Opening Techniques

 Hello blog, welcome back! I am beyond excited to say that I have started the research process for my portfolio project! Before starting my research, I was very lost on what I wanted to do for this project, especially choosing what genre to do. However, these past couple of days I have researched countless openings from a variety of different films and I found that some of the most iconic openings come from action films. Videos on Youtube really helped push me in the right direction and gain more knowledge on openings. 

These two videos really taught me more about what approach to take when creating a film opening. Choosing the action genre for my portfolio project will allow me to open with an action sequence to really hook my audience and grab their undivided attention. These videos mentioned different techniques to open a film such as introducing a character. In a film there is always a protagonist and an antagonist. Opening the film with the villain can sneak the audience into their mind and show us what they are capable of. However, opening the film with the hero allows the audience to make an emotional connection with the protagonist. 

Another technique could be strictly following the genre and opening the film by introducing the tone. The opening to the film La La Land is a great example of this. It starts off the film with a musical number which features the power of a crowd, the lyrics, excitement, vibrant outfits, and then throws the audience back to reality by showing what daily life in the traffic of LA is like. After the amazing musical number, the audience is introduced to the two main characters, which allows for the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality to connect the audience to the amazing genre of musicals. 

I am still not sure which technique to use for my opening as there are so many amazing techniques. I hope that with more research and the help of my group members we will be able to make a decision and agree on which technique to use. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts coming, to keep you guys in the loop throughout my research process!