Some key element of a film is metaphors, character placement, dreams, Shot types, tone, setting, the blatant open, main charcter, theme, and present their title and key production and cast members, utiliing conceptula visual and sound
The purpose of an opening film
The purpose of an opening film is to draw the watcher into the film. Its kind of like a hook in an essay. You need to use something that make the audience want to know more about your essay. Not only that, it tells the audience what film it is and what they're about to experience. Its also to introduce the villain, introduce the hero, establish relationship, establish genre, and establish plot catlyst.
Similar film opening genre
Some genre have similar opening with each other. Like cold open are mostly used for horror, action, and crime. Prologue is mostly used for puntsy and epics. And exciting day in the life is mostly used in action, adventure and epics. When a film opens with a villain or hero, it's mostly used in action, adventures, western, or epics. While establishing relationship is mostly with drama, romance, rom-com, and comedy.
Different opening for differnet genre
There 3 types of genre I'll be comparing: Action, Horror, and romance
Visual elemnt:
Action scenes would usually start with a cold opening with crazy camera movement to build up tension and shacky camera movement to build up anxiety. It will also have some dark lighting to it as well. Horror also start of wth a cold opening by using dark lighting, shacky and hand held camera movent, and straight cut away, and mostly close up shots to make something or someone look scary. Romance. would establishing relationship mostly with motogages. So the lighting is brighter, the pacing would be faster to show time pogress, it would use dolly.
Auditory element:
For action the sound affects would need punching and the music would need to bring tension and make your heart race. Horror would use high pitch sound affect and suspensful music to make the scene more scary. And the romance would need some romantic and light hearted music
Character development:
The way a character is developed in a action scene is by using action to show that they changing. Horror they uses scary scenes to show their character development. Romance they use montages to show their growth.
Plot introduction:
For action they could either cold opening or exciting day of life to and action that is connected to what is going on in the scene. Horror also does this also wiht cold opening but they uses elements to make their scens more scary. Romance uses two people in a relationship and a montoage of their life together from how it began and how it is now.
Here are my three favorite movies, spider-man, black panther, and the guardians of the galaxy.
The summary
So Spider man is about a boy named Peter Parker who got bit by a radioactive spider and contains all of the ability of a spider. So after the passing of his uncle Ben and his words before his death "with great power, comes great responsibility", he devoted himself into becoming a hero and defeating foes that the police can't and class himself, Spider man. But there's a villain out there named Norman Osborn. He is the father of Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn. He is a rich man that onwns his own company. Also Norman Osborn is "something of a scientist himself". He experimented with radiation on himself or they will loose all of their funding. But then, there was something taking controll over himself it was the Goblin and he plans to reek havic on New York. But spider-man takes him down in a brutal battle. But then the Goblin killed himself trying to minpulate Peter into not killing him then tried to kill him. Though Norman was his father figure, Peter stood up tall for he had one father and he told him that with great power comes great responsilbility.
Black Panther is a film after another film, Captain America: Civil War. This is about a film about a prince named T'chala after the passing of his father in civil war, must prove himself to be the king of Wakanda and defend his kingdom and his throne. T'chala sees a man similar to what is his dead uncle had. His name was Kilomonger and we was a murderous assassin who has a quest to go to Wakanda. T'chala learns about the horrifying truth of how it came to be. It turns the reason he is like that because his father killed his uncle, who was the father's brother, after stealing Wakanda main source of relyains, vibrainium. So then he then after that he left the boy all by himself as he finds his father dead. So then he tries to go for T'chala for he is his cousin and wants the throne. He defeats T'chala in reatrcual combat. But then soon comes back and fights him again. Soon Kilomonger admits defeat as his plan has been foiled and T'chala has remained the King of Wakanda. 24
Then The Guardians of the Galaxy is a bunch of under dog criminals who will eventually save the galaxy. Starlord, Peter Quil, is a space collecter, someone who steal important relacs and sell them to the higest bider. Gamora, a warrior and the daughter of the mad titain, Thanos. Rocket, a theif goes from planet to planet stealing stuff and is criminal who broke out of over 20 prision with his house plant and muscle Groot. Drax the destroyer is a assasin after the loss of his wife and daughter and went on a killing spree in search of revenge. They decide to work together to break out of prision. They argue and fight with each other but with those arguements comes understandment. They soon get closer with each other that they soon become family. They need to stop a man named Ronan. He was the one that Gamora was working with to get an orb to give to Thanos with Nebula, Gamora's sister. But then once he contains the orb and realize that theres a powerful stone in there, he betrays Thanos and uses it for himself. The Guardians of the Galaxy needs to stop him but fail to do so which Groot sacraficing him self to save them. So then they go at him on last time by out smarting him and using the stone to defeat him. So with the day saved and reviving groot but back as a twig, they offically become the Guadians of the Galaxy.
The opening scene
Spider man
The film starts with the title card with the actors and the people who worked on it. This scene starts out with a narration of Peter Parker as he explains how all of this started with a girl. We get a view of the people on the bus then we see Peter banging on the bus begging them to let him in. The girl, Mary Jane, decides to do the right thing and tell the bus driver to stop the bus for Peter. Then once Peter gets on the bus he is being treated very rude by his classmates as trips and fall on the bus as the bus moves cause all the seats been filled and no one wanted him to sit next to him. We see him at school as MJ waves, Peter waves back thinking that she's starting to like him. But then comes to realization as it turns out she was waving at her friends.
Black PantherThe scene starts dark as a young T'chala ask about the story of Wakanda and wants his father to explain it to him. His father narrates about the stroy about Wakanda. He states that a metero containing great power crash landed on Wakanda. It created life around it and five tribes setteled on it until war raged on between the tribes. The tribes were at constant war with each other. Until one warrior had a vision of the of the Panther goddess who lead him to the heart and shaped flowes that granted him super human abilities. After that he then became the king and the first Black Panther. The tribes agreed to follow the Black Panther (except for the Jabarie tribe) and used the vibrainium to create technology that's far more advanced. But as Wakanda was be succesful, the world was going into chaos. So they created a barrier to hide them self from the outside world. Then as the world spins around, it then zooms into as what the world looks like now.
Guardians of the Galaxy The scene starts with Peter as he steps into the mysterious place. As he takes off his helment, he start to play Come and get your love by Redbone on his cassette player.As he is dancing the title card shows up with the people who worked on the film and the actors, directors and producers. He dances across the area and comes across some unusual animals as he easily kicks and throws them. Using his Rocket boots to get across long distance areas. The song starts to stop as he gets to an entrence and see and orb trapped in a laser barrier. 31
Compare and contrast
Visual element
Cinematography:
Each opening cinematography is different. For spider man it uses extreme long shots for big places like the city our the school that there at. It uses close up to only focus on the characters face expression which is used on mostly Peter, MJ, The kid eating the dounut, the kid who made Peter trip, and the Bus driver. Medium close is used to show the same thing as close up and it's used on Peter, MJ, Flash, The kid eating the dounut, some students on the bus and the extras at the school. Medium shot is used to fit more people or things in the frame like the people at the school. Long shot is used to show how big something is and is used on the bus. It follows people around who are the main focus of a scene for people like Peter. Black Panther uses extreme long shots to show how big is something like the different locations and the panther goddess. It uses medium shots to show someone and something or someone else like when the first black panther ate the flower and the tribe doing the salute. Close up shot is used to to focuse on one thing like the hands or the spear. Unlike spider man it doesn't use medium close up and is a one shot scene. Guardain of the Galaxy uses extreme long shot to show that the setting is big which is used for the title card and when Peter is getting inside the building. Long shot is used also to show how big a place is but not that big like when Peter enter the building or looks down at the whole with monsters in it. Medium shot is used to fit more stuff in while still focusing on one person like how they used on Peter. Medium close up is like a close up but the shot is bigger and they used on Peter. Close up shot is used to show the character face like it does on Peter. This is only focused on Peter the entire time.
Mise-en-scene:
The set design for spider man is made to look like a typical city. Black panther doesn't really have setting while the set design on Guardians of the Galaxy is suppose to be a forgin place and out of this world. Spider man has trees and colorful build while the guardian of the galaxy has a bunch of dead people there to make this place seem like anyone came here died. There weren't any props used in the spider man film but black panther did have the flower that gave that person the powers of the black panther. GOTG had the cassete, headphones, the light bulb, and the orb. For spider man it uses high key lighting, black panther uses fill lighting and GOTG uses low key lighting. The costume for spider man looks like ordinay clothing while GOTG looks like he is a scavenger. Ane no used any make up.
Editing:
The Pacing for spider man was slow moslty because it was suppose to show the daily life of Peter Parker. The Pacing was also pretty slow for black panther. But for the guardian of the galaxy pacing was fast as Peter was dancing. The shot transition for spider man was straight cut, black panther used wipe, while GOTG was also using straight cut.
Auditory element-
sound:
Spider man sounds are the banging on the bus, the bus noise, and the sound Peter makes when he falls on the ground. Black Panteher relied on the music. GOTG had sounds when Peter was about to play his music, the splash when Peter kicks the water, the weird noices the animals make, and the way the light bulb makes when it turns on.
Music:
The music in spider man is spider man theme song. The music that plays in black panther is the wakandan theme song. In TGOTG it plays "come and get your love" by Redbone.
Dialogue: The dialogue in spider man is Peter narrating until they show Peter running. And it shows Peter yelling at the bus driver to stop the bus. Then its a whole bunch of people laughing and making fun of Peter until MJ tells the bus driver to stop. He apologizes for being late and continues to get laughed at and made fun of. Then it when a teacher is talking to all of the students on how it is a privallge to be hear and not to misbehave. The dialouge for black panther is T'chala's dad as he tells the story of wakanda. GTOG doesn't have any dialouge.
Character-
The important characters are the main character Peter, the important side character is MJ, and side character is Flash. Peter will become the boy who become spider man, MJ is the girl that Peter wants to get, and Flash is the bully. Black Panther doesn't have any characters that would play a role in the film. GOTG show Peter quill and he will be the main focus of the film.
Representation-
Spdier man shows the daily life of Peter Parker and how his story began. Black Panther shows the story of wakanda. GOTG shows the daily lif of Peter Quill as Star Lord.
Mise-en-scene is the overall look and feel of a movie; the sum of everything the audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it. It affect how we think of the characters and story. It's also a French phrase for staging or putting on an act.
The information of Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene realize on design, composition, character, props, set, and lighting. Design is the look of the setting , props, lighting and actors. Composition is the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship or actors and object. Character is the hair, makeup, clothing, build, body, language, etc. Props are accessories, weapons, gadgets, etc. Set is the location, dressing, space, time of day, light, etc. Lighting is natural or stylized, bright or dim, warm or cold.
Content applications
What I did is create a mini project were I hade to create a set with only some candle dynamite, cotton, construction, rocks, and an action figure.
My reflection
What I learned is that Mise-en-scene is how the set is built. It is meant to create a shot and how important that shot is.
Cinematography, the art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves such techniques as the general composition of a scene; the lighting of the set or location; the choice of cameras, lenses, filters, and film stock; the camera angle and movements; and the integration of any special effects.
The information of cinematography
They are over many types of shots in cinematography like overshot, High angle shot, eye level angle, low angle shot, under shot, point of view shot and more. Overshot is When the camera looks directly at the action which is known as a bird's eye view. High angle shot is Then a high angle shot when camera is looking down at something. Eye level angle is when it is looking straight at your target. Low angle shot is the opposite from a high angle shot which is made to make the character feel big. Under shot is when the camera is right under the subject. Point of view shot is shown to show what the characters sees or from the characters perspective.
Content application
What I used with that information is that I made a XLSX, took picture of the different types of shots then labeled them, and then put them on a power point. After that on the same power point, I put some videos explaining every single type of shot.
My Reflection
What I learned is that cinematography shows how important the camera shots are. With every shot shows meaning and value to each film.
My Reference
My source was from a power point about cinematography.
Film Genre is a visual element that involves the setting, costume, typography, and lighting. It's also a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. It shows what the film will most likely be about and how the story will play out with artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
The types of film genre
They are many types of are action, gangsta, horror, romantic comedy, sci-fi, and comedy. Action is a broad genre that shows a story through fights, vehicles, and weapons. Almost every action film will have special effects such as explosions, fire, and CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery). Gangsta is causing more harm than good, Gangsters, crime, and the nefarious deed of criminal or gangster, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures or robbing. Horror means suspenseful plot driven stories. The obvious suspenseful soundtrack will be played during those scene that keep us on the edge of our seats. Rom-Com then and now have drastically changed especially since Hollywood cut back. The production of Rom-Com in Hollywood drastically decreased because of the same repetitive and ridge format but the ones they still make are very different from the way Rom-Com were. Sci-Fi is to ring up technology and advancement in society and how they can be good or bad. Comedy is a genre of fiction that was created of works to be humorous and and give laughter comedy is a dramatic performance most of the tome usually influence by theater, movies, and show.
Content Application
What I did to learn about film genre is I did a PowerPoint about action film with three of my classmates. The first and second slide was about what is a genre and then defining what is a action genre. The three slide is showed how we analyzed the action film genre. The fourth slide was about the types of themes that an action film gives. The six slide was about the techniques that are used to create the action films in movies. The seventh and eight slide was about the history of action film and how it started and how it is today. The ninth slide was about the social function of action genre which is basically how the action films make the audience feel and how does it do that. The tenth slide shows two trailer which is the Rambo trailer from 1982 and the Rambo trailer from 2019. And then the eleventh slide shows which film best represent action film.
My reflection
What I learned from this is that they're many types of genres that a film can be. The type of film can have very different types of style to it that show the audience that it's that type of genre. The type of genre can also have a different affect on how the audience react to the film.
My reference
Where I got my research is from a website called History of action genre.
Basic Genre Convention of Mystery
Mise en Scene
Lighting: The lighting for crime films is mostly naturalistic. Usually low key lighting.
Character: The hero is usually a super smart private detective or persistent policemen. There is normally
a very mysterious villain whose face is rarely seen and whose identity is only revealed at the end of the
