I'm very excited to say that I have decided on a storyline and idea for the film opening!!! I know it feels like I pretty much had an idea already, but it was vague. My idea is for the film to be about a main character, most likely a boy, who is finishing his senior year of high school, but is facing all these challenges like dealing with the absence of his late mother, where to go for college, and what to pursue in life. The film will open with the main character getting ready for his graduation. Most (well, probably all) of the scenes for the opening will take place in his bedroom and there will be a lot of still shots of his room while either music or voicemails play in the background. The props shown in the scenes will reveal a lot about the character like college pamphlets, sport equipment, trophies, photographs, and the cap and gown for his graduation. I'm thinking to show photographs throughout his room that show a happy little boy with two parents and then a contrast of the boy, older and alone with his dad. I haven't yet figured out if this is the best method to allude to the mother's death in the opening, but I'll keep thinking about it.
After watching a few more examples from movies that better align with the integration of dark themes and a coming-of-age story, I think it’s best to incorporate music or dialogue behind the scenes or even show glimpses of the main character moving around his bedroom in order to add some movement to the seemingly still shots. Seeing the opening scene to Beautiful Boy, Steve Carrell’s character is the only focus of the shot and delivers a minute-long monologue, but what makes the scene interesting is the dialogue. With the scarcity of elaborate mise-en-scene elements, the audience is able to focus on the actual words and hear the story of his son’s struggle with drug abuse. Contrastingly, another movie from the same genre, CODA, uses extreme dynamic movement to grab attention in its opening scene. Having an inkling that I want my approach to be establishing background in the character’s life, I think the best method would be to have a slower-paced opening, more like that of Beautiful Boy. I’d also be better equipped to recreate a scene like that of Beautiful Boy’s because of my smaller budget and desire to emphasize allusions to the conflicts in the main character’s life. At the pace that I’m on, I think I should reevaluate my schedule since I already have a good grasp on what approach and idea I want to commit to. I’ll have to work on that next before moving on with any other aspects of the project.
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