Film Openings

 Film openings are the scene that is supposed to captivate the viewer and make them want to watch the rest of the film. A lot goes of time and thought goes into these opening because essentially they are what determines whether the viewer will continue watching and enjoy or get bored by the first 2 minutes of the film.

Many techniques are used in film opening to make the viewer interested in what they're watching and what's to come.

• Technique 1- Enter the villain
• Technique 2- Enter the here (introduces main character)
• Technique 3- Establish Relationships (commonly used in dramas)
• Technique 4- Plot Catalyst (introducing key motivation)
• Technique 5- Follow the Genre (establishing tone and introduces main characters)
• Technique 6- Flip Genre/ Hybrid (flashback, flash forward, dream, metaphors, etc.) 

Many openings scenes use similar concepts that fit with the tone they are trying to express to the viewer. For example:

• Prologues with and without voice overs- a scene that explains important backstory that took place before the film begins.
• Inciting Incidents- an event that sets the main character on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative
• day in the life- the opening scene of a film introduces the main character, and usually reveals their key strength and weakness. It also shows their life before the events of the film change it. (exciting and uneventful)
• cold open- sometimes called a teaser is a section of an episode thats shown before the opening credits.
• flash forward- starts with a scene in the present, then the rest of the movie takes a place in the past leasing to the opening moment.

Elements of an opening scene:

• introduces the world- if it's a period piece, it's introduced in the first scene. If the world has a geography the viewer needs to know (even if it's just the halls of a high school), sometimes the first scene will deliberately disregard this information
• offers audiences a "before" picture to later compare with the "after"
• presents a "save the cat" moment for the protagonist, even if its very subtle
• tense and suspenseful (opening with a scene of conflict or danger can suck people into your story quickly)
• a surprise or big reversal. character isn't what she seems, character seems like their going to get what they want but then doesn't)
• sets the tone and genre of the film

Cliche ways to begin opening scenes examples:

• main character waking up in bed
• main character having breakfast with their family/ getting the kids off to school
• main character jogging
• a fake out( we think something serious is happening but it turns out to be a dream or a drill or a scene from a movie within the movie
• therapy appointment

Main features of an opening scene:

• establishing setting- draws the audience in and gives them insight into where the film is set, clues about the plots (can be done with an establishing shot)
• from and audience perspective we get a sense of the authenticity and feel for the film, which all opening scene should obtain

Powerful opening scenes:

• teaser- generates curiosity by raising so many questions, that makes it almost impossible to not continue watching
• tone- this unconsciously causes an expectation to form in the minds of viewers about how they should view a film
• character- begin setting up the main characters ( allows viewers to get to know the characters even without dialogue)
• backstory- character's relevant history prior to the start of the story (establishes and important context for the protagonist and the story to come while also being a large part of the narrative)

Key thing for opening scenes:

• introduce your protagonist as soon as possible
• make sure to communicate the genre and deliver the core requirement of that genre
• create conflict immediately because conflict is the building block of every scene regardless of the genre

All in all, I've learned that film opening are a major part of creating a film even though it can be easily forgotten as the film is moving forward it still can make or break a film. They captivate the viewer and make sure they leave them wanting more. So whether and opening scene is good or not will determin whether the rest of the movie is good or not.

Opening Scene: 3 Favorite Films

Gemini Man Opening Scene:

The movie Gemini Man is about Henry Brogan a 51 year old assassin that decided to quit since he has  been doing it for so long and it started to have bad effects on his mental health and overall being. But just as he wants to retire and live a normal life he becomes the target of an agent from a mysterious organization that knows his exact moves. Plot twist the agent is actually his clone that his old boss made from his blood. And the company that he used to work for is working with his old boss to take him. The company that he thought was doing things for the greater good was actually a lie. In the end he kills his old boss, takes down the organization and helps his clone escape to live a normal life as he goes in does the same while they stayed in contact. This movie is in the genres action and science fiction.

Time: 2:48

The opening scene is Henry completing one of his assigned mission as an assassin and as shown he seems bored of the job and finds no excitement or appeal to it like he used too. This scene contributes to the rest of the story by showing his facial expression even though there is little dialogue his facial expression gave off a lot of foreshadowing and information that would help us understand the rest of the movie.

Alita: Battle Angel Opening Scene:

The movie is about a compassionate cyber-doctor discovers the abandoned cyborg Alita in the scrapyard of Iron City and takes her to his clinic. When Alita wakes up , she is can't remember who she is or where she is. While searching for who she was in the past she finds out that she was a dangerous warrior and tries going back to what she was so she can help take down evil people in iron city. This movie is action and science fiction.

Time: 3:14

Cinematography

 Im sure that were not all familiar with the term cinematography but were a familiar with it on some aspects.Cinematography is the art of technology of motion-picture photography.A really important part of cinematography is camera shots and angles.

 Various Shot Types:

• overshot- when a camera is directly above the action looking straight down
• high angle shot- position above the the subject looking down at the angle
• eye level angle shot- angle looking straight at the subject
• low angle shot- shot from a low angle towards  the bottom of the subject looking up at the angle 
• under shot- from under the subject looking straight up
• long shot- shows the subject from top to bottom
• full shot- fills the frame with the character
• medium shot- shows a little more detail of the subject and framing a subject from the waist up
• medium close up- frames the subject from the chest or shoulder up 
• close up- fills 3/4 of the screen with the persons head or face

Camera Movements:

• tracking-when camera is following the subject
• panning-when camera is mounted on a tripod and moves horizontally(left to right)
• tilting-when camera is mounted on a tripod and moves vertically(up and down)
• dollying-any sort of moving platform that a camera is mounted on
• whip pan-turning quickly to look at something stimulating head movement
• zoom-a lens movement that changes the amount of space a subject take up in a frame
• reverse daily zoom-the combination of a zoom doly in or out 
• crane or boom shot-combines tilt pans and movement in general 
• steady cam or gamble- allow movement throughout a space with more versatility
• hand held cam- when camera operator is physically holding the camera and moving
• rack focus- doesn't move the camera it uses lens

Mis-En-Scene

Mis en scene is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visuals arts through story boarding, visual theme, cinematography, and in narrative story telling through direction. In other words to put in scene.

Simple questions that can help you identify mis en scene:

• Is the lighting natural or stylized?
• Is the lighting bright or dim?
• Is the lighting bright or dim?
• What props are being used
• How is the character dressed?

Asking yourself simple questions about the characters hair, clothes build, body language or whats the setting? What time is it? Identifying mis en scene is super simple because its technically just describing what you see.

Analyzing Mis en scene:

• Write what you see using as many adjectives as possible without interpreting it.
• Consider the purpose of the scene.
• Why does that scene look like that and what is the purpose.
• Consider the alternative, what if the scene didn't look like that

Mise-en-scene Photography Project:

When doing this project we first thought about what vibe we wanted tot give off. After thinking we decided we want to demonstrate a kind of scary eerie vibe. To portray this vibe a lot was put into it.

We decided red lighting that is not to dark but not to bright would give off a sense of danger and slight urgency to the viewer. To  do this we place the doll under a desk in its darkest corner then put red construction paper over a phone's flashlight.

We used a close up shot to show the dolls expression because it seems like the doll is staring into the viewers soul giving off a more sociopathic vibe.

We the used make up to create scars and facial and create a scary look on the doll. We then used red food coloring as blood and added it to the mouth to show the viewer that the doll is not only scary look but is also supposed to seem like a killer doll. Give a sense of fear to the viewer.

Through lighting, attire, props, and much more we were able to give off the scary sociopathic killer doll we were going for.

Types Of Move/Film Genre

  We can all agree that movies are quite complex even the ones that are short and silent. And none of us  wants to watch the movie to actually figure out what it is. Most of us want to know beforehand so we know whether we'll like the film or not. This is where movie genres come in to play. Movie genres are categories that define a movie based on its narrative elements ( literary work that involves the retelling of a story).Having movies genres help watchers know what the over all movies is without watching it. For examples well known genres such as romantic comedy, horror, sci fi etc.

Horror Films:

Horror films are suspenseful plot driven stories that intend to get a reaction of fear or disgust from its watchers for entertainment purposes. Horror films also aim to make evoke watchers nightmares or terror of the unknown. The genre came to popularity around 1920's-1930's.Usually opens with an action scene and this is usually where we will be introduced to our hero or villain and sometimes both.There is often a suspenseful soundtrack in the background to enhance fear or anxiety in the viewer and hand held camera angles to show realism. So technically in a typical horror film there is a conflict between the protagonist and antagonist that usually has a scary background and the protagonist slowly but surely beats the villain in some way, shape, or form through this whole process make the readers scared and anxious than boom the end.

Common horror characters/things:

• protagonist with a desire for justice
• antagonist with a grudge or some type of hatred
• basic witty teenage girl
• clueless person
• high angle and close up shots

Romantic Comedies:

Romantic comedies are lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas or a funny movie  about a love story that ends happily. Trying to float along the message that true love will conquer any obstacle that gets in its way. Usually what happens within a rom-com is the mc goes back to their hometown and meets another person or someone from their past, starts falling in love, goes through a major conflict that keeps them apart, realizing they cant live without each other and find their ways back to each other kiss and live happily ever after, the end.

Common romcom characteristics/things:

• polar opposites
• comic friends
• happy endings
• the first time the characters meet is usually through and  exaggerated argument

Crime Films:

Crime films generally involve various aspects of crime and detection. Through out crime movies there is a main character with a personal interest or connection to a case that puts their all into solving it and many suspects with possible motives but usually the villain is someone the the viewer and the main character would never expect. Keeping the viewers interested and on their toes.

• morally upright, smart and isolated protagonist that often has a personal interest in  the case
• villain often morally or physically ugly
• clues and false clues that all lead to solving the case

Science Fictions:

Sci fi is fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel on other planets. Majority of the time technology shown in sci fi are pure predictions for how things might look in the future, but on some rare occasions they are used as a guide or inspiration in technological development. On some occasions they were used to speak about the political issues that were going on during the time the film came out.

Common sci fi characteristics/things:

• dystopia
• shadowy/mysterious villain
• lonely/determined hero
• group of friends-heroes
• the switch up/betrayer
• supernatural beings
• outer space
• advanced technology/society

Drama Films:

Dark/Psychological is a subcategory of the genre drama that tries to put emphasis and prioritize the psychological elements. Psychological dramas use these genres tropes to address the human condition and psychological effects, generally with a mature and serious tone.

Common dark/psychological drama characteristics/things:

• dull lighting
• closes up of characters
• mostly low and high angle shots
• contains props like alcohol, drugs, weapons etc.
• close knit locations
• the streets
• ghetto's
• worn out dirty clothes

Reflection:

Before researching and note taking on different film genres I didn't understand all that went into creating a film that fit in a specific genre. Such as to make a movie with a sci fi genre the more advanced technology along with middle shots. So with this research i came to understand more about the different film genres and the conventions they contain.