Film Opening Analysis

I Origin (2014), directed by Mike Cahill

After being introduced to the movie by my teacher, it gave me a sense of closure knowing that there is a director who brought to life the same idea that I had for the first scene in my film opening. Featuring extreme close ups of different eye colours, slowly zooming into the iris of the eye. 

• Foreshadowing: Introduces the importance of eyes, hinting at themes of identity, science, and spirituality. He mentions that a specific pair of eyes “changed his world”.

• Symbolism: The eye represents individuality, connection, and discovery.

• Voiceover: The protagonist describes himself as a father, husband, and scientist, setting a personal tone.

• Nonlinear Storytelling: The opening moves between different moments in time, starting in the middle of the story.

• Macro Photography: Close-up shots highlight the intricate details of the iris, showing its uniqueness.

• Close-Ups: Focus on the beauty and complexity of the human eye.

• Shallow Depth of Field: Blurs the background to emphasise the eye’s importance.

• Slow-paced shots allow time to reflect on the meaning of each image.

• A sped-up montage shows the variety of eyes photographed, ending with a pair of eyes that hold an emotional meaning to the protagonist.

• Non-Diegetic Soundtrack: Minimalist and calming music creates an emotional tone.

• Diegetic Sounds: The click of the mouse adds realism.

• Childhood Realisation: Young Ian compares the human eye to a camera lens. The small detail when his young self pointing the camera very close to his eyes, clicked on the button capturing a picture which then introduces us back to a montage of eye images 

  Emotional Connection: The montage pauses on a specific pair of eyes, heightened by music, showing their personal significance to Ian.

• Introduction: The montage introduces a women's eye (left side), then shows the right eye, then it shows both eyes together as a pair, during this the music is heightened, it almost feels enchanting, which represents the protagonist personal feelings for these eyes. After much suspension the protagonist introduces the story, saying he will talk about a pair of eyes that changed his life.

• Title: The sequence ends with the film’s title through a transition of a glitch from the pair of eyes to the film title, like if the camera blinked, which mimics the action of an eye closing and opening

• Symbolism: A perspective shift, initiates the beginning of those eyes story

• Age group: Adults from the age of 18 to 50

• People interested in science fiction, philosophical themes and which feel an emotional connection to spirituality, identity, love, faith, existential questions, this movie is ideal for them

 Inspiration of the movie

Cahill was inspired of a June 1987 National Geographic cover of a afghani girl in a refugee camp “who had these stunning green eyes”

The article says that “Mike Cahill gives the old eyes are windows to the soul truism a high tech twist in the sci-fi romance,”

The film begins as a scientific experiment and does a 180-degree turn into a spiritual, heart stopping story.

Soul (2020), by Pete Docter

My second film analysis is of an animated movie. I wanted to compare a Pixar movie to a real life movie.

The director himself describes the film’s message as “life has meaning that goes beyond personal ambition.” What inspired me most about this film is its ability to be both kid-friendly and deeply powerful for older audiences, offering a message they can truly reflect on and understand.

Throughout life, we experience many changes and eras, constantly searching for something that makes us feel truly alive, a passion that excites us. This idea can be seen in the film Soul, where the main character pursues his love for music and encourages his class to embrace their passions and stay true to themselves.

In my film opening, I want to capture the audience’s attention by emphasizing that our eyes are doors to our soul. Just as Soul begins by exploring the protagonist’s pursuit of purpose, I aim to explore the search for purpose, passion, and authenticity, something we all long for at every stage of life.

• Purpose and Passion: Introduces Joe Gardner (the protagonist), a middle school band teacher, who dreams of being a professional jazz musician

• The pictures on the wall next to his desk, symbolise Joe’s admiration for  jazz  legends, inspiration and dream to become one of them. Although he is very dedicated to pursuing his passion, Joe finds himself setting for the bare minimum, a stable, full time job as a teacher for an uninspired class. Which offers security but doesn’t fulfil his dream.

• The colour palette of the classroom is dull, reflecting the uninspiring atmosphere. When Joe begins to play the piano and talk about music, sunlight shines over the piano keys. It's very subtle but it adds value and meaning to the scene. 

• Close ups, capture Joe's excitement and spark when talking about jazz, in contrast to his defeated expression while teaching the out of tune band. Also they are close ups on individual students, showing their behaviour during class, some are bored and others are trying to get by, this adds humour to the scene.

• The camera takes its time to transition between his facial expressions and him playing the piano while he describes his passion, creating an emotional moment which attracts the audience into his world. 

• The out of sync cuts creates a comedic tone, making Joe’s situation relatable or sympathetic.

• Diegetic sound is used throughout the film opening

• Out of tune band music

• Piano playing

• Students/Teacher speaking

• Joe teaching the band can be seen a struggle for him. When he talks about his passion for jazz, you can see his facial expressions soften, his eyes are closed while he plays the piano which shows how much music consumes him.

• Narrative Opening which introduces key aspects of the narrative, such as, characters, setting, conflict and tone

• The light humour creates a heartfelt moment which sets the tone for the movie

• Introduces who the distributors are with Walt Disney’s classic introduction, during this introduction the out of tune band music is the and the animation company (Pixar) 

  
  

• Age group: It is specifically aimed for families and children, which is Pixar's typical audience, but it can also be appreciated and watched by adults because of the deep meaning it holds

• People who are fans of animated movies, music lovers (specifically for jazz), interested in purpose, passion and life. Those who appreciate movies about self-discovery, emotional growth and the simple moments in life, would love this movie.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) by David Fincher

The movie is based off a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The movie starts off as a narrative opening, it uses a story within a story, firstly introducing a story about a blind clockmaker named Monsieur Gateau. He is asked to build a clock for the train station, but after his son passed away in World War 1, he creates a clock that runs backward to honour those who have passed away, he talks about he wished that he could rewind time and be with son one more time. This emotional story sets the tone for the movie, and also imitates that the movie will be about time moving strangely.

After the scene moves to modern day showing a women by the name of Daisy on her deathbed. Daisy then proceeds to ask her daughter, Caroline to read from a diary, which then unfolds the story of Benjamin Button which is written between the pages of the diary. The story begins at Benjamin's first breath of life, the day he was born, in 1918.

• The story of the clockmaker introduces the main theme of the movie which is time, the clock running backward is a metaphor for Benjamins life, since Benjamin ages backwards from an old age to an infinite

• The ticking of the clock and the light rain are diegetic sounds, there is subtle non diegetic sound, music which creates an emotional feeling to the scene.

• The pace of the opening is slow, transition are not rushed between the hospital room and the clockmaker story

• It is bet suited for adults who enjoy a character driven movie which unfolds the story of life from the first breath of life to the final breath, and romance.