Researching Film Openings- Case Study

 What Makes a Film Opening Successful:

I am thinking about making my film a romance film. I have decided to research into two film openings of romance films to get an idea of the codes and conventions of this genre, as well as solidifying my knowledge on film openings and title sequences :)

He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

The overall feel of the opening scene is very clean-cut but also approachable and creating rapport with the audience. 

Editing:

• Customary display of the production companies. 
• Each of the two that are shown (Tripictures and New Line Cinema) has its own little animated introductory clip that goes with a short sound motif that the audience might associate with the production company in future films. 
• Furthermore, the second production company, New Line Cinema, also bears the name of its parent company, Time Warner, which is a display of the Pyramid of Power and how it works. 
• The names of the cast and crew are not shown-  immerses the audience straight into the action and keeps up with the contemporary demands of an audience living in an era of an oversaturated media landscape.
• A tilt shot and a fade transition introduce the first scene of the opening, which creates a smooth effect that land the audience in the world of the film- This smooth transition is also a convention of the romance genre, which is not violent but more fluid and taking the audience through a story.
• A voiceover is also used. 
• It comes in at the same time as the medium close-up of a girl, and the audience can connect the little girl with the voice of the grown woman and deduce that they are the same character. 
• The voiceover narrates the action and again gives the plot a narrative and story-like sense which is common of romance films. 
• The use of a flashback at the beginning that does not have a colour palette which connotes this is a flashback gives the opening a more narrative tone as though this was the beginning of a story that, far from happening a long time ago, happens every day. This is precisely the message that the narrative voiceover wants to convey. 
• The pace of the shots is quite slow, but not exaggeratedly so. This takes the audience calmly through the story with time to adjust to the plot and meet the characters; this is also a convention of the romance genre. Furthermore, the tracking shots keep a dynamic flow despite the not-so-fast pace.
• The use of shallow focus- makes the audience concentrate on the characters (highlighting the character-based narrative rather than action-based), as well as adds a softer feel and mood.

Sound and Camera key things:

• Close-up shots of the female characters being rejected by a boy- establishes rapport with the audience, emphasises the character-based narrative of the romance genre which invites the audience to interact with the characters and understand the human-based plot
• Music is calm and ambience-like but also beginning-like, anticipating some action; soft but engaging introduces the audience into the story.
• Sound motifs introduced subtly every time there is something important said or done- very subtle way of pointing at key points, coherent with the subtlety and naturality of all elements of romance films.
• The use of a montage, to bring dynamism into the audience and establish that what the film is talking about happens to everyone- it is an opportunity to engage with the mainstream audience of the film, it emphasises the engaging nature of romance films which have a strong appeal of identification.
• The camera pointing at key elements which will act as a motif later in the film- the close-up of the telephone with no calls links directly with one of the narrative strands of the film. It subtly establishes a motif which adds to the complexity of the narrative.
• Music experiences build-up and a resolution when linking arriving at the title- another example of music guiding the audience rather than just increasing or decreasing the tension, which links to the narrative-like characteristic of the romance genre.

Lighting, colour and mise-en-scène:

• Natural and high-key lighting- establishes an optimistic mood as well as a natural feel which links with the identification use and gratification fo the Blumbler and Katz theory, it is typical of the romance genre to make the audience feel involved and included.
• Saturated colour palette with bright colours that do not look artificial- establishes an optimistic mood with undertones of the hope that is related to the theme of romance. However, it still looks realistic enough to involve the audience in the narrative.
• The decor is very natural-looking, and important props such as the telephone are already established.

                                      

Prioritising images and enigma codes:

• Introducing the main character and the plot through a story-like narrative will establish the romance genre as well as ease the audience into the film
• The use of camera motifs like the phone is important for the rest of the film
• There is an enigma created through the voice over, we want to know who is the woman who speaks, we want to know her story and why has she taken on this apparently contradictory view of love.

The Typography:

• White and simple sans-serif font in the title- neat yet cosy and informal, as if making a connection with the audience. 
• The "not" then turns green- opposite to what the audience would expect and opposed to typical connotations of the word "no" which already sets up the mood for subverting the stereotype, which is what this film is all about. 

Crazy, Stupid Love (2011)

This opening scene is much briefer than the one of the previous film, however, it is very effective and establishes very well the atmosphere, world of the film and relationship between the characters.

Conventions of the Romance genre:

• Slow-paced editing to gently introduce the storyline and let the audience focus on the details and absorb the atmosphere.
• Sequence of similar images of the feet under the table in a restaurant to establish the posh setting and romantic atmosphere, as well as to display the intimate and loving relationship between the people sitting on the tables.
• The music is a romantic song, non-diegetic sound to set the mood and almost shamelessly highlight the romantic tones. This, of course, prepares the audience for either a juxtaposing scene or an almost artificially romantic one.
• The ambient lighting creates a soft and smooth quality to the image, which adds to the romantic soft atmosphere. 
• This is reinforced also by the warm and saturated colour palette that is made up of the same uniform blacks, browns, oranges and reds that introduce the audience into this set of elegance and etiquette.
• The use of shallow focus to let the audience concentrate on the characters and their relationship.
• Typical over-the-shoulder shots to display a conversation and an overly unsophisticated dialogue about mundane things which tell the audience this is not a couple who is falling in love, but rather too used to the relationship they are in. It plays with familiar situations the audience might have witnessed in terms of the dialogue to create meaning about the relationship of these two characters.

How the director plays with certain elements to create meaning:

• The music: 
• The romantic song to establish the atmosphere
• Just like in the other opening, the music indicates the more important parts of the dialogue and keeps the plot moving; when the woman says "I want a divorce", the typical upbeat, atmospheric music starts playing, which is a common convention of the romance genre.
• There is a direct contrast between the sequence of different shoes with non-diegetic music that covered all other sounds, and the fading out of this music (which introduces the action) so that the audience is left with the rather rough and crude clattering of the plates in downfall to harsh reality from soft glamour. Here the director is attempting to add realism and depth to the plot and characters, by bringing the atmosphere from the glamourous world of romance to an apparently more mundane scene, and helping he audience identify with it and sympathise with the characters.
• This is a technique used by romantic films to try and make the audience create rapport and participate in the plot.
• The costume:
• As a genre which is based around human relationships and their ups and downs, the human-based plot focuses on some aspects such as costume perhaps more than other genres do, as it conveys a lot of information about the character, more than is perhaps necessary for other genres.
• Here, the old-fashioned and careless look of the main male character is apparent, making a vague attempt to look formal with his old-fashioned blazer, but on the practical and unsophisticated part of his life where wearing sneakers to a date seems the most comfortable option. This is a man who is past the stage of dating and already settled down with his wife.
• It is soon obvious that the man's costume mirrors his mindset, rather stuck and old-fashioned. This of course will change and reflect his new confidence and character development.
• There is a direct contrast with the black elegance of the shoes shown in the previous sequence and the shoes of the two main characters, which look vulgar and wearier in a sense.
• The positioning of both characters:
• In the sequence displaying all the different people's feet under the table, there is an apparent constant dynamic going on, they are quite close, some even touching on purpose. In contrast, as the music abruptly starts to fade our attention is brought to the contrasting scene of another couple whose feet are farther away from each other and almost awkwardly well placed, which could mock the image of the "perfect family" which is nothing of the sort underneath.
• There is a medium shot of the two characters sitting at the table where the space between them is apparent. The camera keeps coming back to this shot and especially after the woman said she wants a divorce; the over-the-shoulder shots of the unspoken conversation, full of enigmas, cut back to this shot and suddenly the title of the film fills this space with the words "crazy, stupid love". This could signify that the characters are separated by the ordinary and twisted complications of love.

How is this establishing an enigma?

• The audience will want to know who these people are, why the woman wants to get a divorce, what went wrong in their marriage so that they lost all the romance...