Portfolio Project: Film openings

Chapter 5 

While researching thriller film openings, I stumbled upon this article in which I found ten. Each held a brief description of what the opening entailed. I chose to check out the opening for Inception (2010) YouTube. 

The Inception Film directed by Christopher Nolan is, according to Google, about “a thief with the rare ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious.”. Although I watched a movie review and looked for a good recap video, in hopes to find out more about the overall film I was quite disappointed to see that there wasn't any particular good one I could find. I judged the opening based on the representation of the movie description Google provided me with.  

The film begins by showing some establishing shots of waves in the ocean with the loud sounds of the waves crashing essentially giving an idea of location, I think this is a good place to start. The Camera then moves to the main character, introducing Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is shown in some close ups washed up on shore and a Point Of View shot looking at a couple of children playing as he lies on the ground. With the help of makeup and acting skills the audience can infer he isn’t in his best condition and is likely to have been at sea for some days. He is then found and inspected by what appears to be a police officer, based on costume design and the gun prop, the officer finds a gun on Cobb and calls over another officer in a foreign language who is standing near a unique Japanese looking architecture. From this it’s to be understood that the location is a beach in a foreign country and that Cobb is likely an intruder or not a local. 

In the next scene we are introduced to a powerful looking man. It’s inferred that he is a person of authority based on how the first shot we see of him is composed and the sound; as soon as he is shown the Music turns suspenseful and ominous, he is shown sitting at the head of the table in a dim yellow lit room surrounded by bodyguard. Since my film opening will be mostly filmed outside, I don't think I will be able to use colored lighting elements. I will however, because my opening is also centered around a powerful character, use bodyguards to imply she is important and/or must be kept safe. One of the bodyguards then approaches the man and shows him the two items that Cobb had on him, the gun and a spinning top. The man appears unfazed until the spinning top is presented, then he hesitates to take his drink. This technique where the character is multitasking and suddenly stops when something is presented or in a moment of realization will be incredibly useful seeing I had the same idea of an item being presented and then the character shown on edge or uneasy, therefore creating suspense and leaving the audience wanting to find out why it had an effect of such on a character. Originally, I thought to not show the controversial item in my opening but now it seems like a better choice to show it as it could create mystery around the object, I didn’t think a spinning top could have been so important but clearly in this movie it is an essential part to developing the story. 

Following, Cobb is dragged in by two guards into the room. I thought the next shot was cool where there is a tilt from the reflection on the table of Cobb, eating a sort of oatmeal, up until his upper lip is shown. It was a smart idea as the movement in the shot was visually interesting, while keeping the audience on edge as to why his face isn’t shown when at the table, speaking to what has been established as a man of authority but beforehand shown on the beach. The man then asks if Cobb is there to kill him, while having placed his hand on the gun Cobb originally carried. Through dialogue we understand the stance of the characters of who really is in power here. Cobb is shown in some shots that don't really emphasize his face while there is a moment of silence. The man’s focus moves to the spinning top where he grabs Cobb’s attention again through dialogue. I will use this in my opening; the power of words or lack of them is almost crucial in establishing power and emotions. 

Above is the shot I admired.

I realize I may have overanalyzed the opening but I think learning and understanding the structure of the opening is exactly what I lacked knowledge of. Now that I know how all these techniques can contribute to my film opening and unite to create the identity of a character I feel more confident in my abilities to move onto the next steps.