My Deeper Research into the World of Drama (Part 1)

Earlier this school year I created a post about the drama genre, “How is Drama so Dramatic?”, where I talked about the aspects seen in the typical conventions used when filming, posters, and had two minor case studies, but it was not specific to film openings.

In order to expand my knowledge of how openings are done within the drama genre, I went further and explored more examples and typical conventions that are associated with it by watching them on YouTube.

My diverse search ranged from Forrest Gump to Citizen Kane and during so I stumbled upon a different and less popular piece, Call Me By Your Name.

Call Me By Your Name (dir. Luca Guadagnino) has an opening, seen here, that does not contain any acting, dialogue, camera movement, or anything that I would have expected. This was different from what I typically saw, as most pieces were revolving around a character or an action/event, but this relied solely on still shots and the credits. The shots contained multiple photos of ancient Greek sculptures, like such and an elegant yellow cursive test displaying the credits.

What I enjoyed most about this was that the setting that was being established in a different form and tone. The statues make it clear that this piece is most likely taking place in an area that isn’t the US as ancient statues and sculptures are more prominent in foreign countries there are more prominent in foreign places. Along with this, they are illustrating a clear theme within the film which is, the uniqueness and beauty tied along with the draw and appeal that they have on everybody and this is only made more apparent as it is matched with the elegant font of the credits.

I thought this entire opening was fascinating and most importantly differ. What I take from it and would consider using in my project is the idea that not every shot needs to be still or moving. It is possible to create an aura and a setting without needing to necessarily show it. I think it could be used for shot diversity and for a possible juxtaposition in the opening.