What do we expect in the opening 2 minutes of a feature film?
Hello again,
Today I'm looking at the opening 2 minutes of 3 feature films and 3 student made films.
The first film opening I looked at was 'Me, Earl and the dying girl' in this opening scene we are introduced to a location and a character, we are introduced to Greg and the school he goes to. From the opening 2 minutes of this film we can tell Greg is a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding deeper relationships as a survival strategy for navigating the social minefield that is teenage life. We aren't introduced to much of the plot in the opening 2 minutes other than knowing its a new year at the high school. There aren't any opening credits in this film, however the entire 2 minutes involves a voice over from Greg explaining his situation in his high school, mixed in with dialog from some people. The fact that Greg is voicing over the opening 2 minutes we can assume he is the main character in this film, there are other characters that are mentioned , but the opening two minutes doesn't tell us whether they are key characters or not.
The second film opening I looked at was Forest Gump. The opening scene of Forest Gump features the feather that floats across the roof tops of a city, none of the plot is revealed, we are introduced to Forest when he picks up the feather but no one tells us he is the main character, to anyone watching the film for the first time he could be another passing extra. There's no dialogue in the opening credits, just a soundtrack. The feather floats towards any popping up credits, drawing your attention to the credits.
The final studio made film opening I watched was deadpool, the opening scene is a panning shot around an action scene in slow motion that's half way through the movie, we are introduced to the main character 'deadpool'. There's no dialogue but the opening credits have the same sarcastic tone and theme to them as the main character in the film, tying in nicely with the film. We are introduced to a city location where we assume the rest of the film will be set. We don't know if the rest o the film will be set here but as the opening scene features this location we're more inclined to think that this is the general setting for the film.
Student Made film openings
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We are introduced to two characters, we understand that the girl in the wheelbarrow is dead and that the man is burying her it is suggested that he may have killed her but we don't know this, there was no narrative and the titles were in white simple font to contrast with the dark background and make them visible. The only location we see is the place he is walking to with this wheelbarrow.
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In this opening sequence we are introduced to the main character or so it seems, we know how he got t the location he is now, we don't know exactly where he is but we know his location, theres brief dialogue but it's mainly him shouting for help. The Credits match the theme and flicker, giving the film an even more eerie effect.
In "Carnage" we are introduced to a brief plot and we assume the main character is the man who is hunting people down, but we don't know that. Its just our assumption. There is no dialogue in this piece There are several shots of location but I would assume they are all within one location, the credits flash on a black screen to fit in with the dull dark colours of the background shots. All of these factors add to the mise-en-scene of the film.
The final studio made film opening I watched was deadpool, the opening scene is a panning shot around an action scene in slow motion that's half way through the movie, we are introduced to the main character 'deadpool'. There's no dialogue but the opening credits have the same sarcastic tone and theme to them as the main character in the film, tying in nicely with the film. We are introduced to a city location where we assume the rest of the film will be set. We don't know if the rest o the film will be set here but as the opening scene features this location we're more inclined to think that this is the general setting for the film.
Student Made film openings
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We are introduced to two characters, we understand that the girl in the wheelbarrow is dead and that the man is burying her it is suggested that he may have killed her but we don't know this, there was no narrative and the titles were in white simple font to contrast with the dark background and make them visible. The only location we see is the place he is walking to with this wheelbarrow.
<
In this opening sequence we are introduced to the main character or so it seems, we know how he got t the location he is now, we don't know exactly where he is but we know his location, theres brief dialogue but it's mainly him shouting for help. The Credits match the theme and flicker, giving the film an even more eerie effect.
In "Carnage" we are introduced to a brief plot and we assume the main character is the man who is hunting people down, but we don't know that. Its just our assumption. There is no dialogue in this piece There are several shots of location but I would assume they are all within one location, the credits flash on a black screen to fit in with the dull dark colours of the background shots. All of these factors add to the mise-en-scene of the film.
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