Analysing film openings

THE FLORIDA PROJECT: The film opens with the protagonist Moony and her friend sitting to the left of the screen (short sighting shot) with their backs against a vibrant purple background. They both look bored as a boy yells out in the background. the camera follows a close-up mid-shot of a boy running as he and the other two kids yell back and forth between each other. Non-diegetic upbeat pop music plays in the background as the kids run out of shot and the camera stays on the wall while the credits roll. The situates the audience in a very spectator-like position as well as shows a very realistic view of the kid's childhood. We can imagine that this movie is going to follow these kids as well as show the hardships that they clearly undergo as they're giving in a motel. The bright vibrant colours make the film feel as though it was from the young girl's perspective almost as if it was drawn with a box of colourful crayons.

HEREDITARY: Hereditary opens with a black screen, eerie non-diegetic music of bass strings that builds in intensity and doesn't cut until the first shot of the still tree house is seen. Against the black screen is the text of an obituary. This sets the audience up for a depressing scene as someone has just died. From the tree house, the camera then pulls back from the window and pans to the right in again a long continuous shot. The mise-en-scene of Annie's workroom is shown via the discarded paper, dollhouses and miniature sets. The room looks lively and well used which completely juxtaposes the deep harsh tubal tones of the non-diegetic music. The camera then tilts slightly up and closes in quickly into a close up of one of the rooms of the dollhouse. The door to this room then opens and the music fades away. The fact that Aster chooses to seamlessly cut from the dollhouse to the boy's real room is extremely clever as it foreshadows how the boy himself will be used as a doll/tool for greater forces. Furthermore, the highlighting of the tree house as the first still, conveys its importance from the very beginning and also foreshadows the final scene shot that also ends in that same tree house.

GET OUT: The opening scene of get out perfectly sets up the story that is to come. It starts out with a long take tracking mid-shot of Lakeith Stanfield as he speaks into his phone. These first few sentences of opening dialogue display the subtle racial differences between him and the "suburb" he is walking in, which will become an important theme later on. As he hangs up the phone the scene becomes instantly eery as there is a closeup of his face and the perspective changes from walking in front of him to walking behind which adds a sense of aggression from the perspective of the audience. As though they would sneak upon him. Next, a car comes into the shot as the camera changes horizontally all the while following the man, the car pulls up as the man starts muttering to himself nervously. subtle contrapuntal, non-diegeteic music starts to play and the man is attacked and dragged to the car. This opening scene leaves the audience shocked and confused as so many questions are left to be answered. This scene not only foreshadows the following action but is also referenced later on in the film.