Welcome to Now You See It.
The opening shot of a movie is by far one of the most crucial parts of any film.
It may not be the most memorable or intricate shot, but it’s the first thing we see, and
like our first impression of a person we meet, it’s extremely important. The opening shot
is often forgotten about, especially when they aren’t flashy
but directors just about always use opening shots to convey the films main ideas, premises,
or character arcs. In the same way that an establishing shot introduces us into a scene,
an opening shot introduces us into a movie, and that introduction can be a landscape,
character, or even a computer screen, but whatever it is, it’s one of the most noteworthy
aspects in a film. Opening shots are the first bit of information we get, so directors make
it count. I want to look specifically at what we can
find in the opening shots of the following films. If you’ve seen them all, great, and
if you haven’t, even better, because you can watch the film right after this video
and see how the opening shot reflects the entire movie. Let’s start with an epic opening
shot from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The shot starts behind the moon. Our first
look is away from earth in the desolate, lifeless part of space. We catch earth from past the
moon with the sun rising behind it. This shot, literally showing the dawn of man, is packed
with symbolism. Our opening shot isn’t of a person or a group of people, it’s of all
of civilization. We’re shown that this movie isn’t about people, but it’s about humanity
as a whole. The sun, a symbol of life, rises into our view. We’re watching the circle
of life begin before our eyes. The music gives a sense of weight and epic scale to the whole
shot, and the rising sun, what we need to live, behind our home, earth, tells us this
story centers on life on earth. And we know our perspective is that of an outsider looking
in from the point of view of space. The movie title tells us we’re on an odyssey, or journey.
So we learn from this opening shot that this movie is about humanity, it’s about life
on earth, and it’s about the journey life on earth has gone through. From this shot,
we know exactly what the plot will be about. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the kind of opening
shot we remember, and it’s certainly amazing, but let’s look at how even a simple opening
shot of a character can tell us just as much about the movie.
Depending on the blocking, position in relation to the camera, and action of a character in
an opening shot, we can infer so much about the film as a whole. In Silver Linings Playbook,
our first look at the main character is from behind. Part of him is hidden from us. The
slow zoom towards him eases us into his head, which is facing the wrong direction, and he’s
talking away from us about his goal to make amends. His position facing away from the
camera is also a sign of weakness for the character. In one shot, we see a character
whose goals are in the wrong direction, and we know this movie will focus on him
and what's going on in his head.
Watch this shot from Little Miss Sunshine. What can we infer?
We see the reflection of Miss Louisiana winning a beauty pageant in her glasses. We
know in seconds that this movie is about dreams and the pursuit of these dreams. Judging from
her desire to be a beauty pageant winner, we also get the impression that these dreams
may be shallow and focus more on the superficial. The close-up on her eyes shows that Miss Louisiana
is what she wants to see in herself. Through the lens of her glasses, she can now see what
she wants to become.
I love the opening shot in Silence of the
Lambs because it’s one of those shots that’s jam-packed with content. Let’s watch it
all the way through first. What can you notice?
She enters the frame in the middle of climbing
the rope, showing we’re starting at the middle of her journey. She’s in the process
of pulling herself up out of a rut. Immediately, we notice our hero is trying to overcome a
personal hurtle on her own. I like the placement of a rope beside her that nobody’s using
as if not everybody has made it as far as she has. She continues training and pulling
herself, and once she makes it to the top, she pauses, we hear birds fly, and she takes
a moment to watch them. The birds flying symbolize freedom our hero has achieved by pulling herself
out of her rut. If you want more detail on the symbolism of flight in film, you’re
in luck, because I made an earlier video on that exact topic. Our hero continues on the
journey she’s been training for out of frame. From the opening shot, we learned that our
hero is determined to save herself from a figurative rut she’s stuck in by training.
We later see that she’s training for the FBI so she can save others from ruts who don’t
have the strength to pull themselves out. Our hero is stuck in a rut when she can’t
save those who can’t save themselves. She’s training to silence the lambs calling at her for help
Every great film has an equally great opening
shot. Directors always make opening shots that contain so much in such a small amount
of time. If you want to take a look at more great opening shots that tell a lot about
the movie, I’d recommend Raging Bull, Jaws, or Her, but don’t stop there, because there
are countless film introductions out there waiting to be opened up and explored.
Thanks for watching.