Sabrina

Sabrina is a classic black and white romance, made in 1954. It stars Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart.

Sabrina begins by fading in to an establishing shot of a mansion house, which sits comfortably upon a hill. This shot is a low angled, long shot. This could be used in order to emphasise the social differences between the two families in the film. Alternatively, this could be used to emphasise that the social status of the occupants is high.
Non-diegetic sound of the character Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) narrates this first scene, creating a fairy tale like atmosphere. This may give clues to the audience concerning the genre of the film. If we do make a romance film, this is something to take note of.

The next few shots are quite quick in succession, of a grand garden, a bay containing several boats floating on a lake, an outdoor and indoor tennis court, the quick succession is used in order to emphasise the scale of the grounds.
Following this is a close-up of a water fountain. The camera zooms into the fountain, in view of the goldfish "George". The camera pans, following the movement of the goldfish, George. This may reflect the way in which the film follows the events in the protagonist's life.
This long succession of shots of the grounds emphasises the wealth of the occupants and the scale of the grounds.

The next shot is of the character Sabrina and her father, washing a grand black car. The camera slowly pans and zooms towards the two characters, allowing their facial expressions to be presented clearly.
Sabrina then becomes sidetracked and wanders off screen, away from her father and the car. The protagonist's absence in this shot creates a sense of mystery, but only for a short time, reflecting the instantaneous style of story.

By Catherine Gough