I'm envisioning a heavy character piece where I establish a new hero. I want this character to be a young male, preferable aged at 13-16. I see the story not necessarily focusing on the amazing powers and action sequences the character, but their interactions with others and how they have to act "normal" although they have spectacular skills and abilities.
I plan on studying openings to movies that introduce a superhero, such as Black Panther, Toby Magure's Spiderman, Deadpool, and perhaps even The Fantastic Four. (I would assume superhero/action films highlight the history of the character and how they get their powers, but I will look at these sources for clarity).
However, because I want the story to centralize on the character's interactions (most likely in a school setting) I can watch openings from The Edge of Seventeen, Middle School (The Worst Years of my Life) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid to see how a school can be introduced into the story.
I feel like the "in school" movies are always cliche though. Maybe the story can focus on the character's summer break and how they try to keep their friendships throughout their break.
I'm going to watch some of these clips and come back with evaluations.
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So far I've seen, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hercules, and Hellboy.
Every single one of them had an origin story, whether if it was about a place or the main character. The Black Panther's opening followed the story of Wakanda using graphics. Wakanda is a fictional city where the Black Panther is from; it sets up the McGuffin in the movie, which is the mystical metal called vibranium. This material is essential to the story and is what the villain is after the rest of the film. The opening sequence of Black Panther also features a time jump from 1992 to the present day. This helped make the main character, whose story began at a young age, be older during the film.
This is also true of Hellboy. The movie follows a team of soldiers infiltrating a Nazi base. The men discover an experiment where the Nazis are attempting to open a portal to another dimension. There is a large action scene, full of long shots and mid-shots of the fighting. After the dust settles, the scientist finds a small red creature that had escaped through the portal. He named this monster Hellboy. This scene featured a plethora of the conventions seen in the other films. There is a big action sequence and additionally shows the origin of the main character.
However, there was one film that was different than the rest. Guardians of the Galaxy followed Peter Quill's story of his mother and then a scene of him listening to music on his walkman. This was the only film that opened with a scene following the main character where he did not fight. This scene represents the movie, however, because it is more comedic than action-packed. By showing "Star-Lord" walking throughout the terrain singing a song helps drive the comedic, laid-back vibe expressed by the film.
Now for the school dramas.
The Edge of Seventeen began with one of the most cliche shots I've ever seen. Introducing Hailee Steinfeld's character, Nadine, it began with a close up on a car pulling in front of the school with her shoes coming out of the car. The camera tilts up to see the character running into school. The rest of the opening has long shots and close-ups of Nadine running to a classroom in the school. The long shots show that Nadine is running in a school hallway in front of other students and close-ups show the feelings of Nadine as she frantically goes to meet her teacher.
Surprise surprise, Sierra Burgess is a Loser began with the same close-up of the main character's feet. Perhaps this common convention is meant to represent the audience stepping into this new character's story. This movie did have an element that I did thoroughly enjoy though which was the character coming downstairs from her room to talk and interact with her parents. I would want to use this interaction, or at least a similar scene to show that the interactions and conversations the main character has in this story will drive the character through the conflict of the story.
While talking to my friend about these openings, maybe I can borrow story elements from The Incredibles 2, The Edge of Seventeen, and Sierra Burgess is a Loser for my film. In Sierra Burgess and Seventeen, the lead characters both have interactions with a certain teacher throughout the film. Maybe my character can have a teacher like this to talk to and serve as a role model to the main character. However, I think it would be dynamic to use a twist from The Incredibles 2 where the ally turns out to be the villain of the story. This would create a moral struggle for my hero, who would have to choose humanity for his friendship. I would hope that my character decides to talk out the grudges the evil teacher has instead of using his superpowers and hurt his mentor.
For my opening, I could potentially use a school or office setting and show interactions with the characters friends or parents, then his interactions with his teacher. This could also be the moment where my main character could confess to someone that he has superpowers! Then there would be a cut to the title of the film.
I really like this idea and I hope that the more research that I do will help make this story a reality.
- Jake
TODAY'S HERO OF THE WEEK: BLACK PANTHER (T'Challa)
Back Story:
The Black Panther is a mantel passed down by each king of Wakanda, the fictional city in Africa that is home to the strongest mineral in the universe, vibranium. By drinking the byproduct of a special heart-shaped herb, this hero gains his powers.
Powers:
He has enhanced speed, strength, knowledge, agility, stamina, durability, and senses.
Other:
- He is the king of his country, Wakanda
- First mainstream African superhero in mainstream comics
- Has a sister named Shuri who is one of the most intelligent minds on Earth
Comic Book Origin:
- First appeared in Fantastic Four #52 and 53
- Joined the Avengers in the appropriately named The Avengers #52
Movie History:
- The Black Panther is currently portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in Marvel's MCU
- First appeared in Captain America: Civil War
- Also appeared in self titled Black Panther (2018), and in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I'm going to watch some of these clips and come back with evaluations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far I've seen, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hercules, and Hellboy.
Every single one of them had an origin story, whether if it was about a place or the main character. The Black Panther's opening followed the story of Wakanda using graphics. Wakanda is a fictional city where the Black Panther is from; it sets up the McGuffin in the movie, which is the mystical metal called vibranium. This material is essential to the story and is what the villain is after the rest of the film. The opening sequence of Black Panther also features a time jump from 1992 to the present day. This helped make the main character, whose story began at a young age, be older during the film.
This is also true of Hellboy. The movie follows a team of soldiers infiltrating a Nazi base. The men discover an experiment where the Nazis are attempting to open a portal to another dimension. There is a large action scene, full of long shots and mid-shots of the fighting. After the dust settles, the scientist finds a small red creature that had escaped through the portal. He named this monster Hellboy. This scene featured a plethora of the conventions seen in the other films. There is a big action sequence and additionally shows the origin of the main character.
However, there was one film that was different than the rest. Guardians of the Galaxy followed Peter Quill's story of his mother and then a scene of him listening to music on his walkman. This was the only film that opened with a scene following the main character where he did not fight. This scene represents the movie, however, because it is more comedic than action-packed. By showing "Star-Lord" walking throughout the terrain singing a song helps drive the comedic, laid-back vibe expressed by the film.
Now for the school dramas.
The Edge of Seventeen began with one of the most cliche shots I've ever seen. Introducing Hailee Steinfeld's character, Nadine, it began with a close up on a car pulling in front of the school with her shoes coming out of the car. The camera tilts up to see the character running into school. The rest of the opening has long shots and close-ups of Nadine running to a classroom in the school. The long shots show that Nadine is running in a school hallway in front of other students and close-ups show the feelings of Nadine as she frantically goes to meet her teacher.
Surprise surprise, Sierra Burgess is a Loser began with the same close-up of the main character's feet. Perhaps this common convention is meant to represent the audience stepping into this new character's story. This movie did have an element that I did thoroughly enjoy though which was the character coming downstairs from her room to talk and interact with her parents. I would want to use this interaction, or at least a similar scene to show that the interactions and conversations the main character has in this story will drive the character through the conflict of the story.
While talking to my friend about these openings, maybe I can borrow story elements from The Incredibles 2, The Edge of Seventeen, and Sierra Burgess is a Loser for my film. In Sierra Burgess and Seventeen, the lead characters both have interactions with a certain teacher throughout the film. Maybe my character can have a teacher like this to talk to and serve as a role model to the main character. However, I think it would be dynamic to use a twist from The Incredibles 2 where the ally turns out to be the villain of the story. This would create a moral struggle for my hero, who would have to choose humanity for his friendship. I would hope that my character decides to talk out the grudges the evil teacher has instead of using his superpowers and hurt his mentor.
For my opening, I could potentially use a school or office setting and show interactions with the characters friends or parents, then his interactions with his teacher. This could also be the moment where my main character could confess to someone that he has superpowers! Then there would be a cut to the title of the film.
I really like this idea and I hope that the more research that I do will help make this story a reality.
- Jake
TODAY'S HERO OF THE WEEK: BLACK PANTHER (T'Challa)
Back Story:
The Black Panther is a mantel passed down by each king of Wakanda, the fictional city in Africa that is home to the strongest mineral in the universe, vibranium. By drinking the byproduct of a special heart-shaped herb, this hero gains his powers.
Powers:
He has enhanced speed, strength, knowledge, agility, stamina, durability, and senses.
Other:
- He is the king of his country, Wakanda
- First mainstream African superhero in mainstream comics
- Has a sister named Shuri who is one of the most intelligent minds on Earth
Comic Book Origin:
- First appeared in Fantastic Four #52 and 53
- Joined the Avengers in the appropriately named The Avengers #52
Movie History:
- The Black Panther is currently portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in Marvel's MCU
- First appeared in Captain America: Civil War
- Also appeared in self titled Black Panther (2018), and in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
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