Character Development

 In the opening of my film, I want to make sure the audience can immediately understand who the two characters are so that they can understand the message behind this piece. 

I introduce the protagonist as a regular corporate "slave". He arrives home to what appears to be the normal environment. This moment of calm allows the audience to see him as an ordinary and relatable person before the suspense starts. However, when he notices the door is open, his reaction immediately shows the brave aspects of his personality. Instead of running away, he investigates the house while holding an umbrella for protection. This shows that although he is nervous, he is also curious and brave.

The intruder scene plays a major role in shaping the tone of the film to comedy. When the friend jumps out, the audience experiences relief and humor, but this moment also establishes the dynamic between the two characters. Their interaction suggests a comfortable and playful friendship, suggesting that relationships will be important for the film.

My goal with this opening is to present characters that feel authentic and relatable so that audiences become invested early on. By mixing the moment of suspense with humor and friendship, I will be able to introduce key personality traits of the character. This ensures that the audience completely understands the purpose of my opening.

My Storyboard

 In preparing for my project, I've come up with a quick storyboard that creates a small track of how my piece will flow. This is what it looks like:

In the next few days, I'll be figuring out things like mise-en-scene and the small details that add to my piece.

Media Theory I'll Be Using

 The media theory that matches with my idea the most is Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium. This theory includes three key points: equilibrium, disequilibrium, and a new equilibrium. 

Here's how each part of my idea plays into the theory:

1. Equilibrium: The main character spends a very ordinary day working, and comes home.

2. Disequilibrium: The main character sees that his front door is open. This creates a sense of suspense throughout the piece. The main character follows and then starts trying to find who entered his home.

3. New Equilibrium: The main character sees his best friend and the tone of the scene becomes lighthearted again. Their conversation becomes very trip-focused, setting a new normal.

Here's how the theory has been seen in the films I discussed earlier:

The Hangover:

1. Equilibrium: A normal wedding weekend is expected.

2. Disequilibrium: The groom disappears.

3. New equilibrium: The groom is found and the rest of the friends make it to the wedding, but the friends returned changed men.

Superbad:

1. Equilibrium: Two best friends walk to school having a regular conversation.

2. Disequilibrium: They realize graduation is approaching and their lives are about to change.

3. New Equilibrium: They adopt a mission to create unforgettable memories.

Portfolio Project: My Idea

 I'm someone that is in love with films regarding friendships, relationships, travel, and adventure. Having watching and loving films like The Hangover, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (Hindi films), I had to create something along the same lines when I got the opportunity to do this project. 

That's why I'm creating an opening for a film focusing on the adventures of a group of friends. I plan on having a suspense starting, where the main character walks into his house to see his door open, and walks around with an umbrella, trying to find who is there. He gets scared by his friend, who was the intruder, and the two friends then discuss an idea to travel somewhere and go on a group trip. My opening will consist of the planning, setting up the stage for the actual trip when it happens (later in the film). 

I'm still ironing this idea out. I'm working on a script/storyboard that I can use to visualize the idea, and will be making it both feasible while keeping the quality of the idea without compromise.

Group Meeting 1

 Yesterday was our first group meeting. My group and I (randomly selected) all presented our ideas for our film project, and were given feedback based on what we personally thought of each other's projects.

Listening to everyone's ideas showed me how inspiration can be used to create different and unique ideas.

Here are a few of the notes that I took during the meeting:

Group Meeting 1 Notes –

·       Gustavo is going for something similar to Bullet Train (comedy/action)

o   He needs actors, and he’s the producer/director

o   He wants to either make his music or grab it from Epidemic Sound

·       Sebastian is creating a car-based action comedy

·       My idea

o   Gustavo thinks dialogue takes longer than I would assume

o   Cut the first portion of the clip to around 20

o   Maybe something like the van scene from Ant-Man

·       Vitor’s idea is a fusion of some movies

o   He wants to show a band that is looking for success but is really bad

o   His idea might be a little too much for a 2-minute slot, and if it’s not done properly then it could feel really cramped

·       Lina wants to make a coming of age film similar to Juno

o   She wants to show an attempt to escape from reality, wants to show the opening following her day (something like my Ladybird)

Film Openings: Target Audience

 A film's opening is made to directly cater to the expectations of a film's target audience. The opening is what sparks the audience's interest in a film, and can help take the film to success given that the opening fulfills the expectations in a realistic manner. To further understand how film's openings tailor to a target audience, I researched the openings of Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, and Home Alone.

Mean Girls:
 - This opening caters to the target audience by offering immediate reliability. By opening in a high school and referring it to a system with rules and a hierarchy, it becomes relatable and easy-to-connect for teens. The humor in the opening is conversational and is consistent with how the audience speaks.

Legally Blonde:

 - Legally Blonde has a bright and upbeat tone which immediately tells the audience that it is a fun comedy. The protagonist is introduced from a feminine lens and it aligns with the expectations that the audience already has from past comedy films. It taps into themes of things like social identity and love which are interests that younger audiences may have, which connect well with the audience.

Home Alone:

 - This production starts by showing controlled chaos in a loud home. This sits perfectly with the family dynamics of families with young or multiple children. The perspective of the movie is very child-centered, and it is an emotion that many younger children relate to (being the center of attention). The child is portrayed as frustrated and sympathetic and this is what wins and hooks the audience to the film.

Film openings in the comedy genre are mirrors of familiar environments of the target audience. They establish a tone immediately, and use relatable characters as entry points for the audience into this world.

Film Openings: Credits

 I previously referenced a film's opening as a handshake to the audience. Continuing on this simile, the credits in a film opening is the identity of the production: it's the nametag and the small little "Hi, I'm _____, nice to meet you" portion from the film's side, letting the audience know who exactly they're "conversing" with (get it?).

While researching different film openings, I came across three films worth noting: The Hangover, Superbad, and Playdate.

The Hangover:

 - The audience is placed immediately into the middle of the chaos, after the events have already occurred. It creates a sense of confusion, and draws the audience into the film even more as they want to know what happened. As one of the main characters begins to make a phone call, the credits begin. This works because it places questions in the viewers minds about what happened the earlier and makes viewers want to continue watching in order to understand the story.

Superbad:

 - The opening credits in this film are more animated/exaggerated. We see the characters dancing awkwardly in a colorful scene. The actions of the actors does all the magic here. We see the immaturity of the characters in the way that they dance and the comedic tone of the film is set through the upbeat music. The credits are placed subtly and don't distract the audience, and helps keep the focus on the actors themselves.

Playdate: 

 - Playdate's opening credits are used to establish tension while maintaining a relatively funny tone. The opening creates an unsettling feeling while seeming relatively ordinary. It creates discomfort in the audience. The credits are placed in a way that they feel out of place, and that contrasts with the comedy expectations that the audience has come into the movie expecting. It helps create the understanding within the audience that this film will contain action that is tied with comedy.

All in all, these films use opening ways in different ways to engage the audience. Each film utilizes and relies on different aspects: The Hangover relies on irony, Superbad relies on animation, and Playdate relies on unease. These are perfect examples of how credits can shape an audience's expectations and cater to the success of a movie.