The first three minutes in the film
Boogie Nights (directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson) captivated me ever since I saw it for
the first time. The only other film that hooked me in from the start
would have to be Saving Private Ryan
with it's gritty realism and action. The thing with Boogie
Nights though is the way in
which the intro scene was filmed. This three minute scene was done
using one long tracking shot. Throughout this tracking shot we see three
key things: the title sequence, the setting, and an introduction to most of the main
characters.
The
way in which this scene was constructed was well thought out.
The first thing that we see is the film's title, cleverly used as a
feature film for a movie theater in the narrative world. Alongside
the title, we instantly hear the hit single of The
Emotion's “Best of My Love”,
which was released in 1977, the year in which this movie takes place.
These two elements alone give the viewer a sense of where and when the story is
taking place. To further reinforce the setting, the camera also shows
a sign that reads “Reseda” alongside text that reads “San
Fernando Valley, 1977”
Next
is the way in which characters are introduced. Throughout the intro,
we are shown eight characters that appear throughout the film. This
is significant because we actually get a sense of what some of these
characters are about. You can infer that that Luis Guzman's character
is a club owner, Burt Reynolds' character is a director of some sort
and Don Cheadle has a weird fashion sense (which later affects him in
the film). This storytelling along with the frantic, yet pleasant
pacing of the camera help to make the viewer feel as though they are
living the night life in a club (bright neon lights plus the music)
following important figures around. On top of that, the song selected
for this intro (“Best of My Love”) encompasses one of the main
themes of the movie, love. Not just romantic love, but the love of a
family. Not much editing was done in terms of cuts due to the scene
being in one long take, but the blocking preparation involved made it
flow smoothly.
Link to the scene from Boogie Nights
