drama credit sequences

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The opening credit sequence begins with a typewriter sound with the credits being written in a font that looks like it was written by a typewriter. Then music starts playing, some key parts I noticed about the music was the strong acoustic guitar and singing. When you pair the acoustic guitar and the country singing along with the old font for the letters, essentially the film is establishing the time period, that is probably late 1980s-1990s. The credits continue along with the music while some important places are shown. The places shown are: the tunnel that is important to the beginning of the movie and the ending, and the city skyline which is also important to the ending of the movie. I believe they did this to show that these two places will have some importance later on in the film.

Parasite

The credits for this film are implemented as soon as the opening starts. They are shown in the bottom right corner as to not draw attention to them. The credits then move over to the left corner of the screen so the focus is still drawn to the phone shown and not the credits. The credits are also shown in white and in a typical everyday font, once again to make them seem like nothing more than credits. They end soon after they are moved to the left corner of the screen.

Manchester by the Sea

The credits for this opening are shown in opposite colors of their background. I believe this was done to fill in any large negative spaces. In the first half of the opening the credits are shown in white while the background, or the dark blue water, they are placed on is a dark tone thus making the credits stand out. In the second half of the credit sequence the credits are then shown as dark blue on a sky blue background, once again to make them stand out. The final credit where the writer and director are named is placed in the center of the screen once again in a dark color against a light background to end off the credits. I believe they changed the placement of the final credit to highlight the importance and center the authority of the director. Although the credits seem to stand out they also seem to highlight the setting of the film.

Takeaways

I liked how The Perks of Being a Wallflower did the credit sequence. I enjoy how the credits establish the time period and how the background is of important parts of the film. I might take some inspiration by this and try to integrate it into my own film opening. I won't be able to show important places since it will just be an opening, however I can add music and change how the credits look to try and establish a tone and a time period. I also liked how Manchester by the Sea made their credits stand out while still establishing setting. With both of these ideas I will try and kind of mix them together in my own opening so I can establish setting, the time period, and create a tone for my credit sequence.

drama film openings

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The film opening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower starts with music playing a some scenic shots of a tunnel where the credits are displayed as well as the title of the movie. Then the main character Charlie is shown where we are given an inner monologue of what he is thinking and he is primarily shown with medium and close up shots. The medium shots display the background of his house which tells the audience that he seems like just any other teenage boy. Meanwhile the close ups along with the inner monologue creates the sense that we are able to peek into the mind of Charlie and really get a feel and figure out what he is thinking. The monologue given by charlie states that he spent time in the hospital, this is foreshadowing for later parts of the movie and gives an inside on some past traumas Charlie has experienced and endured. The opening scene ends with Charlie starting his first day of high school. The opening does this to primarily develop Charlie's character and background, but secondarily develops the scene a little, such as his house and his high school.

Beautiful Boy

The opening of Beautiful boy begins with David, or the father in this story, seeking understanding on the effects of drugs on his son, primarily crystal meth. Throughout the scene, the camera seems to get closer to David, this could be because as he is seeking understanding he is realizing the pressure and the situation better and realizing that he no longer knows his son like he used to. I say this because earlier in the scene he mentions how he thought he knew his son inside and out but no longer does. The opening then cuts to a year prior where his son is missing and he has to call a hospital to figure out if he was sent there. This opening, similar to Perks of Being a Wallflower, mainly develops character, although instead of developing only David, the opening also develops his son.

Interstellar

The opening for Interstellar was different than both Beautiful Boy and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This opening focused more on developing the setting and context of the film with a narrator describing how they used to live from the future. The opening sequence begins with the title card and then a close up of an older lady from the future describing her past. The scene cuts to a dream the main character was experiencing, this also introduces the main character and gives some background to him establishing that he was a pilot. The scene makes it clear that it was a dream since the pilot scene ends with the main character waking up from bed. The narration starts once again establishing that they had lots of corn and the world was very dry, thus the large dust storms they mention.

Genre research #3

 Hello! I decided that I wanted to do some research into the genre of drama. I was thinking of my film opening and realized i might enjoy doing a drama film. 

I was thinking of researching psychological dramas or melodramas since if I decide to do genre I would like for the film to be centered around the mental state of the main character. In psychodramas, although they can be targeted towards anybody, they usually appeal towards those recovering from addiction or those with past or current mental health conditions. An example I used in my first research blog was Perks of Being a Wallflower, I bring this up because this film also falls under the psychodrama category as it delves into topics considering mental health, such as, PTSD.

Of course some conventions you will find in this genre will be a main character that is suffering with something that hurts their mental wellbeing. Beautiful Boy, for example, is a film centered around a father of a son who is addicted to extremely harmful drugs. The film does a good job showing the harm addiction to drugs can do to those who surround the person who is addicted. This is another convention that these films typically have; that is, showing the harm that mental illnesses can do to the person who has it but in addition those who surround them.

Some common conventions considering techniques in psychodrama contain lots of close-ups and lots of different camera angles, this is done to invite the viewer to the mindspace of the main character and get a feel for what they are thinking. Furthermore disjointed editing and surreal imagery alongside props like a mirror to symbolize fragmented states of mind and distorted perceptions of self.

Films like these use a couple institutions to create a narrative image that leads into the mind of the character. For psychodrama films the camera is the window into the mind of the main character, therefore inner conflicts are visualized in these films. One way this is done is through the symbolism of objects, for example, the mirrors I mentioned earlier symbolize the distortion of self-image. Meanwhile other everyday objects can have other meanings such as a knife or a key.

Project schedule

Most projects we have done throughout this course has required us to create a schedule or a timeline on when we should have things done and or when we start thing. Making all those timelines made me realize how useful they can be.. thus I want to make one for this project and stick to the best of my abilities.

Breakdown of what needs to be done

• 1. Research of genres/openings
• Research two genres that interested me
• Select one of the two genres
• Research and analyze film openings within chosen genre
• 2. Composing plot and overall planning
• Think of an idea for the plot to follow
• create a title
• storyboard
• description of what I want to happen in each shot
• finding a location and time to record
• finding actors
• finding a song/gaining copyright if need be
• 3. Filming
• gathering to film each scene
• record variations of some scenes to use if needed
• recording foley sounds
• 4. editing
• put all the clips together
• record editing progress
• edit in title card and credits
• revise foley if needed
• 5. final revisions
• review finished opening
• revise any mistakes/new ideas
• 6. CCR
• reflect on project
• record reflection and answering questions
• edit and review

I would like to create my project in about this order, if any changes are made I will acknowledge them in future blog posts, but as of right now this is my idea of my schedule and what I would like to stick to. I plan to finish this with at least a couple days before the final due date so I can ask any questions or get any input on my project. 

transitioning to my final project!

 The time is here to begin my final project for this course! The blogs I post from this moment on will focus on the steps I have taken to create my final project. This includes any ideas I have, the process of filming, editing, and reviewing, any changes I make to my project, and when I finally post it. I feel that I have done enough in throughout the course of this year to be able to produce a well made opening while being able to produce my ideas properly. 

As of right now we are discussing genres and we have studies numerous film openings to get a good idea of what we should try and achieve when creating our own opening. For now I am thinking of sticking to adventure or romance since I feel I can hopefully create a unique and interesting film opening for those genres. 

For the romance genre I was planning to take an approach where I develop the main character in the opening and just introduce and give some insight on who they are in the film, as well as what they represent. I want to do this since I think it is important to know who the story revolves around in films, especially in the genres I am putting my focus on. Furthermore, I like this approach a lot since I have a lot of freedom with how I introduce the character, such as their costume, dialogue, and interactions with others and their environment.

However, for the adventure genre I was thinking of developing the background and context of the film. I feel if there is an adventure to happen there must be a reason behind it and explaining that in the beginning of the film seems like a good idea. This also shows that it is a film opening and there is more to happen than just what is being established in the 2 minutes that I am creating. 

Portfolio Project Genre #2

In my last post I went over one genre I was considering doing for my final project in Aice Mediastudies. Now I will be discussing the second genre I was considering doing for my Final project. The second genre I was considering making was adventure.

Adventure themed films and productions usually appeal towards men and young boys (ages 15-30). This is achieved using a main character who is seen as heroic or sometimes contains main characters who make sacrifices for their ultimate goal. An example of the latter is Interstellar. The protagonist is forced to make large sacrifices for what he was sent out to achieve in the end. Another example of a film that appeals to the target audience is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. For this particular film the protagonist is actually a superhero with the goal of stopping a villain or antagonist. The protagonist, or Miles is forced into difficult situations and has to make sacrifices to reach this goal, much like Interstellar. Doing so, this appeals towards men and young boys by showing them a figure that makes sacrifices and pushes towards their goals no matter what.

This leads to some conventions that films have in this genre. In most adventure films the main character is forced into an adventure where they get pushed to their limits, that being mental, physical, or emotional. They get pushed to their limits by having to explore new territories or experiences causing the protagonists to experience a stage of growth so they can reach their ultimate goal. Although not all the time, many times the main character is placed within a group of characters who support the main character or who have the same goal as the main character. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is an anime that falls under the genre of adventure. Frieren is a good example of the basic adventure conventions as the characters adventure new lands and new experiences and go through periods of self-discovery and growth. In addition Frieren, the main protagonist, travels in a group that faces challenges that pushes them to their utmost limits. Although there is not a clear goal in mind in Frieren, the production still follows many other genre conventions found in adventure shows.

Adventure films usually include a variety of wide-angle, establishing shots. This is done to show the remote areas that the protagonists must traverse through to reach their goals. In addition the editing in adventure films are usually fast paced with high frequency cuts during intense scenes, building tension and suspense. When considering lighting, natural lighting is typically used to keep the adventurous and fresh aspect of the scene.

There is a common narrative image in these types of films. That is the main character going on a quest usually for treasure, to rescue someone, or to explore the unknown in their world. In addition these journeys typically end with the main character experiencing a large amount of growth, whether that be mentally, emotionally, or physically. Films such as these usually market by showing life or death situations that the main character must face and show high stakes, emotional journeys.

Portfolio Project Genre #1

 As of recently we began our final project for this course. This week is the first week of this project and we have to think about what genres we want to base our film opening on. My first idea for a genre was young-adult romance.

Romance films, specifically young adult romance, typically end up targeting more towards teens and young adults. An example of a film under the young romance genre targeted towards young adults is Perks Of Being a Wallflower. The film explores aspects of relatability in teens and young adults by showing experiences and challenges figuring out how to belong, especially in a new setting, and showing aspects of discovering one's identity and the challenges that come along with it. Besides this example many films that fall under this genre typically utilize relatability to gain the attention of their target audience, that is, teens aged 14-18 and young adults 18-25.

Young adult romance films typically contain a main character or protagonist that is aged 12-18 and focus on exploring aspects of experiencing love for the first time and the confusing emotions that come with it. Many conventions in these films include the main character in a high school setting and their first love acting as a catalyst for a period of self-discovery and growth. Films usually follow the ending where everything ends on a positive note or end where things end on a temporary happy resolution. Another convention these stories tend to follow is making the main character stand out compared to every other character. Many times the protagonists of this genre are seen as outcasts or outsiders with distinct style, personality, and interests.

Some technical conventions under this genre include the use of many close-up shots paired with shot reverse shot or two shot. Close-up shots can feel intimate and build a strong connection between two characters, thus when paired with reverse shots or two shots that feeling of intimacy between the two characters is strengthened. Some other technical conventions include diagetic and non-diagetic sound. During happy scenes play sounds or songs are used to go along with the scene. An example of a TV production that does this often is Heartstopper. During many scenes where the two main characters are having a happy moment there is often happy non-diagetic sound that follows. On the other hand in scenes where the two characters are having a sad moment there might be no sound, to focus on whats really happening, or there might be bleak and gloomy non-diagetic sound.

Some institutional conventions of YA romance includes having a narrative focus that focuses on the intensity of first love and figuring out one's identity. Many times the covers for these types of films are drawn with bright colors such as pastels like pastel blue or pink to appeal towards viewers in their teens. Another reason covers could be bright could be to signal a light-hearted tone that the film has.