Genre Forrest Gump

 

Camera

The extended start of the first scene begins with a long tracking shot, following a feather falling along the environment of the film. This establishes the area within which segments of the film take place and sets a dreamlike tone for the movie. This same uncut shot then transitions to a long shot of two people on a bench, featuring the main character and the woman he is talking too. This distance represents both the physical space between them and psychological differences or “space” between them. There are fundamentally different from each other, and this shot establishes that.

Costumes

The costumes that the two characters wear in the first five minutes are integral to starting the plot and moving the storytelling forward. The main point of focus are the characters' shoes, which start Gump into telling his life story. He mentions that you can learn a lot from peoples’ shoes, and compares his dirty uncomfortable shoes to her clean comfortable shoes. Additionally, Gump is wearing a slightly ridiculous suit which tells the audience that he is slightly different from the other characters. It is overly large and grey.

Sound

The main sound in the scene is a mysterious but serene score that plays as the feather falls, entering the viewer into the dramatic but nonsensically comedic world of Gump. It sets the mood for the film as a fanciful and silly world, fitting correctly within the genre. The next half of the intro is Forrest Gump and lady speaking, and we hear our first excerpt of this comedy. It is mostly Forrest talking, and the lady apathetically replying. This again shows us Forrest’s differences from others.