Research
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the significance of a Film Opening
It could be said an impactful film opening can be a crucial way of introducing a character, the world, theme and mood as it gives you a chance to touch upon important themes and elements applying a certain technique. It reflects the reality, uniting image and sound to create the best version of make believe around us. Therefore, it is essential to extrapolate the rubrics and how they're exploited to capture flims which then becomes a prolonging memorable opening.
Taking “the sound of music” (1965) [Directed by Robert Wise] as an example
the film is the rare combination of a powerful and moving story, first rate music, and breathtaking scenery. In the scene we see Maria in the mountains as the camera zooms in on her singing explaining her love for music and enjoying the melody life has to offer
The musical further tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides to become a nun who then falls in love with children and their widowed father and flee to Australia.
TYPES OF FILM OPENINGS
After Understanding the essential fundimentals of a flim opening
Categorising different powerful opening can serve a variety of narrative purposes that can raise the storytelling ability by instantly immersing the audience into the world of a film therefore catagorising film makes it easier to understand and apply them in our own style
In order to comphrehened how these elements call attention to different openings, they are sorted into specific groups
These include:
cold openings
Teasers
An opening scene being a teaser can be considered screenwriting cliché. However if it is excecuted correctly, it is a powerful technique to an opening
It’s simply an opening sequence intended to catch the audience interest ( establishing elements of its genre) through a glimpse of conflicts usually shown before the opening credits that leaves the audience wanting more. Cold opening are commonly seen in crime thrillers, horror films
This is strongly shown in the film 'Inception' , the movie was to showcase a dream within a dream within a dream. Using the term “inception” itself is to place an proposal into a characters subconscious while he's dreaming. Its fascinating opening increases the curiosity of the audience and its chaotic energy would keep them wanting to watch the whole thing
The backstory
prologue with/ without voiceover
It can be considered as ‘the story before the story’
For this purpose, I define a prologue as a montage or scene that’s meant to communicates important backstory that occurrs before the film takes place which can also shown through voiceover
This drives the audience into the story without giving them much idea of the main story context to orientate themselves. They are often given various clues which are delivered too fast to process. These types of voiceovers can be told from the perspective of a narrator or the main characters. A narrator can act as a someone who gives warnings, advice, or higher wisdom to both the audience or the characters.A character voiceover is generally written from the main character’s point of view.It’s important that this internal dialogue can not easily be illustrated through common dialogue/actions
The pixar’s flim ‘UP’ is a remarkable example ( Bob Peterson & Pete Docter) Carl and Ellie’s relationship overtime as they went from courting to marriage to old age having their unfulliled desired adventure which was later suppressed after Ellie’s passing. Their touching and emotional expirence can be relatable to the audience and empathise with them in its notion telling us dreams do/can come true even when we grow old
a day in the life
The character
It introduces the main character or characters of the story and what it is they bring to the narrative -usually babbling key strengths- some film open with the main character or characters in media resting in an exciting situation that is typical for them before the events of the film change their life forever. Sometimes this scene will turn out to correlate with the larger plot of the movie
if we take ‘Jerry Meguire as an example It first shows the Earth which then focuses on the each induvisual character and their specific athlethic strength which is narrated by the main character, who we find out is a workaholic sports agent dressed formally and seems to be good at what he does. Macro elements can also seen within the characters
the theme
Film Openings can moreover be utilized as a way to show a film’s theme. Take the film 'Lord of War' composed and coordinated by Andrew Niccol, which opens with a monologue by Nicolas Cage standing in a ocean of went through bullet cartridges in a war torn third-world nation. He is abnormally wearing a trade suit as he turns to address the group of onlookers by telling us…
“There is one gun for each twelve individuals on the planet.”
At that point we are propelled into a really astonishing journey to begin with individual grouping showing the 'life of a bullet' from a Russian manufacturing place to an African war zone, and eventually into the brow of an African child's. this sets up a solid case against weapons which is one of the centeral topics of this film.
INCITING INCIDENT
These types of films are often around ten minutes showing the situation of the protagonist or the location before an 'Inciting incident' takes place.
It sets the story in motion whether it be at a wedding or an apocalypse. If not excecuted well the audience can loose interest quickly
If we look at 'There will be Blood' 2007 the protagonist finds silver in his mine, the scene continues, we are shown the protagonist's character development as well as it creates suspense through minimal dialogue usage
