Genre Film Opening Research

The genre of my film is mostly coming of age and drama. The coming of age genre can focus on the life of a singular member of the band, and their progress to having their first concert. The drama can focus on character development and their relationship. I'll take a look at some film openings to see what techniques they use.

Nick is in love (hopefully this isn't a big spoiler)!

The first opening I will look at is Heartstopper. It is a coming of age film about Charlie, a gay boy in an all boys high school, and how he falls in love with another boy, Nick. The intro starts with an upbeat indie-pop song, and a close up shot of Charlie and Nick, shown split screen. They both have similar environments and outfits, which implies to the viewer that they are both students of the same school. Nick's phone has a notification from Ben to meet up with him. A montage of Charlie walking to meet up with Ben is shown, but Ben is nowhere to be seen. He sadly walks to his first class. There isn't much audible dialogue until the end, where he talks to the teacher to find his seat. Turns out he's next to Nick, the guy from the split screen close up! Indie music plays and doodles of leaves fall, showing how Nick has love for Charlie and maybe how nervous he is. Title card plays, and that's basically the intro. The editing overall is fairly slow paced, with no fast paced shots. There aren't many complex editing techniques used, this isn't 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I would show screenshots of the intro, but Netflix has some copyright system that prevents screenshots from being taken on my phone. Maybe there is a way to bypass that on my computer, but I'll have to wait and see.

I in fact found a way. (look up a bit)

He in fact kicked the competition!

A drama opening I will look at is Cobra Kai. It starts with a flashback to a previous karate tournament, to give some past context. The shots are medium paced to match the action on screen. The use of non-diegetic music helps increase the viewers' tension. When Daniel does his game winning move, the shot slows down and is drawn out. That intense music stops and the audience is muffled to put further emphasis on Johnny losing. The camera zooms onto Johnny so we can see the anger that he feels by losing. We cut to the present day, with Johnny on his bed in the same position as he was when he lost the game, implying that nothing much has changed. A montage of him making his unhealthy breakfast plays out. A shot of a soccer trophy and another shot of a picture of a boy winning a soccer game on his fridge lingers, which hints that Johnny might be still obsessed with sports. Or at least his kids are. A wide shot of Johnny eating his breakfast shows that he lives alone, almost isolated with the TV as a source of comfort. He takes out the trash and the camera focuses on a boy outside. The two converse and Johnny gets in his car. Rock music plays with a shot focusing on the gear shifter implying that his car is a really fast one!  He looks at an ad for Daniel's car dealership and the camera slowly zooms into it to show Johnny's shock and disbelief at the billboard. The slogan is "we kick the competition", which is a reference to the karate fight from the flashback. Honestly, I would act the same if I saw my biggest rival has an obnoxious billboard. He puts on shades, turns up the music, and insert the title card!