The professional film I chose is the Wizard of Oz. Apart from its memorable songs and characters, this film is loaded with iconic master edit shots that help guide the story of Dorothy Gale from Kansas who was swept up by a twister and taken to the land of Oz.
1. Leitmotiff
Leitmotiff uses musical interludes or phrases that often repeat throughout a film. In the Wizard of Oz, the antagonist, mean old Miss. Gulch always enters the scene with the same musical theme playing behind her. The first video shows the scene of her making her way on her bike to the Gale family farm to take Dorothy's dog, Toto, away. The second video shows the scene where Dorothy is inside her house as it is swept up in the twister. She sees Miss. Gulch ride her bike through the twister and then turns into the Wicked Witch of the West flying on her broomstick. In both clips, the same instrumentals are played. Whenever the audience hears this tune throughout the rest of the movie, they know that the Gulch/Witch is present.
2. Contrast
The Contrast shot shows one shot and then switches to another shot, completely different from the previous one. The Wizard of Oz has possibly one of the most iconic contrast shots in film history. This video shows Dorothy in her house after it has landed from the twister. The scene, like every scene in Kansas, is shown in black and white. As the clip progresses, Dorothy opens her front door and discovers that she has traveled to the land of Oz. Once she opens the door, the scene switches from black and white to technicolor.
3. Symbolism
Symbolism uses an object or idea to provide a deeper meaning that moves the film from one area to another. In the Wizard of Oz, the whole film revolves around Dorothy struggling to understand the idea of home and make her way back to it. Near the end of the movie, Dorothy is finally able to go back to Kansas -- what she has worked for the whole time she was in Oz. She must click her heels together three times and repeat the phrase "There's no place like home." The clip shows Dorothy doing just that. The symbolism in the scene is the ruby red slippers that have followed her in her entire journey and have helped her finally understand that she has always had the power to go back to Kansas. Home is not necessarily just a place, it is who you are with and where you find your heart's desires. This scene does an excellent job of symbolizing the message of home.
I really appreciated all the feedback I got from my draft film opening! It made me feel a bit more confident about my project. The biggest takeaways were that some of my actors' emotions didn't necessarily match the tone of the opening and that there were some audio issues. I may reshoot some scenes to make sure that the actors match the tone of the film. I also will work on the audio a bit and make sure the music and any dialogue (the counting) fit at appropriate volumes. I plan on working on the audio this week and possibly re-filming some shots this weekend/next week.
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