Look at the opening sequence of Baz Luhrmann's film version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Analyse this scene and discuss the techniques the director uses to convey his interpretation of the text.

As soon as this film begins, you can immediately see that it is in a very modern context. The viewer is showed a television with a newsreader reading the prologue to us. Luhrmann wanted to make this film palatable for young viewers. To this end, he outfitted his characters in gaudy rock-and-roll leather-and-lace clothes, transported them from Verona, Italy to the seedy Verona Beach, U.S.A and piled the mise-en-scene high with Catholic imagery, …

…mind that I am a teenager). The opening sequence manages to captivate teenage audiences through the use of different camera shots, sounds, editing, mixing of genres and the mise-en-scene. Everything in the scene is important. Mise-en-scene refers to objects placed before the camera as part of a scene. Because the characters are introduced when they appear, like in a soap, it is easier to relate to our time. This makes it more interesting to teenagers.