Research on film openings

Exploring the options

So far, this project has already been a ride because I've had to explore all options possible for this film opening. I feel it's already been a journey trying to find the right genre and idea to create and adapt into this film opening. After hours of research, me and my partner Selena have decided to do the horror genre because we believe we have the resources to provide a well put together horror film opening. A horror film we would typically make would be something disturbing with disturbing settings such as a forest or maybe dark areas.

Hereditary

The opening for Hereditary starts off with a shot of a treehouse with an eerie soundtrack playing in the background. The shot then zooms out into a pan of a figure set of a house in which a figure of a kid is sleeping and it zooms into the set, and the set suddenly but smoothly turns into real time. This film opening opens up to be because it really sets the tone and setting of the movie and it provides that eerie feeling to the viewers straight from the start and it foreshadows later events in the movie which is impressive but do able. I wish to not adapt but use techniques and ideas that are similar to of this opening and it will provide that unsettling feeling to the viewers. 

What appeals to me the most is that Hereditary begins with a treehouse and eerie music so that undeniable feeling of something not being right is already present once the movie is started. When you watch the beginning, it already leaves you questioning why they started with the treehouse as the opening shot. If that can be exerted within the first 30 seconds to minute of my film opening it will be a recipe of success. The shots and techniques will most likely be hard to execute but if me and my partner Selena can get an idea of similar shots and techniques to utilize it will come out somewhat similar which is what we are trying to aim for. The exact opening sequence as Hereditary doesn't and shouldn't be the same as what ours will display but we can try to incorporate it into ours.

This exact video is around 4 minutes long, but the analysis is around the first 2 minutes

Friday the 13th 

Friday the 13th opens up by setting the scene for where the campers are at, where you later learn further in the opening. The long shot of the cabin then turns into a back shot long shot of multiple campers. After the switch it turns into a POV shot of a man walking in on multiple campers sleeping but based on the noise the character is making, we can assume this is the antagonist. The POV shot provided lasts for most of the opening shot but based on what he's doing to the campers (inspecting them) we can assume he is towering over them because the height he is looking at over these campers sleeping is scarily gigantic. After the POV shot the ending of the opening shot is of the campers singing together around a fireplace. Throughout the entire opening scene, non-diegetic audio is utilized which creates a sense of realism.

What I like most about this opening is the non-diegetic audio which gives me personally an unsettling feeling. Also, the fact that the antagonist, Jason Vorhees, is towering over the rest of the campers is very intimidating and it leaves you questioning if this person that were seeing the POV from is even human due to the enormous size of him. Although that is the case, I most likely intent to use a supernatural being in my opening.

This exact video is around 6 minutes long, but the analysis is around the first 2 minutes

Annihilation 

The opening sequence for Annihilation consists of multiple close ups, and medium shots with background characters. It includes dialogue describing occurrences that must have happened in the past which insinuates that we are in the present. The dialogue also includes an eerie soundtrack playing softly in the background. The end of the opening sequence includes a shot of a meteor hitting a lighthouse which we don't know anything about yet but if you watch the movie, you learn what happened. With watching the movie, it technically goes more into the past then when she was talking about.

I greatly appreciate the techniques and dialogue used in this opening because it establishes a main point and tone. Based on dialogue you can infer that the lady has lost her memory, but what she can remember is very important to the crew. I would love to utilize dialogue that can establish a plot that can be developed. Although this movie is a thriller/horror, the openings sequence makes it seem more intimidating what there is to come further if you watch the movie. I would also love to use the mis-en-scene they used because the hazmat suits and contamination chamber they are in automatically makes the lady seem like a threat and makes it intimidate.