'Amelie' Opening Sequence Deconstruction: 

Point 1: (process of fertilisation) 

Camera angles/shots:

Extreme close up of the sperm travelling to the egg showing that the mother of Amelie is being impregnated.

Editing:

Outlining of the one sperm that fertilises with her mother's egg showing that the fact that she came into existence was a one in a million chance and she was made for a purpose (she has a reason to live) otherwise it would have been another sperm that got in. 

Sound: 

The same song is played over all of these small scenes acting like a sound bridge to show that all these scenes are linked in some way, perhaps by the fact that they are all happening at the same time. 

Mise en scene: 

In this scene the colours used are pink, purple and a slight amount of orange. The pink can signify femininity of Amelie's mother and perhaps how that passes onto her in some aspects, it also connotes romance which in this scene is understandable. However the purple connotes individuality which backs up the idea that every single sperm is completely different telling us that she is a completely unique individual who only came about through a process of random occurrences/one in a million chances. The orange in this could connote optimism telling us that this is a moment to be celebrated (as births/pregnancies generally are) so therefore it tells us that her life/creation was a happy one.

Links to Genre: 

As it is a romantic comedy the fact that the woman is being fertilised backs up the romantic aspect of it and shows the love between the parents. 

Point 2: (Pregnancy and birth) 

Camera angles/shots:

This shot is a medium shot where the head has been cut out of the shot, this could show that the body could be anyone's once again playing on the idea that it is a one in a million chance. 

Editing: 

As you can see from these two images the pregnancy time is sped up and the body undergoes many changes in a few seconds to signify time passing. 

Mise en Scene: 

In terms of Mise en Scene we feel that we do not know the woman who's body this is so therefore it could be anybodies, telling us that maybe Amelie could have been born from anyone's body but it turned out to be from Amandine.

Point 3: (Childhood games) 

Camera angles/shots: 

(Picture 1) Here there is a close up on Amelie's face with the cherries around her ear. 

(Picture 2) And here these is an extreme close up on the glass and her hand. 

(Picture 3) In this picture there is an extreme close up on her finger with the PVA glue

(Picture 4) This photo has an extreme close up of her finger as she pulls off the PVA glue. 

 Perhaps the idea of these close ups are to show specifically what she is doing and to have the audience connect with what she is doing as she is partaking in games/activities that the audience can understand as they probably did them when they were younger.

Editing: 

In these short clips specific colours stand out, mostly 

the colours red and green: red being shown on the cherries and raspberries also the font colour of the cast and green being shown in the liquid in the glass, the lid of the pva and the general colour tint of the screen.

Sound:

Over the top of a piano song (which starts of rather slow and then begins to speed up) there are diegetic sounds that we'd be able to hear if we were on set, for example the dominoes falling or the sound the glass made whining, also the sound of her blowing into a leaf. All these sounds make it more real and bring focus to that particular object.

Mise en Scene: 

The fact that the main colours here are green and red  connotes that Amelie is to a passionate young girl who will be faced with some kind of death within her life the green could connote good health but more importantly that she is either a lucky girl or a girl who plays around with the idea of luck and tricking people into believing they are lucky. 

Point 4: (introduction of parents) 

 Camera angles/shot/movement: 

Both parents are standing central in a shot, and they then have a camera zoom towards their face leading to a close up of head and shoulders. Extreme close up of tool box as the tools fall out, medium shot of him cleaning the tools out and putting them back in the box. Overhead shot of Amandine cleaning out her bag and putting everything back again.

Editing: 

In terms of editing white writing is written next to their faces to pick out one twitch/habit they have to make it more personal for the audience and more comical (which links with the genre of romcom) 

Sound: 

The music played over their introduction is the same piece that was played over the first half (with the sperm and pregnant woman) showing a link between everyone's lives. There are diegetic sounds in the scenes such as the sound of the two men peeing which adds to the comedy of the film opening (there are many other diegetic sounds that are added into these sounds like the bath water which makes it more realistic.  

Mise en Scene: 

The fact that they are both introduced in the same way with the zooming into a close up of their faces while they stand outside their job and the white writing telling the audience one habit/twitch they have, also by the final thing that they like being incredibly similar shows that they are both linked in some way and they share similar hobbies. Also that they are clean 'freaks' and they are very serious people, only doing the absurd things they enjoy make them happy. All this tells the audience that Amelie will be a rather strange child as her parents are both eccentric themselves. In terms of colours, in the introductory scenes they are most likely wearing the colours that describe them best, e.g. the man is wearing white which is a uniform for doctors so this could tell us that his life is very uniform and almost obsessive in some aspects. The fact that the lady is wearing red could tell us that she will die in the near future and she wasn't present for most of Amelie's life.

Links to Genre: 

In these clips there is much comedy included as we get to see a small insight into the parent's very peculiar lives and we find out little things that make them unhappy and little things they like. 

Amelie opening sequence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pFctvte6Ts