A films success is determined by many factors, one of the most important being its ability to keep viewers engaged. For this reason, a film's opening, usually the first five minutes, is instrumental as an un-engaging start may cause an audience to exit a theater, quit the streaming, or eject their DVD. Today, I analyzed three coming of age film openings. Here are some of the conclusions I gathered on what makes a good "hook".
10 Things I Hate About You
Released in 1999, the film is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". It was directed by Gil Junger and includes many coming of age themes including character growth, and high school social dynamics (popular vs. unpopular).
This film hit theaters on September 12, 2012 as a huge sucess, making a $20M profit. Directed by Stephen Chbosky, the movie's coming of age themes consist of frienships, belonging, mental health struggles, sexuality, and identity.
Little Women (2019)
Based on the book by Louisa May Alcott, the film is a remake of the 1994 version, directed by Greta Gerwig. The film features popular actors, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, and Meryl Streep. It's most consistent themes are duties vs. identity, the journey to becoming a woman, personal growth, and gender roles.
After watching and analyzing all three openings, I noticed five elements that are consistent and help develop the film's context, introduce characters, and work on developing its most instrumental coming of age themes.
1. Including an Audio Hook
To spark a feeling of curiosity right from the get-go, film openings often use an audio hook (such as a relevant noise or song). Including this element is an easy and effective way to get a viewer interested, especially if the hook is played before the opening scene starts, like in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower, where a typewriter sound is played as the title sequence is revealed, foreshadowing that writing/typing will be important throughout the movie.
3. Introduction to Common Tropes
A large part of being young consists of navigating through the different types of people you meet. For this reason, coming of age films as well as other genres often introduce tropes such as the popular girls, jocks, and freshman fears. Establishing a sense of relatability early on in films, especially ones that are catered to a target audience are a sure shot at keeping viewers entertained. For example, both "10 Things I Hate About You" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", which are set in a high school atmosphere, highlight the stark contrast between the protagonist, which is usually has a unique personality, and the typical popular friend groups associated with school life.
2. Context Ascension/Setting
At first, parts of the opening scene may be intentionally left unclear, like unanswered questions. This makes the audience want to figure them out and therefore keep watching the film. For example, in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" the protagonist's first lines are mysterious as he's writing to someone unknown and says "Please don't try to figure out who I am". Here, it leaves the audience wondering who the protagonist is addressing, and stays tuned to figure it out later in the film.
4. Striking First Impression
Because the protagonists of a film are meant to be its focus, having their first couple of shots be interesting and significant is very important, often reflecting their thoughts or revealing parts of their identity. For instance, in "Little Women" the very first shot is a dark, midshot of Jo, the protagonist as she contemplates entering a publishing house. The dark lighting creates a serious mood and a sense of mystery. Similarly, the first shot of the protagonist Kat Stratford highlights her "couldn't care less attitude" as she is judged by the school's popular crowd.
5. Exciting Mood
Adding scenes with a feeling of excitement throughout a film opening are a great way to make it fun and nice to watch. Audiences like watching positive moments such as instances where a character is pleasantly surprised, so en exciting scene early on gives the impression that the overall film will be exciting itself. In "Little Women" for example, Jo's writing is accepted by the publishing house and she is shown skipping through the streets happily within the first five minutes of the film. However I believe it's important not to overdo this, as it may come off as unrealistic since life isn't always perfect, especially in coming of age films where the focus is on personal growth.
The next time you watch a coming of age film, or any film for that matter, I encourage you to try and identify the genre's opening conventions and how they help set the stage for the rest of the film. I bet you'll find that each has its own unique variations!
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