The Half of It (2020)- Opening Sequence

 

The Half of It (2020, dir. Alice Wu)- Director's Commentary on Opening Sequence

The Half of It- Opening Sequence

As I mentioned in my introductory post about my portfolio project, I'm using existing teen dramas discussing issues of parent-child relationships and LGBTQ+ youth as guidelines for some of the genre conventions and choices within the sub-genre of teen drama. The Half of It (2020) is a film that personally and deeply resonated with me the first time I watched it- and the second time. It focuses on issues of social alienation as a LGBTQ+ teenager, and (as so much of adolescence also focuses on) the mortifying ordeal of being known. 

So, after revisiting the film's 1 minute, 47 second opening, I watched Alice Wu (the director) comment upon the purpose of the opening sequence. Notably, as in Lady Bird (2017, dir. Greta Gerwig), another film I have reviewed here, much of the film revolves around illuminating the coming-of-age of a young woman, rather than a young man. However, Ellie Chu is not very much like Lady Bird (the titular character of Lady Bird) at all. Ellie's journey through the movie of finding a voice, finding love, and overall developing agency is established first through the opening of the film, with a quote from Plato and a stop-motion animated sequence. Wu explains that many of the opening shots- the water reflection in particular- pay homage to later, critical, shots in the film that develop Ellie's crush on popular girl Aster. However, I wanted to go with a more realistic opening sequence, since The Half of It is a bit more of a romance film and I believe my subject matter will be a little more darker. In addition, I want a more sudden opening to mimic the sudden change in Charlie’s life. But- not from the immediate opening of the film, but from the director’s commentary- the use of social media in the film being represented by onscreen text stuck with me. While I don’t anticipate social media or texting being represented within the first two minutes of my production, it certainly will be in the rest of my production, so I’ll keep that in mind when designing my text and overlays. 

Yours always,

Clover Fields