Baby Steps

Making the first big choice in my film opening: the genre. So much to do, so much to choose from. My gut instinct is to go with a suspenseful drama thriller, with aspects inspired by the Safdies, creating a stressful and engaging piece. But this scares me quite a bit because I am unsure if I could pull it off effectively. The Safdies, in Uncut Gems and Good Time, provoke pure anxiety and stress on the viewer, through their choice of closeup shots, sound design, and arguably most importantly, their plots.

An example of a close-up shot in Good Time

This would mean I need a script with a pretty compelling story. Both of these films have a rather slow opening that ramps up to the big plot points later on, but if I were to approach this genre, I would probably have to start my opening right in the middle of the mess or climax to evoke that same feeling that I get when watching these films. 

Another genre I have in mind is a more psychological thriller, with odd and abnormal sequences, something kind of like I'm Thinking of Ending Things or Killing of a Sacred Deer. In these films, a strange and ominous atmosphere is built up through the shots, dialogue, and editing. Editing is a big one. If done correctly, making the editing purposefully off-putting and conventionally incorrect can evoke an unnerving feeling in the viewer, which is exactly what you want to do in this genre. Below is an example of a scene from I'm Thinking of Ending Things doing just this.

Performances also become pretty important though, as they are what drive the awkward or odd feeling through their dialogue and acting, so I would probably need decent actors for this.

The idea of comedy has also crossed my mind, but I'm a little hesitant. Comedies are NOT easy. At all. It's pretty hard to have a joke land and make people laugh and I personally just don't think I'm a good enough writer to really go through with something like that. I definitely plan to implement elements of comedy in my opening, regardless of the genre. I think it adds a lot of character to a film, an example being Edgar Wright having a very distinct style in his films, including Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Wright uses fast-paced editing (quick cuts, match cuts, creative transitions) to create visual comedy. My use of this would be dialed back, but I think it could add a lot to my opening. Below is a compilation exemplifying all of Wright's techniques which I would have in mind if I go for comedy.

   

Overall, I think I may end up going for a thriller akin to Good Time or Uncut Gems. It is probably the genre that interests me the most at this current time and I think with sufficient planning, I may be able to pull it off. My next step would be to research film openings in the genre and look more into the techniques that are used and how I can utilize them myself.