We are finally starting our portfolio projects and I'm very excited. My teammate, Riley, and I haven't decided yet on an idea for our film opening, so we thought deciding on a genre first would help us choose.
Originally we were thinking of producing a film opening for a horror movie, but upon further research of the genre, we didn't feel like our vision for the film opening matched the conventions of film openings for horror movies. When researching this genre, we looked at the opening for Paranormal Activity (2007). Most horror movies begin with calm scenes and build up tension and suspense throughout the film. We didn't want to start our film opening like this; we wanted to open it with suspenseful and dramatic scenes from the middle of the film (media res technique).
We then researched the film noir genre. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this genre is a "style of filmmaking characterized by...cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashback, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy." Even though we were both very intrigued by this, we felt like it would be hard to achieve those undertones and characteristics in only the film opening. Once again, since we wanted to have a film opening with high intensity and drama, we felt that there would be another genre better fit for this.
And then, finally we found it! We're not 100% sure on it, but we were both intrigued by the crime drama genre. I first thought of this when watching the Netflix original show, Elite. This show is a crime, drama, and mystery film, and utilizes the media res technique. It begins with a scene of the main protagonist covered in blood. The occurrence of a murder is soon after revealed. This film opening greatly caught my eye, as it had the intensity and suspense Riley and I had been searching for.
We plan on further researching the crime drama genre, and the different conventions and techniques that exist within it. We will research this next class and will discuss our different ideas. I can't wait to continue this process!
Britannica, T. E. (2017, September 26). Film noir. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/film-noir
Theorangutan86. (2009, November 07). Paranormal activity opening. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXCIZllanU
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