Take Aways

Impact of Analyzations

Breaking down The Breakfast Club, 1985 movie opening, inspired me to incorporate the foreshadowing the film exhibited into my own ideas. If we can't show the entirety of a beginning, middle, and end storyline, showing the 'aftermath' of the film could make it more intriguing to audiences, leaving them to piece together what could have happened or what message was intended in under two minutes as they did. However, the opposite of this approach is shown in Euphoria, 2019 pilot episode successfully.

Opening scene of Euphoria, 2019, season 1 episode 1.

The beginning of this show, in its first 2 minutes, unravels the main character's life and struggles. Visuals are shown of her being in her mother's womb to her as a child, which jump to her as a kid and then as a teenager. This allows the audience to feel personally connected and invested with her character, as they have just witnessed her 'growing up.' She narrates this opening by talking over clips that correspond to certain struggles she endured throughout her life, leading to an understanding of the life she lived, relationships to others, as well as her mental state. 

The cinematography appears use quite a few one shots of her centered to frame, conveying a feeling of unsettling isolation surrounding her character. The camera positions begin distant and zoom into characters as they are talking to separate each identity of the characters being introduced thus far. The editing is fast paced, with straight cuts used back and forth to transition from one state of age to another and a dark hue over the scenes to resemble nostalgia as she talks of her past. This is called temporal editing, when editing allows for the perceived time in the film to be manipulated. Altogether, these techniques aid in telling a story — a fast overview of her life before the show's beginning. This sets up the storyline for the rest of the show and is a great way to maintain an audience's interest.

Considering Both Approaches

The reasoning for analyzing The Breakfast Club and Euphoria is for the fact that they are both coming of age media that contrast heavily for not just the time period in which they were filmed to reflect teenagers (80s versus modern day) but with how they began. The Breakfast Club opening with its resolution of the entire plot and then going back to how it all began, peaks interest in the audience and leaves expectations of the film solidified (the ending was revealed). Euphoria however started with an exposition, focusing on the main character's upbringing (birth to present) which leaves expectations for what will follow unknown.

It is interesting to see such different ways of beginning a film that represent similar core representation ideas; addiction, bullying, depression, and loneliness that is the teenage experience for many. Although, for their individual storylines it is apparent that it could not have started off any better. Several take away notes have been made ranging from each opening's foreshadowing of events and manipulation of time, to utilizing color hue editing to convey a mood into my planning for my own film. Overall, kicking off strong and dramatic with good narrative storytelling through a unity of work from editing, cinematography, and sound design, is what makes a good introduction impressionable for a coming-of-age/drama film!