Hi guys, welcome back! To finish off this research-centered week, today I am going to talk about the technical elements that I have observed and researched in examples of tragedy drama film' opening scenes. This research helped me to become more knowledgeable about how successful films in the past with a similar genre and conflict of ours, created their film opening.
First, let's talk about sound. In the opening scene of "The Great Gatsby," which is a movie centered around the internal conflicts of the main character as he searches for wealth and impossible dreams after moving to a new city, the film starts off with a narration of a bit of the character's background and then goes into the present. Similarly, in the opening scene of "American Beauty," which has a similar plot where the main character (a father) causes distress to his family as he searches for excitement and pleasure, the opening scene also includes a narration that is giving an insight to the situation in the story. After looking at these two examples, we concluded that it would be excellent to include a narration within our opening scene. Of course, like the two examples, this narration will not be part of the entire opening video, and will only be in the part where our main character is shown as she is growing up, and will stop when our main character is in the present, leaving her household. We think that this will add great, important, detail on the things that are going on as the scene is opening up, and will give an inside look into the main character's thoughts. This will also portray the internal conflict that is the basis of our movie.
Now that we covered sound, let's jump into the specific camerawork, shots, angles, etc. that I observed. In the opening scene of "The Great Gatsby," the first person that is introduced is, of course, the main character (Toby Maguire). However, the way that this character is introduced is similar to how one of the main characters in "American Beauty" is introduced as well. Because both of these films are centered around internal conflicts between characters, in both films, these characters are introduced by using a close-up technique that focuses on the character's thoughts and facial expressions. This helps to reveal the internal conflict that is going to be present throughout the movie. After looking at this, we have decided to do something similar. In our opening scene, we are going to focus to include close-up shots that highlight the main character's anxiety and thoughts in her toxic household which will help reveal the man vs man conflict that will be present throughout the movie. In "American Beauty's" opening scene, the camera focuses on highlighting the main character's (father's) actions on a regular work morning. During this time, the narration in the background highlights his thoughts as he goes about his morning. It also introduces the other primary characters in the movie (his family). Similarly, in our opening scene, the camera will focus on filming the movements of our main character as she grows up through a repetitive cycle of screaming parents. Like I've said before, during this time, the narration will take place that will help introduce the audience to the character and the other primary characters (her parents).
By looking at these two examples of film openings that have a similar plotline and genre to our film, we are more confident and have a clearer picture of the things we want to highlight and the technical elements that we will include in our film opening.
Stay tuned for next time because we will be planning our storyboard! This is where the real fun begins YAYY!!
As always,
Natalia Ballinas
Research Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMqwSTe5rvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YTk2EzaaEA
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