Conventions of Motorsport Openings: Senna

Film Name: Senna
Director: Asif Kapadia
Year of Film: 2010
Total Awards: Won 2 BAFTA Awards with 14 other wins and 17 nominations
Box Office: $1,612,430 (USA) (12 August 2011)

Overview:

A film documentary of the Brizilan racing driver, Aytern Senna. The start of the movie introduces us to him and some of his early footage of racing.

Camera angles and their preferred reading:

• Home hand held footage - This is used to not only be informative to the audience using actual footage, but it also connotes home shot film style of shooting. This gives the audience more of a personal connection with the character as they get to experience his childhood.
• MS of Aytern Senna - This shot is used to start giving the audience a look at Senna during his days racing in F1, this also allows the audience to start building a connection to this character.
• CU of Aytern Senna - This shot is used to show his facial expressions while on the track. The emphasis of facial expressions is to further allow the audience to begin building these connections.
• Tracking of Camera during tracking footage - This again used home footage with shaking camera but the use of tracking Senna as he passes other Karters suggests that he is a good driver on the track.
• POV - This is to show (as the voice over speaks) Senna coming out of a corner, this is to give action to the words of the interview that is happening over the clip.
• MS of interview after being signed - This shows how excited his family is for him suggesting to the audience that this is not usual from this type of person.

Both indents of universal, working title and studio canal appear at the start of the film, as well as over the footage of the film between cuts.

The non diegetic sound used throughout the film opening is a voice over from an interview between Senna and a interviewer. They use this to highlight some factual infomation of Senna as well as giving an insight into the type of character Senna is.