I’ve recently decided to work by myself for my two minute film opening instead of working with a group. The group I had thought of working with originally all decided to take a mutual split due to scheduling conflicts, working best by ourselves and having overall different ideas and visions for our film opening. Which now means I will have to handle the entire progress of making this opening and all the elements such as cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scène. It is a terrifying thought but I am taking it one step at a time so I don’t get overwhelmed. The first step and I think the most important is choosing which specific genre I want to research for my opening. I have decided to research the coming-of-age genre for my filming opening. I decided on this specific genre to further explore for my filming opening opening because not only is it the genre that I’ve watched and it’s had the most impact on me personally but the movies under that genre always have some sort of meaning that always resonates with me in some way, shape or form. I love the feeling after watching a coming-of-age because I feel seen and understood. That is a feeling I want people to feel when watching my film opening.
The early vision I have for my filming opening is the story of a hard working young girl who since childhood has understood the importance of getting into a good college. She values her school work more than anything in life and those values reflect on her friendships, her relationships and her overall lifestyle. Throughout the film opening the audience gets a glimpse of her work ethics as well as her overall mindset towards her work and how seriously she takes her work. Due to her family’s financial situation she understands she must get a scholarship in order to continue her academic career. The film opening will take the viewer on the girls journey of being the most hardworking version of herself that she is required to be in order to get a scholarship which is has a great effect on how she view herself, her relationships, a letter grade and life in general. To emphasize how different and difficult her life has become, I want to showcase of life of a regular student who still receives good grades, but has a healthy balance between life and school. I really want the ending of the opening to be a cliffhanger where the main character gets a college letter in the main and as she’s about to open it the opening ends. I want the audience to leave with that haunting questions of if she got into a good school or not and if she got a scholarship or not.
Some of the codes and conventions I plan on using for my future production;
Camera work; The camera work of my film opening I want to consist of a variety of close-ups and medium shots to capture the personal growth the character undergoes throughout the film and to highlight the emotions the character is experiencing such as stress, frustration and determination. I also want to include wide shots to showcase the characters isolation due to her situation and her overall mindset shown in the film opening. I want to include tracking shots to have the viewer follow her as she moves through different studying areas, school hallways, classrooms, and a library and highlight her very busy life. I want to include high and low angle shots to showcase moments where the character feels small compared to the large amount of work she has and when she feels small compared to the college letter she ends up getting at the end of the opening. I also want to include a montage of her studying late nights and early mornings as well as to show her juggling different responsibilities.
Editing style; The editing style I want my opening to consist of is cross-cutting, fast-paced editing, and lingering shots. I want to include cross-cutting to highlight the difference between the main characters life of constant studying and the devoted lifestyle to schoolwork she has created for herself and the lifestyle of someone who doesn’t take school as seriously and doesn’t spend every waking minute studying, reviewing and working but actually goes out with friends, doesn’t stay in all the time and has a balanced life. I want to include lingering shots to highlight emotional moments the character is experiencing and possible burnout the character is feeling. Fast-paced editing I think would be best for this opening to showcase the process of her studying as well as moments of anxiety the character is feeling to show the pressure building.
Sound; Some of the sounds I want to include in the film opening are diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, along with voiceovers and I want to use silence as a powerful tool in the film. The voiceovers are going to be inner thoughts about the characters goals, fears and her self-worth. Diegetic sounds can be a keyboard typing, a pen tapping, an alarm clock going off and a ticking clock. All these sounds can heighten the tension of the academic pressure the character is under. I want to use silence for key moments in the story like when receiving a grade or when the college letter finally arrives.
Mise-en-scène (Setting, Props, Lighting, Costume); The film openings settings would be a bedroom desk filled with studying materials, a quiet library, school hallways, and a classroom. To show the other characters life the setting would be a bedroom free of books and other studying materials, a mall showcasing her going out and balancing schoolwork and her personal life. Props would consist of notebooks, textbooks, a laptop, a desktop, a report card, a mirror, a desk lamp, an alarm clock, and the scholarship letter. The lighting could be cooler and dimmer tones to show the emotional strain the character has on herself and when she receives the letter it would switch to warm natural light to symbolize hope. Costumes would be school uniforms as well as practical clothing when outside of school with very minimal makeup to showcase the character would rather work over appearance. The costume for the other character would also be school uniforms but with more accessories and heavier makeup. For outside of school the costume would be flashier clothes showing that she cares about her appearance unlike the main character.
Themes and narrative convention; The themes I want to include into the film opening are pressure, sacrifice, and financial struggle. The pressure and sacrifice is the tension between academic goals and the emotional well-being of the character which she is clearly struggling with. The financial struggles her family suffers from are what has caused her to live her life the way that she does and motivates her to keep working towards her goals.
If the coming-of-age concept doesn’t work as the main genre for the film opening I have in mind, drama would be my main backup choice since the story centers around intense emotions, realistic challenges, and personal struggles. The girl’s drive to success, the stress of trying everything possible to earn a scholarship, her family’s money troubles all fit under drama. Drama as the backup genre choice would let the story show her emotions in a more personal and realistic way. How the pressure affects her relationships, the choices she makes and her confidence.
The film openings target audience is teens and young adults who understand the hard work that it takes to build a future and the pressure that comes with wanting to be successful. It will especially connect with students who overthink every single grade, those who care about a grade and those who struggle with finding a balance between family, school and friendships. The coming-of-age genre fits with the story being told because it tells the story of finding your identity in those early years in life with the added on academic stress. The film’s focus on school, scholarships and personal conflict the character is undergoing.
My film opening will show what life is like for students who work hard and face both school pressure and money struggles. It will follow a young girl trying to earn a scholarship, letting the audience see her stress, determination, and the personal sacrifices she makes along the way to come closer to reaching her goal. I plan on making the film opening breaking the “perfect student” stereotype by showcasing that even someone who seems like they’ve got is all together can feel tired, burnt out, uncertain, and overwhelmed. The character is not meant to seem flawless because she earns mostly good grades, she’s real, human and relatable. The opening will highlight the struggles most people don’t see of a well performing student such as the overwhelmed side of working to earn those good grades. By showing this side of her life, the audience will get a better understanding of the emotional cost of striving for success. It will make the viewer empathize with her journey and see the behind the scenes of every high achieving student, which is the struggles and dedication that comes along with wanting to succeed.
One of the main challenges I fear I will struggle with is portraying the main characters inner dialogue and overall emotions in a way that feels relatable without relying too heavily on narration. I will have to rely heavily on facial expressions for this specific story to showcase what the character is experiencing. Another challenge I fear is balancing the films pace of showing her work and stress without making the opening feel too repetitive. Some of the strengths I have are being familiar with camera work and I am very thoughtful with very choice I make with going and researching how to do something to the best of my ability. I am also very familiar with how to edit longer videos which will help in out when working post-production on the opening.
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