Deadpool- Analysis

• Production companies: Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, The Donners' Company and TSG Entertainment
• Distribution companies: 20th Century Fox
• Release date: Feb 8th 2016 (Le Grand Rex) and Feb 12th 2016 (US)
• Age certificate: 15
• Deadpool uses a narrative opening, but with a comical twist. Instead of a motion picture it revolves and pans around a still image, to show the audience every detailed aspect of the scene. It's an action scene but this particular still shot shows a variety of humorous content to connote the genre and attract their correct primary target audience- males around the ages 15-25 (as they're stereotypically more immature). 

Institutional Context

The opening credits begin straight away with the distribution company- 20th Century Fox. This company is extraordinarily well known as it's very commonly used for films, meaning that a majority of people will recognise it when they walk into the cinema. It's construction is the exact same with every movie to ensure that it's recognised, and even the music used is the same in every film it's distributed. It last approximately 20 seconds before fading to black so, along with the music, makes it come across as very dramatic and important.
 The next thing to come up is the main production company logo, and follows a very recognisable animation sequence (showing off images from their comic) that lasts approximately 13 seconds long. This particular production company is extraordinarily well known, as it is the producer of a series of superhero comic books, of which all of their movies are based off. They use a similar construction and appearance each time to attract their correct primary target audience- 14-25 males who have read the comics and/or recognise their earlier movies. It appears with an animated movement of zooming out, with the comic book images fading away to display the actual company name. The construction of it follows the same rules as every Marvel film- starts off with fast moving images from the comics before becoming a greyish white colour against a bold red background, which helps connote to the audience that it's a superhero film due to the fact red is a brave colour, and helps the company's name stand out. It begins off taking up the whole screen to give the audience a close up view of the comic strips flashing across the screen (helping attract the primary target audience of fans of the comics). The size of the text differs throughout the shot as it zooms out, but it remains central (a convention of most title sequences). It's a simple font that's used, but it's essential to use because it's the same font used for their comics. The text is in capital letters making it easy to read, and the boldness of the letters further suggest that the film will contain heroic and bold characters. Over time Marvel has slowly evolved their logo, adapting it slightly with each coming film but making sure that it remains recognisable to their target audience.
The distribution company is displayed right after, but is a part of the opening scene. Already around 20 seconds into the film it connotes the genre- comedy. This is clear from the comical image displayed after a slight zoom out whilst showing the distribution company. Whilst the shot begins to move the company name stays in the same place. The distribution company is a part of the other credits, rather than Marvel Entertainment that had their own shot and dramatic construction which emphasises their importance with the creation of the film as it was their original idea and the film company played a huge role. The dramatic construction also helps attract a large audience as a lot of people will recognise the company name. It uses a simple white colour which clearly contrasts the darker background making it easy to read, and it also follows the colour palette of the other texts that will appear on screen in the same scene.

Narrative

The narrative of Deadpool is linear, only following the story of the main character who's name is the title of the film, and is not chronological. This particular scene shown at the very beginning of the film was chosen specifically for it's comical potential, and to create enigmas for the audience to ponder over as it's a scene taken from the middle of the film. Each of the characters shown during the opening credits are a part of a particular humorous act, with Deadpool (easily recognisable from either the comics or the posters) in the centre of the action, evidently the cause of this event. The only main character displayed is Deadpool, all the other characters are either irrelevant or their identity is kept a secret to create enigmas for the audience. The creators of Deadpool were very careful in their planning of the title sequence, as the fact a still shot is used creates many enigmas such as- why has this happened? What will happen next? Who are these people? These enigmas are vital for the beginning of the movie, as the start of a movie should make the audience interested so as to avoid them getting bored and putting something else on. They had the extra pressure of it being a comedy film, as the humour needs to be displayed right at the start to reassure the audience that it is actually a funny film. The beginning scene, as well as showing off it's comical side, also connotes it's second genre- action. This is clearly represented through the body language and situation of the shot, it's clearly a fight. The characters displayed in the scene, except from Deadpool, are evidently in pain due to physical violence. This is a convention of action, therefore letting the audience know straight away that Deadpool is a hybrid of those two genres.

Representations

Genre

The main genre is made very apparent from the still image used as the background for the opening credits- comedy. One convention of a comedy, to help create a light and happy atmosphere, is bright lighting. The shot used for the titles is very well lit, which is also essential in this case to show off every bit of detail to add humour. Another convention is also appears to follows are the types of characters: idiotic characters. The scene displayed is a very peculiar scene and the facial expressions from some of the characters suggest that they fit that idiotic criteria. From Deadpool's position in the shot (aka with his crotch in someone else's face) you can tell that he is a humorous and possibly sarcastic character (which is also suggested from the titles), which is also a convention of comedy films- a witty character. Close ups are also a common convention as they can easily highlight a certain comical aspect of a shot, like a facial expression.
Rather than contain subgenres, Deadpool is more of a hybrid. As well as being a comedy film it would also come under the genre of action. One of the vital conventions of action is the props involved. Without weapons, it's difficult to categories a film as action. In the very first few seconds of the scene you can see something that has clearly been used for violence, and although a car cigarette lighter is an unusual weapon, the wound on the character's head shows that it has been used to harm someone. Around 35 seconds into the movie, the first actual weapon is displayed in Deadpool's hand. The gun is displayed to have gone off, and makeup special effects were used to create fake blood on the other male, which is essential for a realistic effect and the conventions of action- injuries and fighting. Another convention that is used in the opening scene is car crashes, commonly used in action films as they're very dramatic.

Cinematography

The opening for Deadpool is a long take shot, that involves a large variety of angles. Throughout the whole scene a close up is used to show off the comical props and facial expressions (although it occasionally zooms out as a transition to next comical aspect). If it was a shot taken from a further distance, even possibly just a mid shot, the audience could more easily potentially miss a detail that would add to the humour.
The title sequence for Deadpool completely strays away from a common form of composition- simplicity. Their shot involves an incredible amount of events, but is very effective as it's a still image. The fact that there's so much going on is a convention of the action genre as it adds a lot of excitement to the audience. The reason simplicity is common in film shots is so the audience's attention is drawn only to the most important aspect of the scene. Deadpool may have a lot going on but the camera revolves around the scene quite slowly so that every wild aspect gets the audience's attention. The fact a close up shot is the main shot type involved also helps with this. 

Shallow focus example (good for transitions)

Due to the fact that the scene uses a lot of camera movement. they don't really follow the rule of thirds. The Director of Photography also avoided focusing on lines and balance because although they're more aesthetically pleasing, that's not what this scene is about. It's supposed to break the rules in order to come across as more interesting for their primary target audience (15-25 males). Males stereotypically have a smaller attention span, so by keeping their scene exciting and full of action will help attract them. 

One of the last shots

One thing the Director of Photography definitely focused on was the depth of field. A small depth of field (shallow focus) would've been used so that the camera only focuses on one aspect at a time, as if the entire shot was in focus it would distract the audience from the more important parts of the shot. In this case, a small DOF is more effective, as it is emphasizing the subject while de-emphasizing the foreground and background.
One of the last shots used is a long shot displaying the entire scene. Most movies begin with the establishing shot but Deadpool ends with it, as if it followed normal movie conventions it would've been less effective for the comedy genre. By beginning with the close ups, revolving around the scene and gradually zooming out makes it more mysterious for the audience, whereas if it began with the establishing shot it would've spoiled the confused atmosphere created in the audience. 

Sound

The opening notes of Juice Newton’s adult contemporary classic “Angel of the Morning” are used as the non-diegetic title music for the beginning of the film. It starts right as the Marvel logo comes up on screen, and adds irony to the shot. It was very effectively used to add humour, as the scene without music would (for some of the aspects) come across as quite severe and violent. But, along with the wedgie and crotch in one of the character's faces, the music helps change the atmosphere to completely the opposite of what it could potentially be. No other sounds at all are used as they would risk killing the humour- plus, it's a still shot so no diegetic sounds would be used as they would spoil the effect.

Editing

It doesn't have a wide variety of editing, but does use the slow motion effect/freeze frame. It doesn't use the 180 degree rule as it continuously rotates, and this is peculiar as horror and thriller movies are the ones more commonly known to break this rule so as to create an uneasiness in the audience. In this case it's more so to be able to show the audience the entire shot, to ensure they can admire every detail.

Mise-en-scene 

The set design and props had to be carefully selected, as this movie would've been under special pressure to stick to a similar storyline as the comics. They also had the pressure of making a comedy, and in the first scene they had to ensure that this came across. As well as the facial expressions of the actors and the music, props and the setting play a huge role in connoting the genre(s). In this case, the props are mainly used to connote that it's an action film, as a fair few conventions of actions films involve particular props (e.g. weapons). The props and setting, a car crash which is another convention of action, help construct the narrative, as well as the genre. Although in this particular scene due to the fact it's not in chronological order the audience are left with enigmas, it gives them a small insight into the narrative. They can obviously tell that the character in the red costume is having a fight with some bad guys, suggesting that the narrative will involve the typical bad vs. good. This title sequence relies a lot on props to construct the comedy genre, as it's a still shot so no dialogue or diegetic sound effects are used.  
The lighting used is very bright, and although it's meant to appear as natural lighting it's also a convention of comedy, as it creates a happy and light atmosphere and can also show off every bit of detail of the shot, which was essential for this particular scene as a majority of the humour relied on the appearance.
As this is a superhero film, the costumes actually have a lot of relevance. They help connote the genre (as superhero films tend to fall into the same categories) and construct the narrative. Their clothing also helps construct their character. Deadpool is in a costume, showing that he's a superhero. Unlike a lot of superhero costumes it isn't designed purely to show off his body and sexualise his character, which suggests to the audience that their will be other appealing aspects of the character- usually, and in this case, humour. The colour of his costume also reveals more of personality, as colours are associated with emotions and characteristics. Red is associated danger and violence, but his costume is a very bold colour that suggests he is a bold, brave and confident character. The other five male characters are wearing similar plain outfits, which lets the audience know that none of them are main characters who will play a massive role in the movie. Their clothing is all dark colours, to let the audience know that they're the 'bad guys'. Deadpool also has some black clothing which may confuse the audience, as it suggests that he has a dark side.
Acting doesn't play a massive role in this scene, but it is vital for the actors to have realistic yet slightly comically over-exaggerated facial expressions for a humorous effect.

Titles and credit

Marvel films always tend to follow a similar pattern of not displaying the credits or title until the end, they only tend to display their logo at the very beginning. Deadpool, to start with, almost appears to break this pattern, until the audience realise that they're not really receiving the names and job titles of some people involved with the film. The opening credits in Deadpool are used as a further way to connote their genre of comedy, and give an insight into the sarcastic personality of the main character. It helps set the atmosphere, and goes against what most people would expect in a film, and the fact that the opening credits are quite harsh humour will shock and surprise audience members not familiar with the comic books. This will ensure that Deadpool will be a well remembered movie as it goes against common conventions of a movie. The only thing it does include are the companies involved, which I discussed in an earlier paragraph. Despite being used as a form of sarcastic humour, it follows the basic order that titles come in (minus quite a few)- the companies, actors, producers, writers and then the director.