Analyzing Other Film Opening Projects (FOP)

Hey y'all, I'm back with another blog post! Today I'm going to be lightly analyzing other AICE Film Opening Projects by various students that had the Cambridge AICE Media Studies class. Afterward, I will summarize the aspects of these film openings and relate them to my group's project.

Each one can be viewed by clicking the title of the film, they're hyperlinked.

RISE by Jamie Levene

- Production (and Distribution) Comapny Names.

- Score Aligned with the Action on Screen.

- Jump Cuts.

- Title appears in large, bold text. 

- High Key Lighting is used.

- The actor is in costume (soccer player).

- High Angle with Wide Shot.

- Tracking Shot used.

- Crash zoom with sports gear appearing, like a commercial.

- Close-up Shot and tracking of legs and soccer ball.

- Camera crucial lot.

Comments: It is important that the title's font and appearance on the screen match the genre, theme, action, and music used.

Dear Lover by Ana Araiza

- Opens with Credits

- Title appears on the screen.

- Multiple Cuts of Establishing Shots, Close-ups.

- Moderate high-key lighting.

- Nondiegetic Sound used with somber music, voiceover reading from a journal/ diary.

- Cut to her throwing a flower into the water.

- Fade transition used.

- Wide Shot and static.

- Muted filter showing a flashback of a serious event in her life.

- Over-the-shoulder (OTS) shot.

- Two Shot, High Angle.

- Close-up Shot of handwriting.

Comments: Dialogue is essential in an opening scene.

Dare to Thrill by Daniel Garzon

- Opens with credits.

- Multiple group shots.

- Random movement tracking Shot.

- Lighting is lowkey because it is dark out.

- Dialogue of friends talking. 

- Wide/Establishing Shot.

- Jump cuts on different parts of the vehicle.

- Dolly is used on the highway.

- Close-up Shot with a cross-cut.

- Wide and long Shot.

- Fade out. 

- Ambient Sound.

Comments: They used a lot of jump cuts and erratic/ random shots and angles. They really emphasized the "thrill" in the title.

Always Watching by Isabel Miranda

- Opens with credits.

- Cuts between normal talking and flashbacks to crimes being committed.

- Low-key lighting is used when having the character do morally evil things, and high-key lighting is used when we see the character is good.

- Tracking Shot.

Comments: Splicing clips of the guy talking with the therapist and the crimes he committed reels in the audience.

The Blue Boar by Amanda Ribnick

- Opens with Mid Shot of a girl in costume.

- Cuts to Close Shot.

- Credits roll.

- Shallow focus.

- Eye line shot.

- Non-diagenetic Sound with narration.

- Close-up Shot and L cut.

- High-key lighting.

- Extreme close-up.

Comments: Instrumental music ties the theme together. I still can't tell if she's a Pilgrim or Amish, but my friend thinks she's a Pilgrim.

White Coat by Klaus Vaillant

- Scientist costume.

- Low-key lighting.

- Mid-Shot and cross-cut used.

- Shallow focus.

- Horror music.

- Jump cuts are used a lot.

- Extreme close-up and eye Line shot.

- Dolly shot.

- Close-up and static Shot.

Comments: I love the production quality of this film.

Stalker by Kiley Gosselin

- Opens with credits.

- Mid-shot.                                            

- Close-up shots.

- Cut to objects.

- Fade transitions used.

- Horror music is used.

Comments: A nice, short, simple opening can be better than a flashy one (like Dare to Thrill).

Nostalgia by Celina Aguilar

- Opens with a title card and credits.

- Piano music.

- Cross-cutting used.

- Extreme close-up.

- Panning shot and high angel

- More close-ups.

Summary:

My favorite of these films is "Dare to Thrill" because of the fast-cutting action. That and it is the closest to what I'd actually watch. However, it is a complete 180 from what my group and I are producing. The multiple cuts, the complexity of the shot, and how it all tied together are something that I want to reproduce. The mise-en-scene was better than some Hollywood blockbusters, to be honest. The other 7 films also went in their own unique directions, but they don't intrigue me like "Dare to Thrill."

That's it for now y'all! Cya next time.