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