Transcript of Why Some Movies Hook You Instantly
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0:03This is the first shot of Oppenheimer.0:07It's dark and moody, a trickle of rain0:10creating [music] ripples in a puddle. It0:12might seem unremarkable, but it actually0:15holds layered nuance and symbolism for0:17the entire story to follow.0:21Not only is this a visual analogy for0:23the reactions inside the actual atom0:25bomb, it also foreshadows the end of the0:28film as our protagonist envisions a0:31total nuclear war. And if we take it a0:34step further, we have the ripple effect0:36of what Oenheimer has created. A single0:39event whose consequences expand further0:42and wider than perhaps he considered.0:46opening with the raindrops on the water0:48came late to myself and Jan in the edit0:51suite but ultimately became a motif that0:53runs the whole way through the film and0:55became very important.1:00First impressions are everything and1:03this is especially true for the opening1:05shot of a movie. A great opening shot1:09can encapsulate everything a film1:10promises an audience.1:14From introducing characters and setting1:17to informing a story central themes,1:20analyzing the first shot of a movie can1:23show you just how much information a1:25filmmaker can pack into a frame.1:29Before we go any further, there will be1:31some graphic content and we will be1:34spoiling the following movies.1:36Bill, [panting and sighs]1:39it's your baby.1:42>> Hell or High Water follows two brothers1:45who are being chased by two Texas1:46Rangers after they rob a series of banks1:49to save their ranch.1:52Financial inequality and injustice1:53[music] are the central concerns of the1:55Western film, as is the blurred line1:58between what's right [music] and wrong.2:01The film's opening shot tells us all of2:03this. First, it establishes the setting,2:06a nondescript small town that shows us2:09this isn't the wild west of classical2:11westerns. A simple graffiti on the wall2:15introduces context and conflict.2:18The bailout refers to the financial2:20crash of 2008 where the government2:22provided rescue for the banks but not2:24the people.2:27The crosses set up a complicated focus2:29on Christian morality. a criticism of a2:32televangelist promising prosperity in2:35exchange for faith. But for characters2:38like Marcus, this too is an institution2:40that has lost its integrity.2:42>> And yet you look around at your life and2:44nothing is different. And so you assume2:46that God has told you no.2:49>> We're not going to watch this, are we?2:53>> Ain't a Christian.2:55>> Yeah, but I ain't stupid. God doesn't2:57talk through this man anymore than he2:59talks through my dog.3:01And so when social pillars like banks3:03and churches do more harm than good,3:06characters like Tanner and Toby must3:08take action for themselves.3:10>> Good morning, FOLKS. OPEN THE DRAWER.3:12Open the mother drawers.3:14>> Ones, fives, tens, 20s, no hundreds, no3:16bonus.3:17>> You boys robbing the bank. Shut up.3:19>> Your hands on the counter. On the3:21counter.3:21>> Yes, sir.3:22>> Got you. Come on.3:26>> These three crosses, which is just a3:28coincidence they happen to be there. We3:29didn't put them in there ourselves. And3:31also the, you know, the for sale signs3:32were just a coincidence, but they're3:34great. You know, they really they really3:35tell the world. That's an opening shot3:37that says this is an ambitious film and3:39this is uh this is going to take you on3:40a journey.3:46>> Maria Antuinette follows the titular3:48queen of France and her life of extreme3:51excess preceding the French Revolution.3:54The film is a stylized character3:56portrait that aims to look at Marie in a3:58more nuanced light than as the villain4:00history has made her out to be.4:03Consider everything we are given in this4:05first shot. A character of clear wealth,4:08yet her body language suggests4:09disillusionment.4:11The elaborate desserts communicate4:13excess, but so does her lazy swipe of4:16the frosting. She breaks the fourth wall4:18and gives us a knowing nod, as if she4:21knows we are passing judgment on this4:23decadent display, but isn't bothered by4:25it.4:32On the soundtrack is a song by gang of4:34four that also speaks to the4:36commodification of pleasure.4:42>> What to do for [music] pleasure? I do4:45love a new purchase, a market of the4:49senses.4:50>> Addressing the audience directly,4:52coupled with music that was released4:54over 200 years later, lose us in. This4:57will not be a stuffy, historically4:59accurate period piece, but a more5:02interpretive and anacronistic portrait5:04of youth and rebellion.5:06>> Let them eat cake.5:10>> In Nope. Meanwhile, the first shot is5:12much more ambiguous.5:15The sci-fi thriller follows two horse5:17wrangler siblings who become fixated on5:20filming a UFO that keeps appearing near5:22their home.5:25The film centers around people's need to5:27record events even if they're5:29impossible, as well as our ability, or5:32lack thereof, to give reason to events5:34that don't seem to have any. Described5:36in the film as bad miracles.5:39>> What's a bad miracle?5:45We got to work for that. Cool.5:51>> So, what does this shot have to do with5:52any of that? Our eyes are drawn directly5:55to the shoe with little time to observe5:57and decode the rest of the image.6:00We have a sharp juosition between the6:02gifts and wrapping paper and the6:04overturned and blood splattered table.6:07Something very wrong has happened during6:08what we expect was meant to be a joyous6:11occasion.6:13The slight shake of the camera suggests6:15this [music] is a POV shot. This surreal6:18shot evokes a single question for the6:20audience. How? A shoe balanced like that6:24seems impossible. And that's exactly the6:26idea.6:29And considering the Bible quote that6:31precedes this shot, we can clearly read6:33this as a bad miracle.6:36Something inexplicable created by6:38something horrific. Both of these6:40nuanced ideas, as well as the tone of6:42the film, are distilled into this6:44introductory shot and are given more6:47depth when we return to the scene later6:48in the film.6:50>> The shoe represents [music]6:51a a moment where we we check out of a6:55trauma and Juke, he zones in on this6:59little shoe that has landed in a7:03precarious odd situation. This is the7:06moment he disassociates. So the shoe for7:09me is in essence it's the impossible7:13shot.7:23>> Raging Bull tells the story of legendary7:25boxer Jake Lamata who was tortured by7:28self-destructive tendencies.7:34>> Its opening shot introduces the film's7:36atmosphere and themes. A lone boxer7:39shadow boxes in the ring. The extreme7:41slow motion coupled with the dramatic7:43orchestral music gives this shot7:45dramatic weight and contrast.7:48Boxing can be brutal and barbaric. So7:51the inclusion of such poetic and7:53graceful music elevates the moment.7:56The song is intermetzo from the opera7:59gavaleria rustikana which deals with8:02themes of love, betrayal and chivalry as8:05does Scorsese's film making this the8:08ideal [music] marriage between sound and8:10image8:11as we will see in the rest of the film.8:14Jake Lamata's life plays out like an8:16opera itself.8:18Scorsesei explains Muskagn's music was a8:22vehicle for me. It took me to visual8:24dreaming, so to speak, visual images. I8:27imagined stories. I imagined camera8:29movements. And it touched a certain8:31emotional cord. There's no doubt about8:33it. There's one area where the character8:36is singing about Lola in heaven. And if8:38there's no Lola in heaven, he doesn't8:40want to go there. Well, that's Raging8:42Bull.8:46Past lives is about a woman named Nora8:48who had to leave behind her childhood8:50crush in [music] Korea.8:52In the present day, Hong and Nora8:55reconnect, which is [music] complicated8:57because now she's married to Arthur. It9:00is a love triangle of epic proportions.9:03>> Uh, hi. Nice to meet you, [music]9:07Assaur.9:09>> So, how should we begin this story?9:11>> A slow zoom in on our three main9:13characters. This is a hard one.9:15>> The warm [music] golden light sets a9:17romantic mood. Offscreen voices9:19speculate about their relationship.9:22We too will spend the rest of the film9:24observing and speculating on the very9:26same thing.9:27>> It's the heart of the film. As writer9:29director Selene Song explains, [music]9:33>> I think the most uh difficult scene in9:36some ways was the opening scene. Nora9:39actually turns and looks at the camera9:41and breaks the fourth wall and really9:44invites the audience into the [music]9:46film and also implicates the audience9:49into engaging with the film [music] from9:51the point of view of an almost a9:53detective. Right? I don't know how to9:55describe what that look should be except9:57[music]9:57that it's a cosmic joke. But that's what10:00this moment is and it's that [music]10:03uncertainty or it's the impossibility of10:05that moment.10:09Hereditary is a family drama horror film10:11hybrid.10:12>> Don't you ever raise your voice at me. I10:14am your mother.10:16>> Tragedy strikes the family and as their10:18grief overpowers them, a demonic force10:20starts to invade them. What we learn by10:23the end is that the events of the film10:25were part of a prophecy and that the10:27family's fate was set in motion long10:29ago. So, how should we begin this story?10:36As we pull away from the window and the10:39treehouse outside, a single fly on the10:42sill. Our first clue that something is10:44rotten, decaying, or infested in this10:47house. And a motif that will recur10:49throughout the film.10:53A slow pan reveals art supplies and10:55architectural plans before pushing into10:58a miniature model of the house.11:02Soon the dollhouse becomes the real11:04house and an overarching metaphor is11:07born as writer director Ari explains.11:12It is a shot that is [music] you know11:14very from like clearly an omnisient11:16perspective um which I think gives some11:20clue as to how the [music] film is going11:21to be feeling. Even though we're with11:23these people in hereditary and we're11:25with them in their ignorance of, [music]11:27you know, what's going on, what's really11:28happening, there is also this like the11:31the feeling that we're watching11:32everything from a more knowing,11:35sadistic perspective. The doll houses11:37[music] in the film for me like, you11:40know, serve as a metaphor for what's11:41going on with the family. The these are11:44people who have no agency and, you11:47[music] know, in the end they they are11:48like dolls in a dollhouse. I did want to11:51establish that in the first shot.11:57>> Opening shots can tell you everything11:59without saying a word.12:03Start planning your shots with Studio12:05Binder storyboard and shot listing12:07software.12:11Until next time, be sure you start on12:14the right foot.12:17Here12:19we are. [music]12:27>> [music]
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