What have the deconstructions told you about the openings of movies?
The most important thing to note from my deconstructions is how the opening of a movie seems to work as a theme setter. It sets an idea of a theme and everything in that opening scene seems to link back to that theme. For example, in my second deconstruction of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ the theme and atmosphere is of magic and mystery, and everything in the opening helps to build this. The 4 tools of ; mise-en-scene, sound, editing and camera types were all used in every opening I saw to create this certain theme.
In terms of mise-en-scene everything on set seems to be deliberately setting the scene, so this is everything in the background of a shot as well as the foreground. A very common occurrence in film openings is music playing over it. I think this is because music is a great way to create a feeling, and interest the viewer as hearing is an important sense to utilise. Editing is used in openings to control the pace of it which is crucial for creating a theme. In my first deconstruction the pace of the opening was very fast and was not a real time event for most of it. The editing was put together so it jump cut between 2 different situations back and forth, which is a good way to make something feel fast. On the other hand, in my second deconstruction as the theme was magic and mystery, they wanted to create a slow and gloomy opening. This is why the editing was just normal and nothing special was used in slide transitions, and it just flowed at normal pace. Camera types were most important in my third deconstruction as it was a stadium event, so the cameras really created the atmosphere by showing a spherical view on it; this showed the viewer it was a momentous occasion.
Although the main goal of an opening scene is usually to set the theme, another important part can be to give some indication of what the movie will be about. In my first deconstruction of ‘Step Brothers’ the opening made it clear what the rest of the movie might have been about. This was good because it made me want to watch it as it wasn’t going to be too complicated and it was easy to understand. On the other hand, in my second deconstruction not much of the plot was given away. This was also fine though, as the theme was mystery so it was meant to mysterious. This is also made me want to watch on to see what might happen.
What has your target audience research told you about likes, dislikes and viewing habits?
Undertaking a questionnaire for my target audience research has been very helpful in showing me the preferences of an average viewer. I asked what I plan to be my target audience to undertake the research, in order to gain the most valuable information. A crucial thing my target audience research has shown me is that people love watching films, and most do it on a regular basis. This is good because everyone will have a developed opinion to help me with making my opening scene of a movie.
There were mixed responses as regards to people favourite genres, but the most popular decision was comedy. Also, people like romance in a film and sometimes like romcoms which combine romance and comedies. This response has shown me a lot about the viewing habits of the age group I asked, as they like to be made to laugh while feeling emotion at the same time. In terms of what genre this age group didn’t like, the majority went for horror. This could show my target audience dislike something scary and too serious, and are looking for something more relaxed. As regards to people’s viewing habits, most people don’t really mind where they watch a movie. Most people responded saying they watched movies at home, but many people picked answers where they were out and about. Therefore, I can see that people sometimes view films for a social event as much as for enjoyment. In my target audience research people revealed that mostly they watch films with someone that is close to them, but then don’t mind watching it alone as well. So this just backs up that people will watch movies for their own enjoyment or for a social event with somebody else.
Something else I found while undertaking my target audience research is that people definitely prefer a soundtrack over the opening over a movie – not one person apposed to this. This backs up the fact that my target audience likes to be moved to feel something, and this is often what music can do. In response to what my target audience liked in an opening scene of a movie, they loved something big to happen to immerse them straight away. Most people wanted a big event or lots of action to have them hooked in the opening scene. However, I shouldn’t misinterpret this that people want lots of stuff like fighting and explosions in the opening, as this contradicts what genre they like. Something big can still happen in the opening of for instance a comedy/romance, just more subtle.
How have you used the above research to make planning decisions regarding your movie?
The research I have previously spoken about will definitely have a big effect on how I approach the making of my opening scene of a movie. During undertaking research of deconstructing other opening scenes from films, this will effect decision I make regarding my movie. It has outlined how I need to make a clear theme and story if it is appropriate for that theme. One thing I want to do as a result of this research is immerse the viewer in the film right away, like the other films I watched did. So I can do this by showing the feeling of the theme and providing a clear picture as to what the story shall be about. When making my opening scene of a movie, I definitely need to think about how everything I do will affect the viewer. I can use different techniques to give the viewer a certain feeling and try to connote the theme best I can.
My target audience research will have a large effect on planning decisions regarding my movie. One clear effect will be on the genre of the opening scene. Before this research I was not sure on what to do, but I now I think I shall either do a comedy or a romance. I am likely to do a romance as I feel this will be easier to do than a comedy, and it’s easy to connote stereotypes in romance. Also, as a result of my target audience research, I have decided to definitely include a song playing over the opening. Hopefully this will help to make my target audience identify with the opening and what to see the rest of them film if it had one. One final way my target audience research will affect planning decisions regarding my film is that I will try to make it suitable for viewing alone with people. I can make this happen by making it easy going yet interesting at the same time. In conclusion, I feel that all research I have done so far has been a vital part in making my opening scene of a film.
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