How do I create the atmosphere of a Coming-Of-Age Film with just the Opening?
For my film opening, I would like to emulate the style of a coming-of-age movie. In order to accurately portray the genre, I have researched the most common themes associated with it and how I can show them in my 2-minute opening.
Coming-of-age stories are meant to illustrate a transition from one stage of life into another, more mature stage. They reflect the journey of self-realization and discovery as one blossoms into adulthood. The hallmarks of this genre often include personal growth, life-altering experiences, and struggle/ hardship as the protagonist goes through the mental and physical changes that occur as we age.
I wanted to look at a few examples of coming-of-age films to see how they exemplify the genre through just their opening scenes.
Lady Bird
The opening scene of Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird" begins with a quote that fits one of the main plot points throughout the film which is the protagonist (Christine) having an unrealized love for her hometown, Sacramento.
The rest of the opening goes on to introduce two key characters - Christine and her mother. Much of the movie is about their relationship and how it changes as Christine gets ready to leave for college. The opening illustrates the tension between them by showing it rather than saying it. It also shows Chrstine's over-the-top personality, as she jumps out of a moving car to avoid arguing with her mother. Additionally, this moment adds a comedic beat to the opening and establishes the tone of the rest of the film.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Steven Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" takes a slightly different approach from the previous film. This film utilizes a voice-over from the main character so that the audience knows exactly what he is thinking. Additionally, this movie is a novel adaptation, so it conveys events and ideas in a more direct way.
The movie introduces the audience to the protagonist, Charlie, immediately, starting with a medium close-up of him with his narration. Charlie gives viewers context and insight throughout the film that would be difficult to explain without an internal dialogue.
What These Openings Tell Me/ Research Reflection
Because I want to convey teenage characters in my film opening, these scenes helped me understand how to introduce my characters and their personalities, struggles, and situations most effectively. I think for my film, I would like to use a voiceover because the limited time slot means I need to be very concise, and having a narration will help assist with my storytelling.
Both of these openings are very quick to explain the main theme of the story, in Ladybird it is a mother-daughter relationship, and in TPOBAW it is isolation and grief. So, I will need to be able to do that in my own film opening. I would also like to focus my story on feeling alone, so I will have my character communicate that.
I had initially planned to do opening credits, but I realized that most modern coming-of-age films save their credits for the end, so I may refrain from including credits in my opening. I do, however, still want a title card in my opening because I feel like it will be a good device for me to establish the atmosphere of my film and show off some of my knowledge regarding editing and typography.
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