Figuring Out Film Openings
Now that I understand the conventions of my chosen genre - dystopian thriller - I must embark on a journey to understand the conventions of a film opening. This is especially important for me to focus on since for the brief, my task is to make a 2-minute film opening. While conducting this research, I want to investigate or highlight how these conventions are applied within my genre a little.
Company Production Logo
Titles
Titles are like names for a film; they tell you what the film is generally about. Conventions for factors like the color and font of a title change based off the genre of the film. For example, happier films will typically use brighter colors and simpler fonts for titles to create a light, upbeat tone. On the contrary, darker films, like dystopian thrillers, tend to use darker title colors and more complex fonts to begin creating suspense or fear.
Credits
pics Credits are used to tell the audience who was most relevant in the process of making a film. Most commonly, credits list the main actors, the director, and the executive producer of a film. They also occur directly prior to the title of a film and typically share the same font and color as well. While titles are usually centered to draw attention to them, credits are often placed to the side so that they are visible without causing a major distraction from the action on screen.
Camera
Film openings tend to use a lot of long shots and establishing shots to establish the film's setting. Additionally, it is common to see close-ups on the protagonist of a film to tell the audience who the film is about. Different camera shots, angles, and movements can be used depending on the genre of the film as these give the audience clues to determine the type of movie they are watching.
Sound
Some common sound conventions of film openings include diegetic sound, non-diegetic voiceovers, and soundtracks. Diegetic sound, like the sound of a car engine in a scene, can be used to add a sense of realism and evoke emotional responses from the audience. Voiceovers, especially autodigetic ones where the speaker is an unreliable narrator, allow the audience to gain perspective on the protagonist's character, personality, and hidden insights. Finally, soundtracks can be used to set the mood for a scene, or sequence, while it can also be used as a contrast or irony within a scene.
Editing
Blade Runner - Cold Lighting
Film openings tend to have generally fast cuts in order to provide the audience with a lot of basic information about the film in a short period of time. Different genres of film openings may use slower cuts or different intensities of lighting, as well. While films tend to follow a consistent timeline, many openings are scenes that are happening at a different point of the film's timeline. A common example of this would be a flash forward to the climax of the film and a rewind to the current point in the story. For dystopian thrillers, cold colors and lighting (like blues and whites) are common, just as fast paced cuts are.
Reflection
Now that I have learned the major conventions of a film opening, I have come to realize that my project will have to be very focused on conveying my genre. For my brief, I will have to create a production logo and take the design of the title and credits into much consideration. While I knew there would be much to take in mind to create my film opening, doing this research helped me put that view into further perspective. To help me visualize what this would look like, I will be studying exemplars from my genre, and possibly past candidates, in my next blog. This will help me get a clearer idea of how I should go about the creation of my brief.
Until then, farewell!
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