PERIOD DRAMAS
Les Misérables (2012)
Period pieces are films that strongly hint or revolve around the time period they take place in. Usually staged in late 18th century to early 20th century, social standards or norms of the era are often the spine of these stories. The mise-en-scene in these openings are mostly for the purpose of developing setting and the time period. For instance, sound should be period classical, clothing should be appropriate to time period and financial level of character, lighting should not be electric due to the lack of electricity, and props should replace all electrical and/or digital items.
What makes a period piece stand out is often its accuracy. Viewers want to feel like they're truly watching drama and struggles of people from past centuries because there's hardly real documented scandal from that era. It doesn't make a difference how entertaining and well-written the film is if it doesn't make the audience convinced of the time period. That said, extensive research regarding time period accuracy is key to a good period drama.
The Crown (2016) vs Queen Elizabeth (1952)
The Crown (2016) vs Dance with Ghanian president (1961)
The Crown has been well known for an extraordinary number of references and accurate frames compared to the real events depicted in the series.
PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMAS
Parasite (2019)
Psychological pieces are films that dig deep into societal or personal issues. There's six characteristics these could develop plot off of. Unreliable narrators are protagonists whose inner process the audience has a view into during the duration of the film, but their own disorder or miscommunication block anybody from knowing what's genuinely happening at every moment. Feeling watched can create a very confusing and eerie vibe in a film since neither the audience nor the protagonist know if that "gut feeling" is only paranoia or what's going to save their life. The tragedy plotline is when the main character experiences a tragic event, and the film consists of their subsequent emotional fallout. Moral dilemmas are when the character is faced with a decision that challenges all morals and ethics known to them previously. The spiral down the ladder of darker emotions that plague the human psyche that might be worsened by an aggravating circumstance is also another convention that would show the main character's descent into madness. Finally, the epiphany is when the audience and main character come to a puzzle piece realization that makes everything make sense in the end after taking them through a traumatizing and puzzling journey.
I would be interested in using the tragedy or the spiral conventions in my opening.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
References
Lee, M., & Seccombe, C. (2022, August 27). Genre Breakdown: Psychological Fiction. Www.inthemargin.com.au. https://www.inthemargin.com.au/features/genre-breakdown-psychological-fiction
Molly. (2009, September 28). Mise en Scene in the opening of “Pride and Prejudice.” Molly’s Blog. https://mollyclifton.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/mise-en-scene-in-the-opening-of-pride-and-prejudice/
Taylor, E. (2025). See Stunning, Rare Photos of a Young Queen Elizabeth. Hearstapps.com. https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/the-crown-real-life-queen-elizabeth-2-1514412217.jpg
Truong, P., & Newbould, N. (2023, November 14). See Every Single New and Former “The Crown” Character vs. Their Real-Life Counterpart. Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g14506480/the-crown-real-life-characters-photos/
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