‘A Good Intro Should Hook Your Reader’s Eye’
I am sure many of you have come across this phrase when writing a paper. It is a creepy image commonly used by writing teachers across the globe, but I think it also accurately describes how we watch film. Cinema is such an immediate and visual experience, one which informs the viewer of so much so quickly. Watching a movie gives us the opportunity to hook ourselves into a different world, a different life. In these moments, we are hooked to the screen.
This week, I will be focusing on a few opening sequences which have stayed with me. This includes credit scenes and the first minutes of a film. We are often trained to ignore these moments, particularly as services like Netflix allow us to skip past them. I argue that these earliest shots are some of the most challenging because a creator must ask – where and how do I start my story? Even before the ‘official’ story begins, how does a film package itself? These moments include so much information about the narrative, even crucial details about the story and characters. As such, these earliest moments effectively frame the entire film.
My goal for this week is to examine how the shot composition in an opening sequence foreshadows or introduces a major concept and theme in a unique way. It’s also my way of saying hello, as this is my first blog post. Hello reader, welcome to the blog.