Short Film Opening: Three Capsule Reviews

INSPIRATIONAL FILM OPENINGS

Films have always been intriguing for me. I see them as a glimpse into other people's lives and uncover their stories. Different lessons are understood from the characters in the films that have been carefully crafted for the sole purpose to enlighten us. The great art form of the 20th century, that is films, come closest to perfection. Many films have inspired me throughout and since an opening of film is a essential part in order to set a tone, I have developed many favorites since an early age. Three of these film openings are;

1) Scream (1996)

2) Lion King (1994)

3) Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Review 1 : Scream (1996)

Scream's opening scene immediately grasps the audience's attention and puts them in a state of powerlessness. The first noise the audience hears when watching scream opening is a high-pitched screech of a girl, it represents the title of the film and exhibits that the genre is Thriller and Horror due to the deafening scream. This automatically creates an ambiance of mystery and puts the audience is a state of mental confusion. The film begins with Casey (Drew Barrymore) who is seen 10 seconds after the film starts. The effect of having a female as the victim is that it stereotypically means she is vulnerable and too weak to fight anything off. Her facial expressions change as soon as the caller says that he is able to see her, it creates an atomosphere of tension within the audience and straightaway indicates that the caller is the villian.Since the caller/the villian is a man, it represents that he has more power over the girl which is why she automatically starts answering his questions because she has no other choice but to abide by his rules. The audience already knows that the ending of this scene will not be good so the night ends with Casey being stabbed to death, hanged by a tree to be discovered by her parents. The camera shots and movements altogether have helped in building tension and having maximum control over the audience's attention. This scene has etched it's place in horror movies history and has been set as an example for upcoming horror films.

Review 2 : Lion King (1994)

Another film that has inspired me since I was a toddler was Lion King. Even as a toddler the bright colours, the background soundtrack and the characters would always be eye-catching for me. The film starts with a Long shot, the shot sets the entire foundation of the scene. The audience knows, because of the starting shot, that the film is going to be animated. The editing in 'The Lion King' is extremely slow in order to allow the targeted younger audience to admire the beauty of the location and notice all the different aspects as well. The beat of the music changes and becomes more intense as soon as the main characters are introduced, that is the lions, allowing the audience to discover that these are going to be the main characters of the film. The build up of the music as it comes towards the end helps to understand that it is the end of a big introduction and the beginning of the film. The colours in the film are really bright, suggesting glee and joyfulness through which the genre can be determined as an animated adventure.

Review 3 : Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Another film that has intrigued me, not just me but an entire audience that has an interest in SCI-FI movies. Star Wars episode IV is science fiction film produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The director was George Lucas and the main characters starring in this film were Mark Hamil, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Alec Guiness. The Target audience has a very large demographic. It is more focused at fans of sci-fi and young adults. The starting of the opening scene is completely computer generated imagery with real life models overlaid on to it. In the next scene the setting was very white to show that the viewer is looking at the ship of the good guys, the bright lighting reinforces this as well. There is also very low lighting and smoke to give the scene an air of mysteriousness The opening scene of this episode was well designed and planned. The plot of the story helped the younger audience understand, and the sci-fi aspect draws in young adults and other fans of the genre.