Opening scene research- Western

The film I chose is The harder they fall, a 2021 netflix western film directed by Jeymes samuel and played by Idris Elba (Rufus),Zazie Beetz (Stagecoach Mary) and more. 

The genre is established right from the start of the opening scene when an extreme long shot is used of a home in a big empty field which emphasises the isolation of the house assuming to the audience that it may be a western film. This is further shown by their costumes which are very old fashioned and formal, which is what people wore in this time and also the man whom answers the door is wearing a cowboy hat and boots stereotypically worn by cowboys/western people. The tone of this scene is fairly calm and normal; hence the facial expressions of the family are normal and comfortable, the lack of non-diegetic sound also creates a calm tone. But this dramatically changes when there is a loud knock at the door and a close up of the man behind the door forebodes that he is bad creating tention for the audience. Non-diegetic instrumental sound track is also played As if the family know that something bad is going to happen and that this man is in control of the situation by the use of the two guns as props further emphasising the threat and fear the audience feel for the family. The time and place is also shown by the same reasons as the genre of the film, meaning that its in the old days and is in America, which we know due to their accents. 

The target audience would be people who are interested in western culture/that way of life or are interested in the re-make of what the actual people who lived this life were like. We know this because of the genre of the film but also that at the start the text says how these were real life people in a very blunt and serious way assuming to the audience that they were bad people or were treated badly drawing audience as they want to know what people of this culture were like.

The characters introduced include young Nat, his parents and saloon. We know that Nat's parents are his parents by how they treat him by telling him what to do (for example not play guitar at dinner table) in a caring manner but also when the dad calls him 'son'. The other character introduced is Saloon who is clearly a bad man which we are told when the dad says 'no' in a shocked manner as if he knows what is going to happen but also the fact you don't see his face throughout the whole clip as if he is some mysterious and dangerous man, which heavily draws in the audience as it makes them wonder who he is and what he may have done in the past. Meaning that we could assume Saloon could be the main character as the family already knew who he was before he even spoke and had quite a lot of screen time or the young boy nat, as he is innocent and hopeless in this situation. 

Once watching the opening scene, we could have the impression that one or more of the family member's gets shot by Saloon as the mum and son are held at gun point causing a lot of drama, or they get threatened and blackmailed into doing something such as slavery as this is what happened in this time. 

In conclusion I think that the opening scene to the harder they fall was successful as it left the audience on a cliff hanger making them want to keep watching but also has the potential to attract a wide range of audiences and presented the allocated genre well and clearly through many different techniques.  

 
 

Opening scene research- War

The film I chose is Dunkirk, a 2017 Warner Bros war film directed by Christopher Noland, played by Fionn Whitehead (Tommy), Tom Glyn-carney (peter), Jack Lowden (Collins) and Harry Styles (Alex),and many more.  

The genre is shown right from the beginning and throughout the scene predominantly through the use of costume and props as we are shown multiple men wearing helmets, boots, long jackets and holding big guns, suggesting that this is a war film as this is what soldiers would have stereotypically worn to war. We are also told the genre by the use of text shown when it says, 'The enemy have driven the British and French armies to the sea'. Telling us that there is conflict. The tone in the first minute and a half is quite lonely but peaceful hence the lack of non-diegetic sound but also dialogue as it is just the ambient sound of them looking around and finding water/food. But after this the tone completely changes when a pleonastic sound of gun shots is fired immediately causing a slight jump to scare to the audience as it was not expected, causing a sense of urgency as they all run in silence towards the gate, shot with a handheld camera adding to the distress which draws in the audience as they want to know if they escape the gun shots.

We are told the time and place once again by the text that is shown saying 'trapped at Dunkirk, they await their fate' telling the audience that these British soldiers are in France and assuming to the audience that it is set around the 1940's as that was when this war was in real life. Another way the time could be suggested is by the filter used over the scene which is quite a blunt and dull filter helping to emphasise to the audience the time and mood. 

The target audience would be 15 upwards as teenagers and young adults may like to learn about what past wars were like and about but also people who were around in this time so they can reminisce on what happened to maybe them or people they know and learn more about it. Another reason why it could be aimed towards teenagers and young adults is the fact that most of the men shown in this scene look fairly young probably around 18-21 which could draw in the audience as they want to put themselves in these men's shoes to imagine what they had to go through and could sympathise for them.

The characters introduced are Tommy, the British soldiers and the French soldiers. We know from this scene that Tommy could be the main character since he has the most screen time and is the only British soldier who makes it over the gate as all the others get shot, he also appears to be extremely young and in-experienced as he did not know how to load the gun properly so dropped it and ran instead. The French soldiers are introduced when tommy was trying to escape and let him through their sandbags to get to the beach showing the audience that the British and the French are allies. We are told that these British soldiers are very worn out and tired as they are drinking water out of the hose one of them found and looking through windows for food with the use of close-up shots emphasising their desperation. 

 

Once watching the opening scene, the audience could assume that the rest of the  

narrative would be about Tommy trying to survive and him learning the ways of  

war (for example how to use a gun) as he clearly does not know any this  

already, maybe because of his young age and lack of training or, 

could follow as if he is trying to escape war and leave it all for good hence  

the desperation and fear he shows throughout presented by closeups and the  

determination he has running as fast as he could to get out. 

In conclusion I think that the opening scene of Dunkirk was very successful as it clearly showed the correct tone and emotion to the film, genre, key characters and their personality but also kept the audience engaged through the lack and use of diegetic/ non-diegetic sound. I also think what is very good is that even though there is a target audience a wide variety of people would enjoy this film and be engaged by the opening scene as it leaves a lot of questions making the audience want to know what happens next. 

 

Opening scene reasearch - Sci-fi

The film I chose is Inception, a 2010 legendary pictures syncopy science fiction film directed by Christopher Noland and played by Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb),Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Tom Hardy (Eames) and Elliot Page (Ariadne).

The genre is shown from the beginning when the use of non-diegetic soundtrack is played which gradually gets louder, creating a sense of mystery and confrontation maybe suggesting to the audience it could be a sci-fi and builds suspense drawing the audience in. However, the audience is made fully aware it is a sci-fi through the diegetic dialogue that Cobb has with the old man as he is talking about controlling dreams which is not something that could happen in the real world. The first clip where Cobb is washed up on the shore a close-up of his face is used as well as modified speed suggesting that he is confused and does not know what is happening, making the audience wonder how he got there and what bad things have happened to him for him to end up like this, drawing them in as they want to find out. This could also imply that he is the main character as he is the first person to be shown in the scene (which is not always the case). We can also tell he is the main character as he has the most screen time and his costume/dialogue during the end of the scene in the dining room is greatly confident as if he knows what he is talking about and is confident in himself.

 

The time and place are shown throughout. We know it is modern day or maybe even futuristic from the costumes which are typical day to day clothes that Cobb wears at the start and suits that all 3 men wear when they are having a 'meeting' in the dining room. The one thing that could suggest it is future time is the dialogue they have in the dining room about dreams. We are told the place by the guard at the start who pokes Cobb with a gun and shouts to one of his co-workers in a different language (maybe Chinese), as that is the assumed race he is, as well suggesting they are somewhere is Asia.

The target audience would be primarily 15yrs upwards and boys/males, we know this due to the genre as Sci-fi is stereo-typically aimed towards boys/men and the use of props such as guns are used creating an idea that violence and disagreement may be involved drawing in the targeted audience. We also know the target audience through the use of characters, as all 7 characters shown in this scene are male meaning that young boys would look up to them and admire them thinking they are 'cool' and 'invincible'. 

The main characters introduced include Cobb, Arthur and Saito. We know from this scene that Cobb is most likely to be the main character which I have explained above, followed by Saito as he appears to be the 'bad guy'. We assume this through the use of character positioning when he is sitting at the end of the table and slowly turns around when the guards speak to him whilst non-diegetic soundtrack is playing creating an eery and dangerous tone to him, which is further backed up by the confidence and calmness in his voice as if he has done this before. Arthur is Cobb's side character/college who helps him with his idea to make it come to life. This is told to us when he backs up whatever Cobb has to say when he is presenting his idea to Saito and also is sitting opposite him creating the idea of support. 

Once watching the opening scene, we assume that something bad is about to happen because as soon as Saito left the room, they knew he was onto him creating a sighn of weakness, then all of a sudden everything starts shaking creating tension shown by a zoom in on the table shaking, to which Cobb looks at his watch with an extreme close up of his watch ticking pleaonastically speeding up to then jump to the next scene. This created a lot of tension and suspense whilst also foreboding that something bad was about to happen and they were aware of it. 

In conclusion I think that the opening scene to Inception is fairly successful as it does portray the main theme of the film which is dreams and manipulating them whilst also creating suspense and wonder to the audience about what is happening and who Saito is. But could be a bit clearer on the genre as not a lot showed that it was a Sci-fi so could get confused with an action. But did clearly present the time/place, characters and their personalities and the target audience. 

Opening scene research - drama

   The film I chose is Call Me by Your Name, a 2017 coming of age Sony Pictures film directed by Luca Guadagnino, played by Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. 

The genre is established right from the start when we see Elio and what we assume to be his girlfriend or maybe sister getting ready for the day as they are teenagers, telling the audience that this is a coming-of-age film. We also know this as Elio is the main character due to the fact, he has the most screen time and is being followed by the camera primarily using tracking movement. The opening scene gives off a calm and adventurous tone hence the use of only diegetic sound such as dialogue and ambient sound but also the setting which is a large house in the countryside (giving a more realistic effect) drawing in the audience as these things give connotations of calmness and discovery. We are told the time and place within the first 20 seconds of the scene through the use of titles used saying, 'summer 1983' and 'somewhere in Northen Italy', which is further backed up by the weather (which is sunny/warm) and the costumes worn, for example Elio is wearing shorts and a top.  

The target audience would be primarily teenagers and young adults. We know this due to the fact that the main characters Elio and Oliver who we are introduced to appear to be this age through the use of their costumes, setting (specifically Elio's bedroom as there are lots of posters stuck up on the wall) and the fact they are sharing a bedroom. As well meaning that the audience could easily relate to them drawing them into to watch the rest of the film. Elio and Oliver are also attractive young males meaning it would further draw in a lot of attention from teenagers as well.

The characters introduced include Elio, Oliver, Marzia, Mr Perlman and Anella Perlman. We know from this scene that Elio is most likely to be one of the main characters followed by Oliver as he is greeted by Elio's parents (Mr and Mrs Perlman) when he arrives at the house and the character positioning of Elio looking through the window down at Oliver suggests he is important or Elio is expecting him, this draws in the audience as they want to know who he is and why he is there. We know that Mr and Mrs Perlman are Elio's parents as their costumes are smart and modest giving connotations of being sensible like a parent and also the way they speak to Elio in a formal but caring manner. We also assume that Marzia is not one of the main characters as she does not say anything throughout the whole opening scene and has the shortest amount of screen time. 

Once watching the opening scene, we assume that Oliver is staying over at their family's house as Elio says to him 'my room is now your room', also implying he is going to be there for a long time. We also know that Oliver has not met the family before as they introduce them selfs to him and are overly polite. From what we were given in the opening scene we assume the rest of the narrative would be along the lines of Oliver and Elio's friendship progressing and finding out maybe the reason that Oliver came to Italy.  

In conclusion I think that the opening scene to call me by your name is successful as it clearly demon straights the whole narrative of the film and forebodes what could or will happen next correctly. Whilst also presenting the genre, time/place, characters and attracts the right target audience.