Genre Reveal: My partner and I decided to do drama as our genre! So, for this blog, I will be researching some drama film openings.
The Godfather (1972):
The Godfather's film opening was quite long compared to others, about 7 minutes. The first thing you see and hear in the opening is a black screen with a dark and slow trumpet solo, while the producer (Paramount Pictures) and title are presented along with the screenwriter (Mario Puzo's The Godfather). The music stops, and we hear a man's voice, "I believe in America." his face then fades in, and he continues talking. The lighting of the man's face was very dramatic, low-key lighting, which created a mysterious and solemn tone.
As he continues talking about his daughter's tragic experience with two teenage boys, the camera continues slowly zooming out until it's an over-the-shoulder shot of the other man (Don Corleone), whom he is asking for help from. Usually, when two people are talking about something sensitive they experienced, it means they are talking to a close friend, in which they would be shot in a two-shot. However, for this scene, Bonasera was begging Don Corleone for justice, sitting across from him, creating a close-up, slowly zooming out into an over-the-shoulder shot of Corleone, making him seem mysterious and intimidating compared to Bonasera.
The costumes of all the men in the office are very elegant, as they are all dressed in nice suits because of Don Corleone's daughter's wedding, but it is also fitting for their role in the mafia, which seems to be the boss (Don Corleone) and his assistants. Also, while the other characters have white flowers on their suit, Don Corleone is the only one with a red rose, which might represent the blood and violence he commits as a mafia boss, but also the respect he receives as a boss. The large wooden desk and expensive-looking leather chair that Don Corleone sits at while the others stand or sit around him, on more plain-looking chairs, show the power difference between everyone in the room.
Low-key lighting, over-the-shoulder shot of Corleone
Link to Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5iGD-AcwMM
The Truman Show (1998):
The Truman Show starts with the creator of the show in the film, talking about the genuine, unscripted main character compared to the "phony emotions" other actors give. It cuts to an extreme close-up of Truman's eyes on a TV screen, which then zooms out to show him talking to the camera, which seems to be a mirror in his bathroom. It then cuts to the credits, and after each one, it shows the person talking about the genuine lifestyle of The Truman Show. After the 3 credits, it cuts to a black screen that reads "The Truman Show" and cuts back to Truman talking to his bathroom mirror, staring directly at the viewer, breaking the 4th wall, which most shows don't do. Then his wife calls him, and he leaves. It cuts to a black screen again that reads "Day 10,909", which is most likely the time the show has been running. The next scene is of Truman saying good morning in a very cartoonish way, looking directly at the camera. It cuts to his neighbors saying good morning back, but they aren't looking directly at the camera. It cuts back to Truman, and he says his iconic line, "and in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night," while the camera zooms in on him. He walks away to greet another neighbor, but then is greeted by his neighbor's dog, and then goes to work.
As Truman walks to his car, the camera is very shaky, and it seems like Spencer is holding the camera. Once Spencer is revealed carrying his trash can, we can see an odd black thing on his trash can, which we can assume is a hidden camera. When Pluto, the dog, was jumping and barking at Truman, the angle the camera was at was a POV angle, but it wasn't directly from his eyes, more like his other hand, which, like the trash can, had a black ball on his ring, which was most likely also a hidden camera. Also, when Pluto walks away, it is shown at a low angle, which is odd because they are usually used to make the character look powerful, but in this case, it is probably another hidden camera. All these odd angles and hidden cameras make it seem as if it's not really a TV show where Truman knows he's being recorded.
The costuming and lighting of the characters in the show make them seem perfect; everyone is wearing nice clothes, and the sun is super bright, without a cloud in sight. The uncanny, perfect life and total surveillance of Truman's life make the show very unsettling because it seems like Truman doesn't know what's happening at all as he stares into the mirror, talking to himself. While the other characters, like his wife, are clearly actors, which we know because they were interviewed along with the creator, saying that though the world he lives in is controlled, Truman himself is an actor with a script or cue cards.
Hidden camera in Truman's mirror
Not very hidden hidden camera on trash can
Link to opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAJEyZ3Mg8s
A Dog's Purpose (2017):
The opening of A Dog's Purpose is the life of a dog named Bailey, who lives on a small farm with his favourite boy, Ethan, and girl, Hannah, with their granddaughter, CJ, and her mother, Gloria. Gloria doesn't really like Bailey and decides to leave with her daughter. Bailey is getting older, and it seems like he has cancer, so he promises Ethan that he will protect CJ throughout his next reincarnations.
The lighting throughout the whole opening is very warm and high key, which creates a feeling of nostalgia and comfort as we watch the family(Ethan, Hannah, CJ, and Bailey) play together.
The narrator, who is Bailey, gives us the perspective of a dog, their emotions, views, and how they process things. Sometimes, the camera is positioned from a lower angle, showing Bailey's POV. Also, when Gloria was clearly mad about CJ "bathing" with Bailey, trying to get her out, Bailey thought she wanted to play and pushed her into the water.
The music in the opening varies from scene to scene. In the first scene, when it was Bailey and Ethan were on a tractor, having a nice time driving through the fields, it was very quiet, calm, and uplifting music. However, when CJ was in danger, the music was much louder and faster. Along with the music were the diegetic sounds, for example, the birds chirping, panting from Bailey, and water splashing.
POV shot, warm lighting
Link to opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaDYnAQCmTw
What they all have in common:
All these drama openings introduce a problem that the main character(s) have to solve, or an adventure they are on. They also use many close-up and medium shots to capture the emotions of the characters. Two out of the three films (The Truman Show and A Dog's Purpose) also used POV shots to give the viewer a similar experience. They also blur the background a lot to focus on the person talking or doing an action, which emphasizes the action or emotion displayed. In all these films, it opens with someone talking (The Truman Show) or with music (A Dog's Purpose and The Grandfather), which sets the mood most of the time. The Truman Show, starting with the producer talking about the poor performance of actors and the overuse of special effects, making the mood very serious as he has a deep voice and is speaking badly about almost every movie ever produced. A Dog's Purpose and The Grandfather both start with music; however, A Dog's Purpose starts with a calm and melancholic tone, while The Grandfather is more solemn as Bonasera talks about what happened to his daughter.
