Laura's AICE Media Studies Blog

This storyboard begins with a shot on a busy street. This shot is an establishing shot and shows the setting, and I want it to be clear that everyone is minding their own business and nothing seems out of the ordinary, until a teenaged boy appears in a strange outfit, clumsily riding a bike. The camera will then zoom in and, as a whimsical song plays, begin to follow the boy as he rides his bike. He should be riding his bike on a very simple surface, like a sidewalk, but then the shot changes to a daydream. I am not entirely sure how I will represent this, but it might require a change in lighting, so that it looks golden and surreal. The daydream will show a professional dirtbiker performing stunts, and as the commentators speak and the crowd cheers, the shot will cut back to the boy, riding his bike, pretending to rev the engine, and narrating his own actions. As the boy voices over, so that it sounds like his inside thoughts, he crashes into something small and falls into the gras...

Since I am working on the film opening on my own, it was important for me to look at various examples so as to get a better feel for different examples. While brainstorming, I came across several realizations. I followed a simple process to organize my thoughts, the first step of which involved research. While researching, I looked for similarities of all of the film opening samples. While the samples were all from different genres, the films each showed an eye catching scene, an open ending, and a very simple concept. The genre was incorporated through a simple story line, but developed using different editing techniques, such as voiceovers that provided background information and cross cutting to show multiple perspectives. By keeping these aspects of the sample film openings in mind, I was able to visualize possible features of my future project and imagine different ways that I can show both a creative film opening and the genre of comedy.

When asked to find a genre for the film opening, I thought long and hard before deciding upon the genre of comedy. However, when I chose comedy, it was for very specific reasons. Almost every night for as long as I can remember, my dad will find a movie and my parents will spend the night on the couch before going to bed. When I was younger, I used to peer through the stairway banister to get a glimpse of the film, but as I’ve grown older and my bedtime has become later, I have started joining my parents for the daily movie night. While my dad’s preference tends toward action and foreign films, I’ve noticed one genre in particular that brings the whole family together: comedy. There are many different sub-genres of comedy, one of which is romantic comedy. Romantic comedy films feature a combination of drama and humor by using predictable plot lines with unpredictable twists. For example, films like “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Clueless,” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin” each follow a simi...

For my film opening project, I will be creating a film opening for a comedy. I will be working independently. Revision as of March 4, 2019: I have decided to change the genre of my film opening to drama, but I will still be working independently on the project.

The second film I have chosen to observe is Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), a personal favorite that falls into the comedy category. 1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Rather than beginning with the title of the film, the movie begins with the setting (June in London). Once the title appears, it is written by the exhaust of a cartoon car. 2. What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? The images emphasized in the opening sequence are all regarding bad weather: a thermometer with a low temperature, a grey building surrounded by bare trees, umbrellas, and rain. A yellow honking car is also prioritized, as well as an unusual car lock. Finally, the image of Mr. Bean receiving his holiday is prioritized. 3. What connotations do the images carry?  These images carry gloom and darkness. The car, which parked backwards, also provides a goofy connotation, as it has a funny sounding horn and is bright yellow, contrasting from the surr...

The first film I chose to observe is Heathers (1988). This film can fit into both the genre of comedy and the genre of romantic comedy.  1. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? One title is displayed during the opening sequence of the film.  2. What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? The first image seen is a close up of a girl delicately tying a red scrunchie around her hair with perfectly manicured fingers and a matching red watch. This is followed by an image of three neatly dressed girls drinking lemonade in a garden surrounded by flowers and statues. Each of the girls have color coordinated outfits. The girls exit when they delicately stand up, with mallets to play cricket, step over a small fence, and delicately smush a bed of red flowers.  3. What connotations do the images carry? These images suggest a sense of put-togetherness as well as a concern for looks. Since the girl in the center was th...

Here is my presentation about the second genre I chose: comedy.