Film AnalysisIron Man 3.

Shot Types

In the very first scene of when we are introduced to an animated form of Iron Man, we see a medium shot of him standing firm with fists clenched. This instantly tells us that he is the protagonist and holds the most power. Furthermore, the way this shot is lit suggests to the audience that this chapter of Iron Man’s life will be more serious and darker. We can also identity that this character is the hero.

Here we are shown a medium close up of Tony Stark with another female who is grasping on to his face in a dark, quiet environment. This suggests to the audience that we will get to see more of his personal life. Moreover, the fact that it is the female who is holding on to his face suggests to us that he may be wanted by her.

Close ups of cars and other fast modes of transport with Tony Stark driving them himself are genre signifiers of action films as we expect to see flashy cars in films such as this. It also drags in the attention of car lovers who may not already watch films like this.

Editing & SoundThe title sequence of Iron Man 3 moves along fast, the shots that go on from single to split screen gives us the idea that the film will be action packed and fast paced. It also constantly switches from an animated version of Iron Man to a normal, human form of him. We expect to see this as Marvel have always represented him in this way in pervious Iron Man films and comics of theirs.

The styling of the font being yellow, bold, italic and sans serif on a background with a red tint again ties in with the typical way Marvel have always represented Iron Man. Titles also flash in and out fast, this will keep the audiences’ focus while watching the film as there may be a chance of missing something.

Music is used throughout the title sequence in the opening of Iron Man 3. The non diagetic music consists of mostly brass and percussion instruments, it is fast paced and lively. It helps to create an idea of the type of film and also builds tension and suspense as gradually more instruments are added in.

NarrativeFrom the opening of Iron Man 3, we can identify that the storyline consists of Iron Man designing ands putting on a new suit to in order to attack a villainous mad man known only as the Mandarin.

In this shot, we are first introduced to the Mandarin. We know that he is the villain due to the low lighting which connotes wickedness in this case. His facial expressions also show him looking down, this suggests he can be proven as a weak character.

Todorov’s Equilibrium Theory:Equilibrium: Tony suffers from insomnia coming up with new prototypes for the Iron Man suitDisruption of Equilibrium: Mandarin attacks LARestored Equilibrium: Iron Man restores peace

Levi Strauss’ Binary Oppositions:Hero vs. Villain - Iron Man vs. Mandarin

Roland Barthes’ Enigma Codes: - who is Iron Man after?

- what is the Mandarin’s plan?- why has he damaged the city?

Through the opening of Iron Man 3, Vladimir Propps’ theory of characters having a specific role can be applied . For example we can identify that Iron Man is the hero as he is shown in the establishing shot. However, we can also identify that the Mandarin is the villain as right after we are introduced to him, there are shots of destruction.

Mise-en-SceneSettings:Open roads in the state of North Carolina are used in the opening of Iron Man 3, this suggests that this big hit block buster will live up to the audiences expectations of seeing amazing car chases on these open roads.

Props:There are also various shots of iron man flying through and into the sky with some sort of pack allow him to fly attached to his back, this gives off the idea that he is our hero therefore needs such special powers, his metallic grey armour made from iron allow him to do this as  his armour is special. Every suit has a self-contained environment, assorted onboard weapons systems, enhanced strength, flight, and various communications arrays and sensors such as radar and radio.

Body language:Iron Man’s facial expressions and body language show him to be a an unemotional, serious character who looks determined and ready for any action. This is evident in the straight face he has on when wearing his mask/armour, his strong forehead lines suggests that he may always be thinking about or planning his next action.