All About the First Impression
Before I begin working on my script or storyboard, I'd like to do research on other film openings to learn more about the tactics that are used in coming-of-age films and get some inspiration for my own opening. My current plan for my plot, though it needs revision, is to show how society holds children back from pursuing their passions. The message that I'm hoping to convey is meant to empower children to go against those societal standards and pursue what they truly love, rather than what society tells them to love. I hope that by doing research on coming-of-age films I can find a way to accurately communicate the genre and my plot.
FILMS
Dead Poets Society, a 1989 film created by
Peter Weir, is a coming-of-age drama that tells the story of an English teacher, John Keating (
Robin Williams,) and his students. It shows how he teaches his class to seize the day, or "carpe diem," which is the overall theme of the story. The movie reflects on self-expression, liberty and learning to live true to yourself. I chose to do research on this film since it particularly relates to mine, it discusses how society, the school, restrains kids from being individual and unique by pursuing what they love.
This films opening uses a lot of close ups and medium shots that are meant to show the audience how the school runs a tight ship, this is also reinforced by the use of wide shots that showcase all of the characters in uniform, sitting and acting the same. Director Peter Weir does this to establish background and develop context through mise-en-scene elements, such as the four pillars, or principles, that are shown to be extremely important to the school and the character's development. One banner in specific, the one entitled "tradition," is used to foreshadow what will happen later on and to, once again, reinforce the schools values. At the end of the opening, the director chooses to introduce the teachers character and reveal that the teacher was an old student for the preparatory school.
The Half of It is a film created by Alice Wu that was released on Netflix in 2020. It is a coming-of-age romance film that tells the story of a high schooler, Ellie Chu (
Leah Lewis), who ends up in a love triangle after agreeing to write lover letters for Paul that are dedicated to his crush, Aster, who also happens to be her crush. The story delves deeper into themes of friendship, self-discover, and the unexpected nature of love. Overall, the movie demonstrates how love isn't always perfect and you never know when, or how, you'll find your other half.
Much like Dead Poets Society, this film uses their opening to establish background information, however both films do this in very different ways. Unlike Dead Poets Society, this movie uses a voice over to narrate the story of the drawings and pieces of paper on screen. By relying on visual storytelling, the director is able to reveal what that the movie will be about soulmates and finding "your other half." Towards the end of the opening, the director uses a match cut to transition from the pieces of paper into an actual high school. The audience is then shown a computer screen filled with the dialogue from the start of the movie, this conveys to the audience that this girl is our main character and storyteller.
The last film I've decided to research is
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Released in 2023 and created by Kelly Fremon Craig, this coming-of-age story is an adaptation of Judy Blume's novel.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. tells the story of Margaret Simons (
Abby Ryder Fortson), and her struggles as a teenage girl who's just moved to a new town and is now questioning her beliefs and life. Throughout the film, Margaret relies on her relationship with her mother and grandmother to help guide her through these struggles. The movie discusses themes of puberty, family, friendship, and religious skepticism in a teenage girl.
Unlike the two previous movies, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. chooses to establish character throughout their opening scene. The director achieves this by using multiple medium shots, wide shots, and a few close ups to showcase their main character as well as others who are, supposedly, friends with Margaret. The audience can infer that the girls are all friends because the film shows that the girls are at a summer camp and they appear to be close, given the fact that they're doing all the activities together and the lively background music sets a positive mood. Furthermore, this film, unlike the others I've analyzed, makes it so that each shot revolves around the main character, whether Margaret is by herself, or with a group of people, the camera has always made her the main focus. The opening ends when Margaret comes home from camp and has an endearing reunion with her mother.
WHAT'S NEXT?
After my doing research on film openings, I now know what I want to establish during the 2 minutes and how I'm going to do that. After analyzing all of the films, I realized that I preferred the way that the last film, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. developed their character. Even though the films atmosphere and aesthetics don't match the visions I have for my own opening, there are certainly other devices that I could take from this and implement into my own piece. Furthermore, even though the first film I researched, Dead Poets Society, matched my openings themes and ambience more accurately, I don't believe that I want to establish background in my piece. Thus, I know that I definitely want to take inspiration from Dead Poets Society, even though I want to focus more on the characters in my opening. Lastly, after doing my research on The Half of It, I decided that I did not want to do something similar to this. Despite it being a very creative and fun piece, as well as a coming-of-age film, both of our plots are different and, as I mentioned, I don't want to establish background in my opening. Nonetheless, the last thing that I have to do before I begin planning for my piece is to research different credit sequences, that way, once I do begin planning, I'll be ready and won't have any delays.
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