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.
