Planning - Exemplar Videos #26

 

In Class, Ms. Ortiz showed video examples of past students' film openings that were taught by a woman who helps and teaches her (Ms. Ortiz). After seeing how certain film openings utilize elements to establish the intentional tone, it inspired me to use similar ways to build suspense for my own film opening.

It also made me realize that I need to have my film opening, BE a film OPENING, as I have been plotting and organizing my ideas as if my group and I were doing an entire film. It shifted to the "plot," now being a flashback with more of a mystery feeling to the audience of the unsettling unknown.

I searched up some on my own to know more about how I could get and establish the horror and unsettling tone that I want for the film opening, while not having it be a full story, but an OPENING.

"Mask"

This one gave me an unsettling feeling, and what could've affected that could be the mis-en-scene, specifically the masks that have significance in the plot. This inspires me to want something specific with significance to add to establishing the unsettling, eerie tone.

"Insider"

                                                                                            This other one, with its dark font and color choice, really adds to the idea that the filmmakers want it to be a horror or an unsettling story. 

The shot of the feet with the weapon dragging inspires me to add something similar, as our film incorporates a suspicious attack. I could replicate the same shoot to add more suspense and tension, as this increases the unsettling feeling for the audience, effectively displaying the horror genre.

Reflection:

The video examples of past students’ film openings helped me understand how different elements are used to set a specific tone. Watching these examples inspired me to think more about how I can build suspense in my own film opening. It also made me realize that my project needs to feel like an opening, and not a full movie. Because of this, I changed my idea to focus more on a flashback and mystery to keep the audience curious. I also looked up examples on my own to learn how to create a horror and unsettling tone. The use of things like mise-en-scène, dark fonts, and color choices inspired me to include meaningful details that help make the opening feel eerie and unsettling.

References

           Hoàng Lan, N. (2026). Opening scene “MASK” - Media Studies (9607) Component 1. Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/C3uVKtj3-_M?si=1Z0ZhRf2IW4neY4t

                        Jam, P. (2026). Insider - AS media studies | Film Opening Sequence | Thriller. Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/kBmoIO_6N7Y?si=FmSBcF2eqC5IsnxH