Film Opening Project (blog 1)

And we're off! Me and my group partners are finally starting to work on our film opening! :)

I've been thinking of ideas of our story and what direction we should take our project, and as of now I am still in the brainstorming stage. I know that our genre is drama, so I have been doing some research on how some other drama films start their openings. From what I see, we have two directions. We can either create a story with a light-hearted tone, or take a more serious route. I've been looking at some film openings as references and here's what I have observed: 

Although Marley and Me (2008) is anything BUT a light-hearted movie (thinking about it makes me cry to this day) it is a good example of a drama that takes a 'friendly' approach in introducing the story. I believe that the opening starts by alluding to conflict since it's made clear that Marley is a "clearance puppy".

I may be biased since it is one of my favorite movies, but I think Dunkirk (2017) has to be one of the greatest film openings ever. Its simplicity is what makes it so much more profound; there's no gimmicky effects, no dramatic dialogue, just the story in its rawest form. The simplicity of it is also what makes it feel so real, it feels as if you are walking with the main character. Not only is it captivating, it is a good example of a drama opening with a serious tone. 

I am referencing these two film openings because of one key thing in between the two of them, their simplicity.  I want to make sure that for our film opening we try not to create a story that is very elaborate, but rather we make a simple story elaborate through our technique. Also, considering the fact that none of us have money to rent out locations or can drive very far, a story that is easy to tell based on our location will help through the filming process too. After all we are just students, not Universal Studios.

I'll keep you guys posted :)