Ferris Bueller's Day Off Analysis

Titles
The film opens with the names of the production company and the director, followed by the main actor of the film. The title of the film. The titles are all a basic blue font in uppercase lettering.
Music
There is no music playing during a large part of the opening, however at about 2:40 an orchestral instrumentation begins playing. The music is slow and happy. However after Ferris’ parents leave the house the music becomes much louder and heavier. Later on during the scene when Ferris is talking to Cameron on the phone, there is a change in music. While the camera is on Cameron, the music is slow and weighted, whereas when the camera is on Ferris, the music is happy and uplifting, almost Hawaiian style.
Shots/Mise en scene/Character
The film opens with a fade in wide shot of a large house, with 3 cars outside. We can hear a woman repeating the name “Ferris”, then shouting for “Tom”; we can assume from this that the woman is the mother, Tom is the father and Ferris is the kid, the main character of the film. We then cut to a close shot of Ferris lying in bed, a wide blank expression on his face. We then cut to a shot of what we can guess is Ferris’ point of view, a close shot of both the mother and father discussing Ferris’ ailments. The camera cuts to a slightly zoomed out close shot of Ferris in bed. We then get a medium shot of Ferris’ bedroom as Tom reaches out to feel Ferris’ hands. What follows is a bit of dialogue between the parents and Ferris. During this we see a good use of close, over the shoulder and medium shots. Ferris tries to get up out of bed as he insists to his parents that he wants to go in as he has an important test, but his parents keep him in bed. After this, Ferris’ sister Jeanie walks in and we get a close shot of her as she initiates dialogue with the other 3 characters, and from this we learn that Ferris is simply bluffing and isn’t really ill, he just doesn’t want to take the test. During this, we get some close and medium shots of the characters. We also get a shot from Ferris’ point of view, with a medium shot of his sister, with the camera going in and out of focus. After a bit more dialogue between the characters, we return to the medium shot of Ferris’ bedroom as we watch the parents leave the room. As they leave, we get a close shot of Ferris as he sits up and looks at the door, waiting for his parents leave the house. As it closes, Ferris turns and looks straight into the camera with an almost surprised expression and says, “They bought it.”
We then cut to a close shot of a TV as an advertisement plays for MTV. We then cut to another close shot of Ferris as he speaks directly into the camera. For the next few minutes, Ferris speaks directly to the audience as he looks into the camera. We get several shots of Ferris preparing for his day. Between these, Ferris gives tips on how to convince your parents to give you a day off and how to spend the day. During this scene, we get several shots, mostly medium and close up shots. The camera follows him as he goes through his typical morning routine in his house. After this, we cut to a close shot of what we can presume is Ferris’ teacher calling out the register. As he calls out the names we get close up shots of the students that he calls out. After a few names he gets to Bueller, and we get a close shot of Ferris’ empty seat. We cut to a close shot of another student in the class explaining Ferris’ absence. The teacher continues to call out another name, “Fry”, who is absent as well. We then cut to a wide shot of a house on a hill, surrounded by trees and foliage. The house looks isolated. We can hear a phone ringing. We then cut to a close shot of a phone and it is surrounded by pill bottles and various ointments and the ringing becomes more audible. A hand reaches down out of the bed to answer it and puts the phone on loudspeaker. Ferris is on the phone. We get a medium shot of a boy lying in his bed, clearly ill. Ferris is trying to convince him to come over. We cut to a shot of Ferris outside on a deck chair in swimming shorts. The man in the bed is identified as Cameron. The two characters engage in some conversation and then we cut back to a final close shot of Ferris.
General Analysis
I think the target audience for this film would be anyone of school age. The film seems to appeal to that specific audience through the whole plot of the film and it is essentially what every kid dreams of when they get a day off.

Ferris is portrayed as what all kids wish they could be; sly and clever enough to wriggle their way out of a day of school and miss an important test. The character is witty but not condescending. I think that this character would be easy for people the same age as Ferris to relate to, as I feel that everyone has felt the same way Ferris does at some point.
The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Overall, I think that in terms of the plot of the film, this challenges the codes and conventions of this genre due to its unconventional plot and the whole sense of adventure that the writers create through something as simple as a day off school.

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