POSTMORTEM INSPIRATION

Before proceeding with my storyboards (which will be done soon, fret not), I decided to take a closer look at "study scenes" to understand how to fill the two minutes in a meaningful and entertaining manner. At first, my new, more niche research led to nothing - none of the scenes captured the precise emotion I aim to evoke. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, inspiration came to me; the perfect science-scene opening was in my repertoire all along! Research for previous projects had led me to the world of stop-motion, a realm which, once again, I would dive into for my latest case study: Corpse Bride (2005). 

Directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson, the animated musical begins the very moment the score sounds its first melancholy notes. Though the tone of this flick is quite different from the one in my opening, it utilizes many techniques that can be rather useful in establishing the subject of a character's fascination - for Victor, it is butterflies.

In the scene, tight shots at first show not the character but his preparations to begin the study. Additionally, dissolves between the images add to the pacing and fluidity of the clip. Notably, the protagonist's characterization occurs through the mise-en-scene before the "acting" itself - Victor's face is only revealed near the end of the sequence. Another factor I could possibly emulate are the "jump-cuts" (kind of) while the character is drawing - shots of similar composition but different contents, and separated by dissolves, illustrate the process of drawing and studying the butterfly. Inserts also showcase the rest of the room (with posters beside the desk) and develop Victor's personality. And, of course, when analyzing Burton's movies, one could not leave out the manipulation of colors to convey a colder atmosphere.

 

While the opening above was beneficial with respect to each shot's editing and composition, I needed to look for other scenes that more closely emulated the pacing I was going for. Luckily, the answer was not too far from my last example: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) includes a few scenes depicting experiments. In particular, one isolated study session proved to be somewhat similar to what I aim to achieve.

 

a POV shot through Jack's microscope

The segment, not unlike my envisioned creation, includes minimal dialogue and instead uses other methods to convey Jack's exasperation. For instance, close-ups on the materials and point-of-view shots, followed by the skeleton's reaction to the failed trial, works to reinforce his examinations' ineffectiveness and create greater tension on the character as he struggles to obtain significant results. The scene is relatively fast-paced, with one experiment following the other and simple cuts - as opposed to the other movie's dissolves - sewing the sequence together. Also included in the montage is a variety of different angles and shot types: some are close-ups, others are medium shots, and more can be observed as well. It is also worth noting that each experiment appears to happen sequentially, as the flick is edited in chronological order - that is, no cutaways of other trials while one is showing; each attempt is captured in its entirety before another is displayed.

With base on these, I plan on having an opening of similar style. The idea of having various experiments failing one after the other is interesting, but, in order to make the opening a bit more entertaining, all the while showing the protagonist's scrambled thoughts, I will try to play around with the order of the experiments with cutaways. Additionally, the jump cuts can be used (as I am trying to do below) to show how she keeps trying to get at it, but keeps failing - in a way it is the same concept behind having Jack's failed experiments back to back.

a sketch of a possible sequence of jump cuts I intend to make, which can show the passage of time, the protagonist's insistence, and her deteriorating mental state.

SOURCES: 

Corpse Bride (2005). (2005, September 23). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164/

MovieTitles. (2020, October 9). Corpse Bride (2005) title sequence [Video]. YouTube

Cinema Cut. (2015, January 14). The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Science [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U821I_GqhEg