Stressing out about the future of this project is truly getting me nowhere so I decided to start researching how to make a movie opening memorable. My favorite movie is La La Land which has one of the most iconic opening scenes in my opinion, but my ideas really have no connection to a musical love drama. This means that no matter how great the opening is it really doesn't offer me much. To start my research I watched a video on YouTube that will be linked below. I found it quite helpful as it covered genres and many different ways to open a movie. I'm glad I found this video because it provided me a new insight into all the ways I could do the opening.
They cover many different ways to open a film, but I'm going to cover the main six from the video.
Technique one: Enter the villain
Opening scenes are what pulls the viewer in a hopefully encourage them to watch the full movie which is why it needs to be entertaining or intriguing enough. This is why doing a scene introducing the villain or antagonist can be really useful. In the video, a clip from Joker introduces us to the villain with a mask on committing various crimes and then finally revealing his face. By the time the opening sequence is over viewers are drawn in because of how much action they watched without even realizing it.
Technique two: Enter the Hero
This technique is quite similar to the last but instead of opening with the villain, it's the opposite. The hero will be introduced; most likely in some life-saving situation. Both of these work in instances like superhero movies. These just like the villain gain a lot of interest as the first scene normally introduces you to the hero and the problem they are about to face. This introduces the characters and the plot meaning viewers now know what is coming.
Technique three: Establish Relationships
This technique strengthens the storytelling aspect from the very start. It introduces the viewer to the character and their surroundings. This type of introduction makes a connection because now these people are known to you and whatever happens to them will most likely affect how you feel.
Technique four: Plot Catalyst
The opening moments of the movie lay down the foundation for the rest of the movie. Though it may not make sense in the beginning once the movie is over it all makes sense. The plot is shown in the first few scenes and in a way shows how the rest of the movie will go.
Technique five: Follow Genre
Circling back to La La Land the opening is a perfect example of a movie that follows its genre. It's a musical and the opening sequence is a giant musical number that then introduces you to the movie's leads. Using this technique is giving the movie and its viewers exactly what they were expecting which isn't always a bad thing.
Technique six: Flip Genre
Just like the name says it addresses the situation distancing you from what is predictable, but then are thrown back into the original genre. The mixing of genres makes the movie have many layers that can be peeled back to reveal the message.
As I develop my idea I will be sure to look back on this to see what techniques should be included to help me get my point across. At this very moment, I'm not sure how to interpret my idea in these realms, but I will come back to this subject once I figure it out.
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