Exemplary Examples
Now that I have researched the conventions of film openings in general, I want to see how this would actually apply within my genre. I also would like to see how all the other conventions and techniques I have learned about through my research look in action. To reach these goals, I will be watching and analyzing the opening scenes of two amazing dystopian thrillers - The Hunger Games and Divergent!
The Hunger Games
The opening scene for The Hunger Games is partially unconventional in its approach. It does not include any credits within the opening scene but, instead, uses an excerpt from the "Treaty of Treason" to lead into the title card. The excerpt begins a process of world building and immerses the audience into the scene.
The non-diegetic music in this part of the scene is slow and matches the pace of the transitions of text. Additionally the title is a simple font and white text on a black background for direct contrast; this is also unconventional for a dystopian thriller. All together, this creates and heightens the scene's suspense while immersing the audience.
The scene then shifts to an interview between a show host and the game maker. The game maker describes the hunger games history in a positive light; however; the interview is taking place in an area with a colder lighting scheme. This color scheme is typically used to display power imbalances or oppressive themes.
The interview is stopped short by a sudden cut to District 12, where you can hear Primrose's screams because she feared she would get chosen for the games that were just described in a better light. This signals to the audience that something is not right within the world of the film, which further establishes its genre as a dystopian thriller.
The cut immediately goes to an establishing shot to signal the setting, which is very conventional of film openings. Throughout this section of the scene, Katniss comforts primrose; however, the majority of this interaction is filmed through random movement. This immerses the audience and makes Primrose's fear almost palpable.
When I saw the excerpt for the "Treaty of Treason," I was immediately inspired by it. I hope I can add something similar to my film opening. I also want to incorporate random movement into my film like this film opening did because I truly believe it can add so much to a scene if it is used properly. When I watched this opening scene, I could feel the same fear Primrose felt and I got literal goosebumps!
Divergent
Because I couldn't find any clips of the opening scene that were about two minutes long, I will simply be analyzing the first two minutes of this recording instead. The opening scene follows many conventions for film openings. The clip starts with the production logo for Summit and then moves to the actual scene.
The scene consists of several establishing shots, wide shots, and slow pans to establish the setting. This provides the reader with visual context of situation the characters are living in. The buildings all look beaten down, the entire city is encaged, and there are no cars or motor transportation within the city.
This allows the reader to assume that this was intended to keep the city's inhabitants trapped within its borders. This enhances the suspense of the scene and signals to the audience that they are watching a dystopian thriller.
Additionally, the first two minutes of the opening scene lack non-diegetic sound and dialogue. This is unconventional as sound elements usually play a major role in conveying information about a film during the opening. This, in turn, unsettles the reader and adds to the building suspense of the film opening.
I really liked how unsettling the lack of sound was in this film opening. While I think I still want to incorporate some dialogue, I think I may try and limit how much sound is actually being presented. In an article I read earlier this week about JAWS, I learned that the shark barely got screen time; however, the silent pauses built up a lot of tension and that is something I think that will help me convey my genre to audiences better.
Reflection
Now that I have watched and analyzed some exemplars of film openings in my genre, I have gained a lot of new ideas I want to apply to my film opening project. I hope to incorporate random movement, an opening text card, and minimize the sound in my brief. I think this will not only build suspense and immerse the audience, but also allow me to clearly convey mu film's genre. After gaining all this insight on conventions of film openings and dystopian thrillers, I want to see how the producers of these films target and appeal to different audiences in my next blog.
Until then, farewell!
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