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Media Research
Importance of film openings
Why are film openings important?
When a film begins, it represents the first step into the film's genre. The opening scene sets the tone and atmosphere of the film, therefore it is important to watch it carefully. This aids in the development of the audience's interest in the tale and, in certain cases, the introduction of the primary characters. It is not necessary to create a large, explosive opening scene that captures the audience's attention and leaves them in a state of awe. It may be as basic as a name, a letter, or even a little feature, such as, for example, a spelled out word. For example, the opening scene of '''Baby Driver'' kicks of with the stills and close-ups of the protagonist Bright red Subaru car and the protagonist's ipod which shouts the protagonist's personality and gives the audience an idea of what they are getting into.
Over the years, there has been a significant evolution in the way films are introduced. Film openers have progressed from simple, non-complicated studio introductions to elaborate, CGI-enhanced introductions that make use of current technology and CGI. Iris cuts, which were famously used in Walt Disney's mickey mouse, and wipe transitions, which were famously used in the Star Wars franchise, are examples of transitions that were used in vintage pieces of film that have now become relatively outdated and have been replaced by complex computer-generated imagery and the application of digital technology.
For example, in the late 1930s, the intros and titles of Hollywood films included the names of prominent actors who played roles in the film, as well as the characters' names, or an indication as to what the narrative was, like in the film "Frankenstein," which was released in 1933. After a decade, the style of film introductions has evolved significantly. A gloomy backdrop with a large title above it was the standard opening scene for most films in 1939, according to Variety. similar to "The Wizard of Oz" (1939).
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The majority of film openings are significant to the storey line or ideology of the film; for example, in the movie " Baby Driver," the movie begins with only a few seconds of silence before launching into its first action sequence, which is extremely significant because it sets the tone for the entire film, which the audience now knows will be a heist film.
Evolution of film intros
Day by day, the opening sequences continued to evolve until they reached a stalemate. It wasn't until Otto Preminger decided to employ Saul Bass to create the opening sequence for the film " Carmen Jones" that the progress was restarted. This marked the beginning of the digital era of film intros
Types of film openings
Teaser
It just depicts a portion of the narrative and the conflict from the beginning in order to pique the audience's interest and make them eager for more information. It enables the audience to jump right into the movie's action without any delay which can prove to be eye-catching for the audience and can gain the audience's attention in a short period of time. For example '' Quantam of Solace'' which starts with the protagonist, James Bond, who is in a car chase, and the identity of the chasers have not been revealed which gets the viewers curious as to who is chasing their beloved protagonist.
Theme
Opening scenes may also be used to convey the general idea of the film in a creative manner. For example in the movie ''Bad boys for life'', the opening scene starts off with the two protagonists cops who are involved in a car chase, this gives am idea to the audience that the theme of the movie is crime, action and comedy due to the witty dialogues and vibrant soundtrack
Tone
Audience members' expectations are established in the opening few minutes of any script or film because of the story's tone. Is it serious, lighthearted, humorous, gloomy, etc. The movie '' Son of the mask'' starts of with over the top,pretentious and unrealistic CGI and expressions which let the audience know that this movie is not to be taken seriously
Backstory
The character's important past before the tale begins is known as their background. This is the narrative that preceded the story, if you will. For example in Marvel's ''Black Widow''. The intro sequence covers the backstory of Natasha Romanoff, the protagonist, and how she spent her childhood as an orphan and as an unconventional child who was given military training and was kept in a facility
Location
Setting the scene's tone through establishing the interlinkages among its primary characters and plot points is an essential part of any film. This is why establishing shots in accordance to the setting and locations are so important, as they provide meaning to all of the characters' actions in the future while also allowing the viewer to follow along with the tale as it develops. Our action needs a clear sense of place, which may be achieved via the use of establishing shots. All the examples given above take into consideration location and settings.
Narration
The act of narrating a tale, often in a chronological manner, is known as narration. The act of telling a spooky ghost tale over a campfire is an example of narration.
The term "narration" refers to the act of describing or describing something. It's most often used in the context of a tale. The audience is more likely to believe a story if it is presented in a way that is believable.
Codes and Conventions
Codes are the instruments we employ to produce meaning and to develop and critique media output. Codes comprise Technical Codes (the methods we create meaning by how we record an image), Symbolic Codes (the ways we create meaning by what we perceive in an image), Audio Codes (the ways we create meaning through the use of sound) and Written Codes (the ways we build meaning through the use of language) (the ways we construct meaning through the use of text). Conventions are recurrent techniques of building media works, utilising conventions that, through time, have been accepted by audiences.
E.g. a fade to black shows time has passed; a scenario of a vehicle chase would contain dramatic music, The meanings that are established by rules and norms are culturally defined. Codes are the instruments we employ to produce meaning and to develop and critique media output. Codes comprise Technical Codes (the methods we create meaning by how we record an image), Symbolic Codes (the ways we create meaning by what we perceive in an image), Audio Codes (the ways we create meaning through the use of sound) and Written Codes (the ways we build meaning through the use of language) (the ways we construct meaning through the use of text).
An example would be this scene from Tom Cruise's blockbuster hit Jack Reacher, the chase scene contains dramatic music along with jump cuts, the overall pacing of the scene is extremely fast and abrupt, almost adrenaline inducing which helps in immersion for the audience along with the general quality and appeal of the sequence.
Conventions are recurrent techniques of building media works, utilising conventions that, through time, have been accepted by audiences. (e.g. a fade to black shows time has passed; a scenario of a vehicle chase would contain dramatic music) The meanings that are established by rules and norms are culturally defined.
Research on Narrative Theories
When we talk about narrative theories, it is not an understatement to say that all pieces of film are made keeping those theories in made. Mostly because the vast amount of theories available to consult and mostly because of the usefulness and impact created when a film-maker consults these theories.
A small example would be the 'Chekov's Gun theory', Chekhov's Gun is the term for any first inconsequential detail that later on in the plot proves to be crucial. According to the Chekhov's Gun storytelling rule, if the viewer is drawn to a particular aspect in great detail, it should somehow be relevant to the larger plot since, hypothetically, if the writer hadn't included it, it wouldn't be significant.
This was a small example, however there are many numerous other examples along with many other theorists which will be mentioned in this blog
Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian-French literary theorist and intellectual historian whose interests in several publications included
everything from science fiction and fantasy to the ethical ramifications of colonialism, fanaticism, and the Holocaust.
Todorov recognised that tales have underlying structures. He maintained that all narratives start in a state of "equilibrium," or when all the forces are balanced. A issue interferes with this and creates "disequilibrium." After that, other things happen until a "new equilibrium" is reached.
Nowadays, a lot of movies just go for the problem and the disequilibrium without bothering to build up the usual world to be disrupted by a crisis . There will always be a sense of the past in the movie, though, and the characters will always have something to go back to if they can only solve the issue.
This could be applied to Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould's Genre-defining blockbuster tv show 'Breaking Bad'. At the start of the show, the protagonist, Walter white is seemingly leading a very normal and cliche life of a high school chemistry teacher, this changes due to his cancer diagnosis, in this case, the cancer has caused disequilibrium.
However many would argue that the show never got an ending which could be considered as an ending which reinstated equilibrium in the world of breaking bad , but Walter White dying peacefully after committing several crimes and after ruining several relationships was almost as if he atoned for his sins by not even trying to survive in the end.
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Soviet folklorist and academic who examined the fundamental construction of Russian folk stories to determine its most basic irreducible structural components.
When Propp examined folk stories, he discovered certain structural similarities. Functions that advance the plot and 7 character roles were discovered by him.
The functions included plot points with the likes of
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The hero suffering a loss (eg, death of love interest)
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The villain being punished
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The hero discovering the villain's weakness etc
The seven character parts may possibly be action roles as they differ from the kinds of roles that are listed in the cast. In a movie or play, one character may take on a variety of personas or actions. As follows:
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The villain
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The hero
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The donor
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The helper
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The princess
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Her father
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The false hero
Propp's theory may seem definite and accurate however it can be considered as reductionist and something that is only applicable on folklore and plays.
Another theorist was Roland Barthes. According to Roland Barthes, who split the action of a narrative into five basic codes that are present in all storytelling, including music
narrative videos, he felt that texts might be open-ended or close-ended. Roland Barthes possessed rigid categorical codes. He laid massive emphasis on the usage of enigma codes.
All writings share five different types of semiotic components, according to Barthes. These signifiers are collected by him into five different codes: hermeneutic, proairetic, semantic, symbolic, and cultural.
A notion of "binary opposites" was put out by French anthropologist Levi Strauss in the 1900s. According to this idea, most media narratives, including those in novels and movies, have key characters who are in opposition to one another. These polar contrasts serve to establish contrast, advance the story, and deepen the storyline.
For example, in a superhero film this may be good vs. evil, in a horror film this could be human vs. supernatural, the possibilities are endless.
Binary opposites have the drawback of frequently fostering unfavourable prejudices. Gender stereotypes may portray a guy as "powerful" and a woman as the "damsel in distress" if the binary opposite was, for instance, a man and a woman. He defined a binary opposite as the precise opposite of a term. Black and white are two examples of binary opposites. Strauss also came to the conclusion that all words are only representations of artificial notions, therefore each binary opposition is merely a potrait of society's beliefs.
"Language is a type of human reason, which has its own underlying logic of which man knows nothing," declared Levi Strauss himself once. All humans, according to Strauss, are capable of distinguishing between binary pairings.
The three main stages of the archetypal heroic journey, according to Joseph Campbell,
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are departure,
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initiation,
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and return.
There are several sub-levels within these three stages. This hypothesis may be thought of as being rather simple.
To truly depict an epic adventure, a novel need not cover all of the stages or present them in a precise chronological order. Again, this theory can be considered as genre and narrative specific as it only entertains stories involving a journey or a hero and villian.
Research on Semiotics
Before we move onto Semiotics and Connotations in film, we need to understand what they are first.
There are two main ways to explain the meanings of words: connotation and denotation. While denotation is the precise, literal definition of a word that may be found in a dictionary, connotation refers to the vast array of positive and negative associations that most words naturally bring with them.
Whereas The study of how symbols are used in communication is called semiotics. Signs, emblems, gestures, and other linguistic and nonlinguistic communication mechanisms can all be regarded as semiotics.
Both are extremely similar concepts
The study and usage of semiotics is not only restricted to film and visual pieces of art, it is also embedded in poems, songs, paintings, quotes etcetera.
Moreover any action, behaviour, or procedure using signs is referred to as semiosis. A sign is defined as anything that conveys information to the interpreter of the sign, typically referred to as a meaning. The meaning may be intended, as in the case of a term used to convey a certain meaning, or it may not. As opposed to meanings, feelings may also be conveyed by signs. These sensations can be expressed visually , audibly or internally through cognition itself, or through any combination of these senses (taste).
In film, many techniques and theories are used to communicate hidden meanings, for example, For illustration, anything might reveal details about a person's personality? A person's looks alone might provide information about them. An untidy dress shirt and tie might signal that the individual is classy and elegant, but mismatched shoes and bedhead may be an indication of recklessness.
For example, in this frame from the critically acclaimed film 'Scarface', Al Pacino's way of dressing shows that he is a high-roller, someone with expensive and sleek tastes and someone who is able to fulfill these expensive tastes. However the slight signs such as, opened button and the visible chain is an homage to Al Pacino's gangster lifestyle.
According to De Saussure, a sign always has a "signified" (idea or meaning) and a "signifier" (word, sound, image, etc.). The signifier and the signified can have many different connections.
The core idea of Roland Barthes' ideas is that symbols have cultural and ideological meanings. These were shown in two different ways: as a denotative meaning, which is the sign's literal meaning, and as a connotative meaning, which is the sign's implicit or suggested meaning.
To convey this depiction and instill hidden and symbolic meaning in their films, filmmakers employ certain filmic terms or methods. Be it in the attire worn by the characters, the narrative's setting, the set's coloration, the acting, etc. These minute details can—and frequently do—represent society or convey a message. A setting or region in the tale could stand in for a particular religion or segment of society, for example. Everything depends on the filmmaker's goals.
The cornerstone of these techniques is the mis-en-scene.
With the collaborative power of the production design, the director of photography, a few other departments, and the director, these filmmakers are able to construct a narrative beyond what is in front of them, from props to wardrobe and costume design to the actions of the actors to the set design to the location of one scene to the location of the entire thing. Mis-en-scene is an integral part of cinema and film as well as semiotics and symbolism as a whole
