Research into a Sci-Fi opening scene

Guardians of the galaxy opening scene:

 

 

This opening scene contains one character. We can presume he is the good guy due to his positivity, his dancing and his general like-ability throughout the scene, even though we haven’t seen him do anything that proves he is good. He is in space, or on a different planet or in a different universe due to the abnormal alien like creatures, and the dark, space like atmosphere. He also collects something that looks like it is part of an alternate universe or from outer space. However, we know that it isn’t from the future, because the man in the scene is shown listening to music on a Sony Walkman which was a product issued in 1979, which means either that is the time this is set in or that was the most recent time that he was on earth. We can expect the rest of the film to take place in space, along with perhaps a battle over the lit-up-ball that he finds at the end of the opening scene. We can expect this film to be a light-hearted, action sci-fi with elements of comedy throughout. We can expect the target audience for this film would be pre-teen children, teenagers or young adults along with a few exceptions. Since the Marvel movies have become so popular, however, pretty much everyone is a target audience for this film, but since it is based around sci-fi and action, we can mostly expect younger men.

 

 

 

The camera work in this opening scene is very effective. The very first shot of the scene is a full body shot, which gives us the full perspective of the only character in this scene. This familiarises the audience with him right from the get-go. Also, the camera zooms in on the characters face so that the audience can see and know who he is right from the start of the film.

 

 

The sound in this opening scene is very interesting. It starts with non-diegetic strings playing the soundtrack of the film which accompanies the first shot of the man. This then suddenly cuts out when the man shows his face, and soon after the camera cuts to his side, where it shows that the man is carrying a Sony Walkman. He puts his headphones on and starts the music, which when it starts for him the audience can hear. This is non-diegetic, parallel and synchronous sound. Since the song that is being played is happy and upbeat, we can assume that the man is not only the good guy but has just accomplished something in the film. This keeps the audience interested and intrigued from the start of the film as they wonder what he has accomplished and why the ball that he finds at the end of the scene has any importance or relevance to the story. The editing is also in sync to the song, and the scenes are short, and change quickly to the beat of the song, with each shot revealing more about the place the guy is in and giving more and more of a sci-fi comedy feel to the film.

 

 

 

I think this is a very successful opening scene as it shows who we can assume is the main character of the film and his personality as a character. It also sets the scene for the rest of the film and gives us a general time period. Finally, it sets up questions about the film, such as what does the ball do? What relevance does it have to the rest of the film? And although we are fairly sure already, is the guy in the scene good or bad?