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To continue my understanding of the drama genre, I felt it would be appropriate to view other film openings within the genre. Since drama films provide a lot a freedom for the director, it provides a great range of possibilities for the narrative of my film opening. 

Children of Men (2006)

This scene efficiently establishes the background of a dystopian society that is on the brink of human extinction. It opens up with a sound bridge of a newscast directly introducing the issue of global infertility, which is done to slowly provide context to the audience. The tone is consistently negative/melancholic, and showcased through the use of dark colors and the smoggy street setting. Moreover, the ambience in the background consists of traffic noises and people crying which contributes to the realism most drama films tend to evoke. The opening also has little conversational dialogue and relies more on the newscast along with other sound effects to introduce the story, continuing to create a dramatic and realistic feel.  At the end of the scene, a bombing of a coffee shop foreshadows future problems of destruction and turmoil. This action-packed use of suspense is something I would like to experiment with since it is a great way to enthrall the audience and keep their interest.

A Clockwork Orange (1972)

This film opening uses brightly colored red and blue title cards paired with non-diegetic music to create an unsettling and eerie feel. Additionally, as the scene goes on, the music increases in intensity to hint towards something more dramatic. I appreciated this particular use of sound because it greatly increases the amount of uneasiness being experienced by the audience. This scene also does an excellent job of introducing the protagonist, with the first shot being a close up of him. The makeup design used on his character divides his face in two (with one side carrying eye makeup and other without) to represent the duality of personality, showcasing he can be a psychopathic murderer or a charismatic man. As the camera pans out, the setting reveals various mannequins of women being used for functional reasons, which reinforces that women in this film are viewed solely as objects. Overall, the combination of the mise-en-scene and sound elements work to develop the main character and set up the narrative for the rest of the story.

Besides demonstrating how to engage an audience and establish the tone, these two film openings show the broadness of the drama genre as I previously mentioned, with Children of Men being more of an action-drama and A Clockwork Orange showcasing mystery film conventions.