Film Opening Research #1 - Guardians of the Galaxy

We all know and love the wonderful and hilarious movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. And if you don’t let me introduce it to you! Welcome to one of the many marvel cinematic films. In basic terms it is a movie throughout the universe and you have five criminals come together to protect the universe from an evil villain. It has several genres but some of the most prominent ones are action, comedy and superhero. It is a great movie and I do recommend watching it. However, if I don't convince you, maybe watch the opening scene and decide!

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 How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

   In total it has 18 titles throughout the 2 minutes. These titles consist of the name of the movie, director of photography, casting, producers of all levels, music supervisor, visual effects supervisor, costume designer, main editors, and lastly director. This opening scene makes sure to give its credit to people who deserve it and want to inform the audience who have put their time and effort into making it. The pattern we see in this scene is that the title comes first, everything else in between, and lastly comes the director's name. This is one of the commonly used patterns in opening title sequences especially since directors names are usually the last thing to see in these sequences. 

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

-Star lord (AKA Peter Quill)

-His Walkman

-His mask

-His face

-Star Lord and his dancing

-Setting (ruins of some sorts, overall gray)

-Alien creatures

-His flying boots

-Picking a lock

-The Orb

What connotations do the images carry? 

     In this opening scene we can see how some of the images hold a lot of juxtaposition and actually reveal a lot about the main character, Star Lord or Peter Quill. Although the setting is kind of dark, gloomy, and a destroyed location, we see Peter in much higher spirits.  In this not most of the gorgeous places we see Peter Quill have a completely different connotation. He was positive and much more exciting. You see him dancing and singing throughout this area, which is kind of ironic. I believe that this is very important because we can tell that this character is not phased by an ugly or even creepy place. Furthermore, he even sings with the alien creatures showing that he is not really that bothered. It shows you how Peter Quill stands out of the gloomy setting which to some extent foreshadows how Peter is this special and unique character. This displays how these very few shots or images of the opening scene can reveal so much about what is to come. 

    

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? 

    Genre can be reinforced several ways throughout his film. Primarily, the setting is a big factor to the genre. By seeing  weird, galactic ruins, you can already imagine that the film is going to be action and science Fiction. The alien creatures also add to this effect. In addition, the focus on Peter Quill throughout the scene, lets you know multiple things about him but also the genre. For instance, we can definitely tell he is the main character and we can understand that this film might have some comedy mixed into it, as we see him dancing and messing around the first couple of minutes. Although you may not know he is a superhero, (and especially since he starts out as a criminal), you can definitely get a vibe from him. It may not seem that these little things are important, but as I have learned through the making of several of my blogs, the little details are the most important. 

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

There are several strategies that are used to ensure the film appeals to their target audience. And let me tell you their target audience is one with high expectations, whether it be the comic book fans or the fans that have come along the way watching the Marvel cinematic universe. In the Paragraph below I talk about some of those factors such as angels, shots, and transitions, however, here I want to focus on other aspects. One of the biggest factors is the production of the set. If the set did not look like it looks, it would take you completely out of the world of where Peter Quill is. This out of our world stage is necessary to add to the genre of action and science fiction. Furthermore, the special effects are necessary to add to the setting, but also for little details such as the flames and power that come out of Peter’s boots, which definitely adds to the action aspect of the genre. Lastly, another aspect that I feel like adds to the movie is the music. When Peter starts listening to his Walkman, the music is bubbly and fun, which adds to the aspect of the comedy genre. All in all, these are some strategies that are used to define the genre for this film. 

How has technology been used effectively?

-mid shots

-Close ups

-Extreme wide shot

-Overhead angle

-Arc shot

-Simple cuts 

In my opinion, this opening scene does not use that much complicated angles nor cuts. I believe they do this because they really want the audience to focus on Peter Quill and his personality. The mid shots are used to introduce the hilarious Star Lord, while the long or wide shots are used to introduce the galactic setting to the audience. Moreover, the close ups were used to show Star Lord’s face and to show his Walkman.  Then other shots like overhead angles and arc shots were used to also display the setting, plus Star Lord’s great dance moves. Furthermore, the simple cuts doesn't make the scene look complicated nor pull the attention from Star Lord and his introduction. Overall, these types of shots, angles, and cuts are necessary to display the screen you want, and I believe that they did their job well. 

From only analyzing the opening scene of this film, one realizes how important genre is and how a movie can have several in different ways. Also how the combination of genres can do something even better than one lone genre standing by itself. Now I can appreciate this hilarious and fun movie even more after realizing the work and effort that is put in. Sometimes we just sit there, watch the movie, and get transformed into another world, however, we don't realize all the work that is necessary in order to truly indulge  this new world. I hope you watch it and enjoy it. See ya for Film opening number 2!

                                                                                                        -Love, Lucy <3

Quote of the Day: "I'm going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - Gamora