Research time! As someone who does not have the most knowledge on film openings (or how to make quality films in general), researching all the different aspects of what I want in my film is important.
Starting off, I need to look at genre. I have been most drawn to science fiction adventure movies, but specifically ones that have an underlying meaning that relates to real life in them. I chose to research two movies under this genre in detail, Eternal sunshine of the Spotless mind (2004) and Everything, everywhere, all at once (2022).
Although these films are very different from each other, it really shows how diverse the science fiction genre can be. While researching, I came across a very detailed slideshow on Science Fiction Genre conventions. I learned that science fiction scenes are actually very similar to shots from horror movies, which is interesting to me because, contrary to most people, I am not a big fan of horror. The prezi slideshow explained how both genres make sure to show a "large expanse of area" in their shots, in order to establish that the world is different than what the viewer's reality is, for example a futuristic or dystopian city. The editing in science fiction films is also very important, because a world that is realistic has to somehow be portrayed, despite never being able to exist in real life. Science fiction films also typically follow a very specific narrative, where the "protagonist" of the film is trying to beat some sort of outside force.
Everything, Everywhere, all at once is one of my favorite examples of a science fiction movie, and in general one of my favorite films of all time. The film follows a Chinese-American mother as she travels through many different dimensions that portray her different existences in different universes, where she has to find a way to connect them all and save herself. After reading on the filming process of the film, I learned that much of it is shot at a very high frame rate in order to create the surreal look. The visual effects were also vital to the success of the film. Curtis wanted the characters to be as realistic as possible, despite being in such unrealistic and "magical" or "fantasy " worlds.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is directed by Micheal Gondry, and can also be categorized as a type of science fiction. The film is about the love of a man and woman, and how they each undergo a medical procedure to rid each other's memories of their relationship. The diversity of this film and the creativity behind it is one of the main reasons I chose to go with the genre of science fiction.
After continuing my research, I realized that what draws me to these types of movies is the dream-like imagery, and the unconventional storytelling. Nothing about these movies is predictable, and every scene is clearly put in for a purpose. One of the processes I found out about the behind-the-scenes of the movie is that the script are written in a non-chronological order. They wrote various scenes without a specific idea of the order yet, and then carefully pieced it together in a way that made sense for the movie.
This concept is interesting to me. I want to start by writing any scenes that come to mind, without worrying what “leads up to it” or what is coming after. The sequencing of the scenes can come later, but I want to start by focusing on the creativity of the shots.
Sources:
https://prezi.com/o-lfnomvssem/science-fiction-genre-conventions/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Everywhere_All_at_Once
https://redcouch.pictures/behind-the-scenes-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/
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