film(s) of sci-fi

Today with my partner, we've stumbled upon our final choice for our portfolio. We chose that we want to do the film in the Sci-Fi genre. Since I have this basic knowledge now, I felt it would be good to get a hard start review 5 different movies that share the same genre as my film to better see common Sci-Fi conventions being used and how they mix it in the film opening. I also felt it would be a great benefit to my group to research how openings are done themselves.

Importance of film openings

A film's opening is arguably the most important part of the film as it introduces us to the upcoming events. The opening is typically the first two minutes of the films screen-time. These two minutes aren't always action-packed however, it contains enough to keep of intrigued about the future events that were hinted towards. The opening of a film also sets the meaning and tone for the film. This is done by a combination of camera angles, camera shots, editing effects, and music to set this feeling. Whatever the genre might be, we can almost certainly tell through the introduction. However, they do this in a way where not too much is being revealed. This is done by only giving us minor hints for the true motives and plot points of the film. 

The five films

1: Godzilla vs Kong

The Godzilla vs king kong movie is a staple in the Sci-Fi community. The film opening contained many conventions that are true to the genre of sci-fi. The opening scene of this movie introduces us into a new world unlike any we are used to. Furthermore, our main character who we once viewed as an antagonist is now painted in a new light: He appears to be on the good side this time. Beyond all of the content aspects of the opening, it contained many Sci-Fi techniques to bring the genre truly to life. This included things such as even composition, advanced technology being normal and a plethora of other things. What truly brought this opening to life was it's use of close-ups to show the characters emotions and reactions to one another. The camera angles used in this opening also gave us a feel of the characters. Right off the start we can tell just how powerful Kong truly is compared to us mere small humans. The opening in a broad sense also followed another common convention: The day in the life. The day in the life is commonly used as it introduces us to the world that these characters reside in opposed to our world with a whole other set of rules.

You can view a full shot-by-shot analysis done by me here