls, they are sat as if it is a photographic picture.
This shows a sense of ceremony and this is emphasised by the clothes worn all being similar. The next shows a dark car pulling up at a red carpet and stopping.The red carpet shows the audience that they are at either an award ceremony or a film premier. Again William is dressed really smartly. This is a big contrast to the first scene I chose, where William was scruffy and very casual. This contrast shows that William has changed, because of Anna, to a smarter, more successful man.
The many paparazzi, fans and the big black car also reinforce the idea of them being at an award ceremony or a film premier. The camera follows Anna and William as they walk towards the camera after getting out of the car.Whilst they are in the car, the camera is fairly close and we see Anna kiss William on the cheek. This shows that the happiness from the previous scene is being continued.
The third of the three sub-scenes in set in the private garden used previously in the film, after the dinner party. The garden that was once private, has now been opened to the public. This is shown by the many people in the park. This sub-scene displays ore emotions than the other two sub-scenes because there is no dialogue in this section and because there are many different activities taking place.
The start of the scene shows a group of children playing happily on a climbing frame. Their mothers are watching the children and there is also a small baby being cradled by a mother. These children are all dressed in pale colours and they are not very noisy. This clothing and noise level also helps to symbolise the peace and tranquillity of the park.
The second part of this scene displays an old couple walking slowly and gracefully rm in arm, through the park. This old couple also shows harmony in the park.But it also shows that the park has been made accessible by all ages. Earlier in the film the couple went for a walk in a private park.
They made a reference to a couple called June and Joseph who used to sit together on a bench. Joseph dedicated the bench to June when she died. This old couple walking through the park could symbolise June and Joseph. The next part of this scene also displays grace and peace. A tai chi group is then shown, stretching calmly and relaxing. The people in the group are wearing a form of lack uniform, displaying harmony as they all match.
The peace of this scene is also helped by the music being played in the foreground. The last of these four parts also shows the bench from previously in the film; the bench dedicated to June from Joseph. This bench is an important symbol to Anna and William because it was the place where they spent their first romantic evening in the film. When we see the bench this time, we can see there is a couple on the bench.
The man is reading a book and the woman is lying on him, pregnant. As the camera zooms in, we can see that this couple is William and Anna.Anna is wearing a flowery dress that looks very motherly because it is made up of bright colours and the flowers are close together. William is wearing his usual trousers and more casual shirt than usual. This last scene has many different contrasts inside itself. In the beginning, at the wedding, the couple shows that they are both very similar to their normal dress sense.
They are both smart but they are not very posh. They are still casual. In the second Anna is dressed in a way that she is used to, very smart and posh. William, however has dressed up to Anna's standards of stardom.The contrast is shown in the last sub- scene when William is dressed as usual and Anna has dressed down to his standards. These contrasts are shown throughout the film in many different places other than these three scenes and they show the way that people can change and adapt to suit the situation that they are in.
This is strongly shown, however, mostly through Anna and William. With Anna adapting to life as an ordinary citizen and William adapting to life as a star. Although these adaptations are shown mostly through William and Anna, they are also shown through the other characters of the film.Spike, who is always single and is however, at the end, engaged to be married. Honey who is not used to long term relationships has to adapt as she is marrying Spike.
Bella and Max have to adapt to knowing that they can not have children and both Bernie and Hugo have to adapt to having lost; Bernie, his job and; Hugo, his business. These contrasts are shown very well and they often happen to people in real life. These contrasts were good in this film because they were real and although not all the time, possibly helpful to people watching the film.
