Three Film Openings

                     Three Film Openings

 

The Importance of Film -

Film openings are important to be able to build the tone of the story that the film will be about. The openings need to immediately engage the viewers and set the world's tone. It hooks into the theme and engages viewers to join forces in a grand entertainment experience for the key characters and themselves. Spreading the mood, genre, and overall piece helps control the expectations for the viewer more clearly. For our genre, Mystery, it creates suspense and a strong opening that resound and creates a sense of wanting to find out more about the plot since it creates "mystery" within the opening.

Films-

Glass Onion -A Knives Out (2022)-

 Knives Out is a mystery film that has a modern "whodunnit," directed by Rian Johnson, that goes from a suffrage aesthetic from gothic New England to a private island of a tech billionaire, Miles Bron, in Greece. The film functions as a sharp social irony of the "disruptor "class, in a group of high-profile friends that includes a politician, a scientist, and a fashion mogul, who were invited to the private island for a staged murder mystery game that turned lethal. The detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, remains the sole returning character.  A massive unit cast featuring Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, and Kate Hudson, the film's theme that is based on intellectual property, and the terms to which the elite will go to protect their fame. 

Knives Out starts with a split-screen creating the main suspects getting a massive wooden puzzle box. So, in the opening, a celebrity guest called Yo-Yo Ma, explains the musical concept of a melody that has been layered on top of itself until it gets to transform.  The film's narrative gets into loops, back to the beginning, to show the same events of the film from a different point of view. The opening lets me learn everything about the people in suspects before they even get to speak. One of the characters is a wild party, another is a politician in a frantic office, and another is a scientist. They have their methods of solving the box telegraph their roles in the coming murder. The character Andi simply smashes her box with a hammer.

 

Death on the Nile(2022)-

Death on the Nile is a mystery film that has served as a luxurious follow-up to the Murder on the Orient Express, centering on Agatha Christie's iconic Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. The opening is a traditional whodunnits, beginning with a black and white World War I introduction that acts as an "origin story" for the Poirot's nature and his famous mustache, showing that his facial hair was grown into a hide scar from the battlefields.  In the opening, it starts with Poirot's personal trauma and the loss of his love, Katherine, the film starts with a central theme of obsessive love in the mirrors that the suspects he will encounters on the S.S. Karnak in Egypt. 

Death of the Nile starts with a black-and-white sequence in the trenches of World War I. It provides a literal "origin story" for Poirot's famous hair. We see a young Poirot use his grey cells to foreshadow a gas attack. He succussed.  And by starting with the mud and blood of war, it signals that this isn't a "cozy" mystery. It shows that Poirot is not just a genius, a but a man who is defined by loss. It has sharply cut from the grey trenches and a vibrant, 1930s jazz club. It shows the same human violence Poirot has seen in the war.

A Haunting in Venice(2023) -

A Haunting in Venice is a mystery film that starts immediately with a shift from traditional mystery into a Gothic horror through the film's use of twisted cinematography and a somber, retired Hercule Poirot. The film showcases Poirot's self-imposed exile, the place where he lives a rigid, isolated life protected by a bodyguard. It is his own deep disappointment with the humanity following the war. The tone is shattered by the arrival of Ariadne Oliver, who has lured him to a crumbling, cursed palazzo on the All-Hallows' Eve to witness by a mysterious medium.

A Haunting in Venice starts with a radical shift in Poirot's character and with visual language. It shows Poirot in a sun-soaked but lonely Venice, eating in silence while his bodyguard keeps the people away. The film uses a lot of Dutch angles to create a sense of unease in the film. The mystery begins when the writer Ariadne Oliver arrives. She challenges him to solve a case she claims is truly unexplainable. The opening of the film effectively tricks the viewers into wondering if they keep watching a ghost story or a murder mystery; it is a tension that sustains the plot.

A Haunting in Venice(2023) - - Search Videos. (n.d.). Www.bing.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026, from https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=A+Haunting+in+Venice(2023)+-&&mid=93691483ED780AD8BB9A93691483ED780AD8BB9A&churl=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-BeLxzUBSs0uSrmzWhJuQ&FORM=VAMGZC

Death on the Nile opening film - Search Videos. (n.d.). Www.bing.com. Retrieved February 1, 2026, from https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Death+on+the+Nile++opening+film&&mid=6311DCA038B713BADC996311DCA038B713BADC99&churl=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K8UrRQZuwohg2a_K7GFAw&FORM=VCGVRP

Pen English. (2022, December 23). Glass Onion - Solving The invitation part 1. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsM_prTGJjg

A 

Prop/Set design

                         Prop/Set design

 My group and I were wondering how we could make our design. We first thought of just filming it in a dark room of one of our houses. Our second thought was to film in an all-white room, just like an asylum does. For the first idea, it would be hard to see and have good lighting. Our final idea was to film the two-minute opening in a garage and buy different props. The garage has the best lights for our film.

Our props were a hospital gown, backdrops, walkie talkie, and Emma's dog gate. So, we would build the set design. One of the backdrops would be next to a wall so the actor of our film could pretend to be writing on the wall and be able to write on the wall. The main actor will have a lot of makeup that makes her look very tired and crazy. We would put a mattress in the set to make it look somewhat like an asylum or a prison. The walkie-talkie is for the police officers. We are going to make the hospital gown look very old and bad. To show that she has been there for a long time. We are also buying light to make police lights from a car in one of her flashbacks.

Credit Scene

                      Credit Scene Research 

 

       All of the credit scenes in a film are very important. Credits help give 'credit' to the main workers or creator. The people in the credits are the director, main actor, producer, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Credit scenes are also important for acknowledgment, legal requirements, and marketing & branding. By listing everyone’s contributions in the film credits order, filmmakers ensure that no effort goes unnoticed, which can be important for future career opportunities and professional relationships. 

"Se7en" (1995) is a film that employs various approaches for its opening credits. Instead of using the sweeping landscape, I see a visceral, tactile collage of a killer’s plans. I saw jittery, macro close-ups of people cutting skin from fingertips, sewing notebooks, and obsessively crossing out words in journals. So, this is the way show who needs the credits for the film. They also use a lot of mystery elements in the credits scenes. Like forces the audience into the point of view of the killer. They use the" tactile nightmare" sequence made by Kyle Cooper.

"Vertigo" (1958) is a film that employs various approaches for its opening credits.  They use geometry to convey internal psychological states. They use camera zooms into a woman's eyes, which transform into a series of colorful swirls and changes. They used the "mathematical obsession" sequence created by Saul Bass. They also use a lot of hooks of mystery to get the audience to keep watching.

"Knives Out"(2019) is a film that employs various approaches for its opening credits. They use the "Country House", it is a mysterious tradition with a playful modern wing work together.  They use a camera glide through the Thrombey house, lingering on an uncommon gothic backdrop, sharp knives, and portraits that show the viewer. They focused on the physical object, and it invites the viewer to start playing the game. They used the "classic whodunnit" still-life.

                           

 Martinez, S. (2025, February 25). The Ultimate Guide to Film Credits: Examples, Templates, and Best Practices for 2025. Pixflow Blog. https://pixflow.net/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-film-credits/

Perera, R. (2025, June 11). 35+ Best Premiere Pro End Credits Templates (Free + Pro) 2025 - Theme Junkie. Theme Junkie. https://www.theme-junkie.com/premiere-pro-credits-template/                                                   

   

Portfolio schedule creating

                         Making of the time

                                               The Portfolio Project in the Making

The creation of a timeline is necessary for the project to help organize and refine a film's outcome. A set of instructions and a schedule are used to follow, keeping yourself and your work organized. Having a set outcome when working in a group can be projected with a positive sense of work ethic, which is also correlated with good work. The timeline below is the setup of the schedule, along with tasks each week, that my group and I will be able to finish our portfolio project. 

                                                              

                                                                    Analysis/Research

• Research opening films from vast genres to get an idea of what an opening film looks like
• The analysis of the opening film decides on the interest or approach of what kind of genre was chosen for the film.

                                                                            Plan

• Discuss the chosen genre after all research and evaluation
• Create a storyboard to visually see and plan the approach for the film
• Finding actors and deciding on roles to produce the film
• Choosing time and place for filming
• Plan or draw any mise en scene elements such as costume design, set designs, and props

                                                                  Filming/Editing 

• We begin filming scenes
• Record any voices or music needed that cannot be done over editing
• Review footage for any mistakes or reshooting
• Behind-the-scenes footage must be done and edited, with all the footage into our editing software, where we will be editing the sequence together to create our 2-minute film
• Make changes in color grading or effects along with lighting 
• Add sound and music to go on top of the overall compartment with a nice blend

                                                                    Revise

• Reflect on the overall experience of planning, creating, and executing the portfolio
• Research and review for CCR

                                                                   Timeline

 The breakdown for the weeks of the project

                                                           Week 1- (1/16-1/23)

•   Research films based on our chosen genre 
•   Create blog posts about our genre and search for. information about the genre      
•         Make a group
•         Create blog plan

                                                           Week 2-(1/26-2/1)

• Finish plans for the project  
• start creating the storyboard
• planning the dates of filming
• find the locations 
• create settings
• look at different props
• discuss with team- lighting, camera, and action 

                                                         Week 3- (2/2 - 2/8)

• setting up the setting for the film
• Group meet up on Thursday to go over plans for filming, sets, props, and costume design
• Storyboard should be done and refined
• reflect on the first group meeting
• Analyze Media Theories and choose which theory best incorporates with the portfolio.
• Blog on the dedication and inspiration for creating the film
• Friday to Sunday focus on filming
• Review footage over the weekend and make any edits or critiques for the following week.
• Start editing if time allows         

                                               Week 4- (2/9-2/15)

• talk about and blog more analysis of who our main character is (overall development)
• Discuss and develop mise en scene elements such as costume design, props, lighting, and set design
• Review footage from the past weekend and work on revisions
• Continue editing footage
• should be getting halfway through the editing process

                                               Week 5 -(2/16- 2/22)

• Discuss a production company and logo
• logo should represent our film "company."
• illustrate in blogs the process of production
• include behind the scenes of the production process
• Editing the film
• should be more than halfway done, but preferably more

                                                    Week 6 (2/23 - 3/1)

• Blog of the editing process
• Begin research for CCR
• Start wrapping up the portfolio and think of a reflection
• Editing the film
• editing should be done and left for revision or for adding details.

                                                          Week 7 (3/2-3/8)

• Continuation of research for CCR
• Group reflection along with personal reflection of the project
• Have everything finalized and turned in before the due date
• Editing finished and ready

                                                        Week 8 (3/9 - 3/17)

• Blog about the production of CCR
• Posting final reflection to blog
• Make sure to post links and film opening
• Check if everything is good for Cambridge to see.

work with Emma, Jade

The Transitioning into My Cambridge Portfolio Project

 

              Transitioning into the Cambridge Portfolio Project

Hello Cambridge, from now on, my posts in this blog will be centered around the development of my Cambridge Portfolio Project. Also known as Portfolio Project. So, all of the blog posts I have ready posted up to this point were with my teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa's, help to navigate the important topics that are useful to the creation of a well-rounded and good portfolio project and film. I feel very scared of starting this portfolio project. But I know I will succeed and do great in this project because of my developed knowledge that got this year from my AICE Media Studies class. So, having this knowledge, I know that my group and I will do great. In my class, we were shown how to create a film opening and the importance of being able to develop a purpose in your film opening, and it can be made by using this approach:

From these approaches, I would love to absorb them into my portfolio project, which involves developing characters and establishing settings, as my genre will be mystery and thriller film openings. I like these approaches because they will help me develop a great film opening.

I like the approach of developing characters for many reasons. One of the reasons for developing characters is that it lets massive parts of the creation and changes be used. It also lets us have a big creation of character. The approach to developing characters heavy used of costume design, dialogue, and the characters' environment. Developing characters, it also lets my group and me be sure we need to center our two-minute film opening round our characters. We have shown how our characters act around their environment and how they act with other characters. 

I like to use the establishing settings approach. Using established settings lets us show where our film's opening will happen.  Establishing settings relies on a lot of details, costume design, and incorporating iconic representation. It also lets us use many angles and inserts. My group and I will use the established setting approach to show where our film takes place in and can help us show how the settings go with our characters.

My group and I will make a mystery and thriller film opening in two minutes. She will be in an asylum and write on the walls, but we don't know what to write. It is filled with writing and a lot a symbol, and why is she in the asylum. She was a detective. Emma Gonzales is the director, and we are thinking of me being the actress (Carolina Rabachute Crepaldi). And Jade will help us film and write the project. We are going to use technical elements to show the character's mental state, and we are going to try to show how she has ended up in the asylum without show to much about the story.  We are thinking of naming the film as Static. We are going to use Mise en scene and character development.

Portfolio Project Genre #2

                                    

                                  Thriller

I have chosen the genre of thriller for one of my genre blogs as part of my portfolio project for several reasons. One of the reasons I have chosen a thriller is that thriller goes good with my other genre blogs, that was the mystery film genre. This allows my group and me to mix genres together, and it gives us a big range of things we can do in our two-minute film opening. And thriller is a good genre to have a lot of emotion. This helps us develop our characters way better than other genres. Thriller is the type of genre that can awaken suspense, excitement, and a lot of tension. It can often keep the audience very nervous and roused. The thriller genre has a lot of sub-genres that go well with it, like psychological thriller, crime thriller, legal thriller, political thriller, and techno-thriller.

The target audience for the thriller genre is between the ages of 15 to 50 years old, both females and males. But thriller drifts to favor a more male-dominated target audience due to the type of action and fast-paced editing. The thriller genre films that have more action and violence usually target the working to middle-class males. For the thriller genre, films are of interest to both genders and a variety of classes and races; it has to have typical thriller conventions like action and suspense, while including a diverse cast. Knowing this information, it helps my group and me know what thriller target audience we go after.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 

What makes thrillers so iconic and interesting is all the film's trailers and marketing. For example, the trailer for Gone Girl. The thriller genre is set apart by its skills to awaken a range of emotions and reactions from the viewers. It is able to achieve this by the combination of narrative elements, thematic depth, and technical choices. The thriller genre has some key institutional conventions that make it successful. Like narrative structure, thematic elements, technical elements, mise-en-scene, and marketing. Knowing this fact is very helpful for creating my portfolio project.

The genre of thriller is identified by its skills that bring out strong feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, and anxiety. The thriller genre is defined by key conventions and content elements like suspense, tension, narrative structure, mise-en-scene, camera shots and movement, editing and sound, and character dynamics. For the camera shots and movement, my group and I have to use tilt shots, close-ups, and high-angle shots for a thriller film.  Jump cuts and cross-cutting are used in thriller films to build up suspense. Knowing this helps a lot with my project. 

The thriller film genre uses particular techniques to create suspense and tension, which helps the genre's success. The thriller uses different conventions and techniques, like editing, a lot mise-en-scene, sound, and cinematography. This techniques and conventions work together to help to portray danger and curiosity to the viewer by showing criminal activities. This helps my group and me know what we have to focus on when filming represent the thriller genre very well.

  The two thriller films that stand out are Breaking Bad and Se7en. These two films have a lot of thriller, plot twist and suspense. For example, Breaking Bad is a crime/drama thriller that used the "ticking clock" to show a terminal illness and danger to keep the suspense in the many seasons. These films represent the thriller genre very well.

With all of this information about the thriller genre, it helps me want to film a two-minute film opening because it makes me want to make my own thriller film. I love the suspense. So, I'm probably creating a mystery two-minute film opening for my portfolio project.

 

References

20th Century Studios. (2014). Gone Girl | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-_-1nJf8Vg

Font, T. (2026). Thriller Font Stock Illustrations – 457 Thriller Font Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart - Dreamstime. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/thriller-font.html

kieranlowen123. (2026). Codes and conventions of a thriller. Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/codes-and-conventions-of-a-thriller-16501294/16501294

Mac, L. (2016, April 14). Conventions of the thriller genre. MindMeister. https://www.mindmeister.com/685037204/conventions-of-the-thriller-genre

WATCHLIST. (2021, June 3). Top 10 Best Thriller Movies. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1RiQsqG2OE

Portfolio Project Genre #1

                                   Mystery

I have chosen the genre of mystery for one of my genre blogs as part of my portfolio project for several reasons. One of the reasons I chose mystery is that when making a mystery film, it is character-driven storytelling. It lets my group and me have a deep character development, and you can give a character a little secret. And the mystery genre is very flexible because you can do different things with mystery, like comedy or sci-fi. Mystery is the type of genre make "pizzly story" that invites the audience to play a detective while watching the film. Mystery is also a good genre for my portfolio project because it gives a lot of chances to show my group's skills in writing tight scripts, using visual techniques, and cuts.

The target audience for mystery appeals to a wide range of people but is usually more popular among 15-year-olds to around 30s who love to figure out things. The target audience is also the people who love to watch films that have murder, kidnapping, and disappearance. Mysteries in now todays have to have a lot of plot twists to keep the audience's attention. Also, people who love watching mystery films are the ones who want or wanted to be a detective in their future. Another part of the audience that would love to watch a mystery film is the people who love solving puzzles, psychological and emotional depth plots. The audience is also drawn into films like "Knives Out" that create a sense of justice and closure in a crazy world.

What makes mystery so iconic and interesting is all the film's trailers, posters, and campaigns, even before the film is actually out. For example, the poster focusses of the murder weapon or an object that is important in the story, rather than showing faces or using lines like "Who did it" or "Everyone is a suspect". The people who market the mystery films try to create puzzle trailers, so the people who watch the trailers want to watch the whole film. They love to use withholding key information, and they also create character-centric trailers. Doing this gets the people wanting to watch the films

The genre of mystery is identified by its skills to showcase cryptic problems that the people watching feel compelled to solve, the problem or the mystery of why something happened. The mystery genre is filled with recognizable conventions, but it is also flexible enough to give different themes of mystery, from dark impulses to social issues. There are different conventions of the mystery genre, with content films like unknown events, investigation process, mysterious villain, dystopian setting, and unexpected twists in the story. All of these different conventions of the mystery genre, with content films, make great mystery films. Knowing this helps me a lot with my portfolio project. 

The mystery film genre uses particular techniques and conventions to make the viewers feel a sense of suspense and intrigue while watching the film or trailers. The techniques and conventions used are setting, protagonist, camera work, music, plot structure, and character development that help create a compelling mystery film that stays with the audience and will challenge the traditional norms of today. This helps my group and me to know what we have to focus on when filming the opening of our films.

The two mystery films that stand out are Knives Out and Sherlock. These two films have a lot of mystery, plot twists, and unknown events. For example, Knives Out is a modern masterpiece of a film that use the "Whodunit" sub-genre. It has uncommon suspects and it brilliant, individual detective to overturn the traditional class dynamics while having "fair play" clue-dropping rule. These films represent the mystery genre very well.

With all of this information about the mystery genre, it helps me want to film a two-minute opening because it makes me want to make my own mystery. I would love to work with setting, music, and know how to create a good plot structure. So, I'm probably creating a mystery two-minute opening for my portfolio project.

                                                                  References

Audiences of murder mystery films. (2025). SlideShare; Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/audiences-of-murder-mystery-films/42582757

Codes and conventions of the mystery genre. (2016). SlideShare; Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/codes-and-conventions-of-the-mystery-genre-68585986/68585986

Games, F. N. (2024, April 4). Mystery Riddles: Unlocking the Enigma of Fun and Challenge - Fun Night Games. Fun Night Games. https://funnightgames.com/mystery-riddles/

MasterClass. (2020). What Is the Mystery Genre? Learn About Mystery and Crime Fiction, Plus 6 Tips for Writing a Mystery Novel - 2024 - MasterClass. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-mystery-genre

Mystery Genre Conventions. (2001). Prezi.com. https://prezi.com/5mzjb19lq2rf/mystery-genre-conventions/

Ranker Streaming. (2024, March 4). The 40+ Best Mystery Movies On Prime Video. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/best-thriller-mystery-movies-on-amazon-prime/ranker-streaming