The way I'd break these steps down makes more time than usual for finding costumes and editing. This is because I need to research and find out how to accurately dress my character and edit the whimsical, clueless, innocent moment the m.c. is having.
Week one (2/9 - 2/15)
Research
Costume design
Music
Begin setting up
Storyboard
Find actress or somebody to film
Week two (2/16 - 2/22)
End setting up
Thrift/purchase costume
Find park to film in
Schedule filming
Practice hair design
Script
Find music
City Parks | City of Weston, FL. (2024). Westonfl.org. https://www.westonfl.org/government/parks-and-recreation/city-parks
Week three (2/23 - 3/1)
Production
Filming
Begin (and possibly end) foley
Begin voice over if decided on
Editing
View next week plans
Week four (3/2 - 3/8)
Editing
Line up shots to music cues
Line up foley
Line up voice over if decided on
Visual editing (adjust lighting)
Week five (3/9 - 3/15)
Revision
Double-triple-check timing, editing gaps, foley overlaps, and length
Plan a mock analysis on my own opening
Revise missing items
Week six (3/16 - 3/22)
CCR
Plan a smaller research chart on my own opening
Write reflection
Compare to examples to edit and improve
Week seven (3/23 - 3/29)
Free time in case there are challenges or delays along the way
Though in my last blog I mentioned I'd wait to research stylistic and mise-en-scene choices regarding the period I want my opening to take place in, I now realize why waiting so long is a bad idea. Because of this, I will focus this post on the period drama aspect of my opening. My idea for my opening is to use the tragedy convention of psychological dramas, meaning that a tragic event took place before the movie commences and the film consists of the "aftermath" or breaking down of the main character's emotional state. I also liked the idea of an unreliable narrator, so perhaps the trauma can be the stem of their unreliability. Still, I want to keep the contrast aspect of perfect on the outside and odd on the inside. For this reason, I want the credits to develop a pristine, Regency Era type of setting and mood.
EMMA (1996)
In the 1996 film EMMA, the opening credit sequence features the perfect extreme long shot to display the period they're portraying in the movie. The horse-driven carriage and the regal font for the title pair together flawlessly. The carriage moving somewhere as the title is being shown implies that there's more to come and doesn't make putting it at the end of the opening feel conclusional. Instead, it alludes to their next stop and adds a sense of continuation even though the opening itself is ending. The font difference between the original author's name and the title is subtle but makes such a difference. The smaller cursive font makes the all-caps bold title have an even bigger impact by comparison. I like how it develops a familiarity with the protagonist from the beginning.
Bridgerton (2020)
Bridgerton is one of the most popular period dramas currently, so I couldn't NOT mention it. One thing I noticed while watching the credits is the placement of the names. Placement and speed are important factors when displaying credits because all the people who put hard work into films should be properly recognized for it; it would be pretty distasteful for them not to be. For this reason, it should be easy to spot names even when more things are going on in the background. This opening does an astounding job at this since they always focus the names around whatever is going on the screen. For example, when the vines are climbing up the tree, the name of an actor is right there next to them. Though the font in this opening doesn't seem to belong to the Regency Era as much as my last example, it illustrates the more modern approach this show has.
Little Women (1994)
The beautiful graphics in the title sequence of the 1994 adaptation of Little Women are a perfect instance of the graceful design of women in the 1860s. The sharp lettering of the words contrasts heavily with the flowy swirls. I believe this has a deeper meaning than it might seem. The sharp versus the soft illustrates the range of women and how broad the range of women's persona in this specific film will be developed. I'm quite interested in illustrations and art like this that can be interpreted in many different ways and possibly something I'll want to include in my title.
Though I want to create a film opening that isn't only a psychological drama but also a period piece, I'm going to dedicate the mood board to doing research for the period elements and the film openings research for psychological dramas. The genre has so many different interpretations, and I wish to find and be inspired by movie openings focusing on unreliable narrators.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Just so happening to be my personal favorite movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a psychological drama having to do with two lovers who erased each other from their memories. The movie sort of moves backward, so the opening is them meeting again as complete strangers, and the rest of the movie is the story of what happened and how. In the opening, Joel is an unreliable narrator because he makes decisions without knowing why, and lots of aspects like his car being broken, pages ripped out of his journal, and impulsively going to an empty beach show that there are factors behind his actions that the viewers haven't been exposed to yet. In my movie opening, I want to incorporate random and unexpected decisions made by my main character that wouldn't sort of make sense with the way she seems to be. Initially, I thought I didn't want much dialogue in my opening because I wanted it to be guided by music, but I'm really attracted to the idea of a voiceover where my character doesn't really know what's going on either. The lack of knowledge might be caused by a sickness or a sort of drug that caused her to forget recent events. I also noticed the entire movie opening is shot with a handheld camera, making it almost seem like he is being documented in his world or the audience watching him in secret. I noticed this when he was running to the train impulsively. It was a high-angle shot from above the bridge while he ran below and then a shot from downstairs while he was running on the bridge. At every point, the camera seemed hidden. It reminds me of the way the movie Project X was filmed; one of the characters was filming the entire event as if he was making a documentary on the entire party. It gives a sort of subtle uneasiness, which I really liked. Apologies if I wrote too much; I don't know if you can tell how much I love this movie.
Pearl (2022)
This opening is the perfect example of what I had in mind when describing the girl who's not who she seems to be. In this opening, Pearl is first portrayed as living on a perfect little farm, dressing in her beautiful dresses and living an ideal life until her mom tells her to feed the animals and pops her bubble. After that, she becomes this innocent picture again performing for her farm animals and pretending to be a star until a goose sneaks into the farm, and she kills it and feeds it to an alligator. One would never expect such a hopeful, beautiful, innocent-looking girl to be so deathly and aggressive. It is similar to the way the movie Emma. does contrast. In Emma., she seems to have a perfect, easy life, yet the editing and dialogue portray a gloomy, moody tone, like how the mise-en-scene in Pearl is bright and happy, the music is beautiful, and she looks adorable while she's slaughtering an animal with a pitchfork. I noticed a theme in the title of just their names, which is similar to the presentation I want for my character, so the title being her name could definitely be an option.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Requiem for a Dream's opening is a really great example of what I was looking for when it comes to music. I had an idea of a perfectly normal scene with dramatic and mysterious music in the background to serve the purpose of hinting at something the audience isn't being told. I've never seen this movie, but if I were to watch this movie opening without music, I'd think it's something along the lines of two friends going somewhere to sell this TV. However, the low and dramatic music sets a foreboding tone, implying that there's more to what's being shown. Despite the kind old ladies wearing bright colors and the setting seeming like a hot summer day, the music provokes suspicion in the viewer. On some occasions, dialogue can simply not compare to the effect music has on a visual scene, which is why I'm looking to focus on the music instead of the words.
Genre is the most-base level step towards planning a production. Whether Coming-of-Age or Science Fiction, extensive research and a countless number of decisions need to be made until the final product is achieved. I've chosen two genres that interest me in using in collaboration for my movie opening. The two are period dramas and psychological dramas. I want my movie opening to introduce a puzzling dramatic film from the early 19th century with a deeper meaning that everyone can relate to. Obviously, I'm not producing an entire movie to show this off, but a girl needs an imagination!
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/
Hey Cambridge! For the past semester, I've been learning technique, terminology, and the most important factors to make a hit film. From now on, though, my blog will be dedicated to showing the planning and production of my Portfolio Project. Since I was informed of the final project being making a short production of my own, it's been the focus of every class. My mind has flooded with a thousand ideas already, but I'm still in the process of honing down on my final topic. Utilizing the knowledge from the case studies and research I've done previously, I'll be able to create my dream portfolio. To transition into this chapter, we were assigned a Nearpod assignment to note on about different styles of movie openings. We were shown different approaches to develop a film opening noted below.
Having taken these notes on the different ways to establish purpose in an opening, the creation of mystery stands out to me further than the others. In the 2-minute film opening I am assigned to produce, I aim to create some kind of mystery. Not in a creepy way, but instead a curiosity towards why certain aspects aren't being shown or what pieces are missing. I'll do this through sound techniques like diegetic asynchronous sound to hint towards certain aspects of that 'world' that aren't being shown. The difference is that I won't use it to provide contextual information, but instead to contradict what the viewers are being told. I would also use contrasting mise-en-scene, much like in the film Emma., that would literally show innocent, beautiful, and gentle elements like dresses, gardens, and flowers, but depict them in a dark, gloomy, and rude way.
Another approach I've considered is the establishment of the main character. The mise-en-scene would include the colors my main character is wearing and the costume design to show small insights into his or her personality. They could be wearing a necklace that says "mom" on it or a pin of a team they love. I would also ensure to include dialogue that would be contrasting like previously mentioned. Maybe they would speak kindly to one person and coldly to another. Leading from that, the interactions they have with other characters would tell a lot about the type of person they are. Though I'm working on this project alone, I'm planning to find actors in my theater class to have those interactions and dialogue which I'll direct.
The girls in my group and I were assigned the genre of Alternative Indie to research and break down four of its artists' marketing and brand strategies.
Alternative Indie
Initially, we researched and skimmed through a few websites and articles on current alternative indie artists to grasp what the genre sounds like. We then picked around six artists or bands that interested us and tried to find other alt. indie ones within the same record label. We ended up with Twenty One Pilots, Panic! At The Disco, Steve Lacy, and Rex Orange County. I researched Panic! At The Disco and followed five steps to try and get as much information on them as possible. First, I searched for P!ATD fandoms for information from a fan's point of view. Then, I looked for biographies of the lead singer, Brendon Urie, and some other original band members. Third, I searched for Fueled by Ramen, their record label's, website and background for information on the band's origin. After that, I found P!ATD's official website where they sell merch and promote their image the most. Lastly, I found their social media for the most personal content from them.
Searched for P!ATD's features on different shows and events along with partnerships with stores and clothing brands such as the Hot Topic Partnership and the High Hopes Dance.
Planning:
My team and I wrote out a schedule with each day we are going to work on the PowerPoint or record. We then planned out certain aspects of our music video like the plot and mise en scene to have a clearer idea going into the recording. During class, half of us work on the PowerPoint presentation having to do with our marketing and distribution strategy while the other half work on mapping out roles and jobs for the music video such as editors, actors, and camera crew. We work backwards from the due date in terms of what we need to have done by when. For example, if the project is due in 8 days and we need 1 day of review, 2-3 days of editing, and 3-4 days of filming, the earliest we should start is today and the latest we can start is in 2 days.
