The time has come to explain the full story behind my film opening. I have had the film’s plot already conceived for a while now, and though there is no specific piece that directly inspired it, the influence that dramatic fantasies have had on my writing is certainly in effect. I wanted the film to be the set up for a big epic story, and really lean in to the idea that this is the beginning of something greater about to happen. Many fantasy films follow the “hero’s journey” formula with their plots, often involving slaying great beasts or defeating an evil force. I wanted to allude to this in my film opening using techniques like foreshadowing and visual storytelling — it shows the hero about to embark on his quest, and why he wants to do so. I also knew from the moment I chose to make a film in this genre that I wanted to involve a dragon, as I’ve always loved the mythical creatures and I have been drawing them since I was very young.
The scene opens on a slow fade-in to an overhead establishing shot of a village gone up in flames, burning into ash. This would be the start to a slow, somber sequence of shots showing the singed and severely damaged town, and the smaller individual areas where buildings and structures have been destroyed. I imagine some kind of slow, sad violin or piano music would accompany this to set the tragic mood, and a lack of any sound effects. Then, in one of these shots, we would suddenly see a man, injured and scarred, crawling out from one of the houses. There would then be multiple slow panning shots showing objects or rooms from inside this house to communicate crucial background information about this man, who is our protagonist, and his backstory; the man had a life and a family who were taken by the fire. Suddenly, with a loud musical sting (possibly harsh brass instruments and horns), the scene hard cuts to a large dragon would soaring above the village with a huge roar, completely changing the tone and surprising the audience. As it flies away, becoming a small shape in the distance, the man would start to recoup himself. He stands up, spots a nearby sword projecting out of the ground, pulls it out, and points it the dragon’s distant figure. There would likely be a POV shot with him pointing the sword directly at it. He then hobbles off in the direction that the creature flew off to.
The concept behind this opening is that the home and life of the protagonist was completely destroyed by this villainous dragon, and he is now setting out on a journey to hunt the beast down and exact revenge. A bit dark and gritty, but many intense fantasy epic have a very similar tone, if not even more so. The protagonist, I want him to have a rough, grizzled, but strong and powerful appearance, as if he were a tough, brutal warrior. The dragon, on the other hand, would certainly need to have a menacing and monstrous appearance to communicate the challenge that the hero will face in his quest to slay it.
For someone who has been engaging with fantasy media as long as I have, there are so many inspirations that come to mind when I think of how I want to create a film from the genre. In particular, I am really looking to other films as an example for the visual aesthetic and style that I want. Along with finding a basis for the background art, it is quite the obstacle for me at the moment. So observing how other films handled these aspects and many others could benefit me greatly, and help me to improve my standing in the process.
While developing an art style for the film, I was not sure whether to take a more realistic approach or really lean into the fantastical magical concept. But in the end, I think I am going to combine the two, though definitely on the darker gritty realism side to better serve the serious tone of the story. A more exaggerated art style can make a piece of media inherently feel upbeat or whimsical, regardless of the content itself. This is why comedic animation often comes in the form of cartoons, while intense drama typically looks much more realistic. Either way, fantasy always tends to be more colorful to illustrate the magic in the setting. The general look of the film is indicative of its tone (unless there is an intentional contrast between the two). For an exceptional example of bringing together two distinct visual styles, I took some inspiration from Sleeping Beauty, a 1959 film by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The first thing from this film that I wanted to try and emulate was the backgrounds. The way every single stone and tree has small details to give it a textured appearance, the careful lighting and shading, and the gradients are all so pleasing to look at. In addition, the pictures can be broken down into simple abstract shapes, such as the curved rolling hills which look like smooth perfect curves. That fine symmetry exemplifies how the film combines realism with fantasy. But my favorite part about the backgrounds is the color. Each location has its own unique palette, such as the pastels in the kingdom, and the natural tones of green and brown and blue in the forest. The visuals make it so that it feels different when ever the setting changes, and this distinction makes the world of Sleeping Beauty seem so much bigger and more interesting. This brightly colored world truly feels fantastical, even without fairies or an evil sorceress on screen. Though I most likely wouldn’t put in the same amount of extreme detail when I begin working on the backgrounds for my project due to time constraints, I will absolutely do as much as I can to achieve a similar look and aesthetic, and use similar techniques with colors, shapes, and lighting.
Another reason why I want to take inspiration from this film is because of the character designs in the film. Disney as an animation studio has a very recognizable and well-know style which can be seen in all of their movies, whether they are hand drawn or CGI, and it of course affects character design; characters in Disney’s films are usually drawn with large expressive eyes, small noses, rounded edges, realistic proportions, and sometimes exaggerated features. This style has always spoken to me because it allows for more visually distinct emotive characters, and I love incorporating elements in a character’s design that reflect their personality. For example, Maleficent, the antagonist of the film, has pale sickly green skin, long, sharp, pointed features, and wears all black, conveying her wicked nature. Meanwhile, the three fairies have very round faces and bodies with small dainty facial features to match their kind and nurturing personalities. I want to use these techniques for myself when designing the few characters in my film opening.
The final point of inspiration I drew from Sleeping Beauty is the design of the dragon (more accurately, Maleficent in her dragon form). My opening also includes a dragon as a major plot point, and I would like the creature to have a cool memorable look. The great thing about mythical animals in a visual medium is that they don’t exist in the real world, and therefore they can look however you want. There is no rule as to what a dragon must look like. But that presents a challenge as to what the one in my film will look like. Dragons appear a lot in fantasy media, and each film has them look a bit differently, even if they behave similarly. So deciding what mine should look like — and also getting it to stand out — is difficult. But that is why I look to other films for inspiration. I originally wanted the dragon to be red or orange to match the warm colors in fire, but I realized that might cause it to blend into the bright fiery background of the burning village. And it is also a rather common, generic design for a dragon. The next thing I considered was to color the dragon black, representing darkness, mystery, and evil, alluding to its antagonistic role in the story and vague motivations. Black is a color that automatically causes the mind to feel fear or intimidation, especially in large amounts. This would also help it to be much more visible against the background. Afterwards, I immediately thought of the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. In that film, the dark color of the dragon was a clever design element. The scary elements such as the large toothy fire-breathing mouth and glowing eyes are especially striking when set against a jet black silhouette. It also made the dragon more mysterious because the dark color obscured textures, details, and shadows. This makes it feel more like an otherworldly being, even in a fantasy world. For these reasons, my final design for the dragon in my film will likely take a lot of inspiration from Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.
Approaching the designs of the clothing and costume of my main character, I looked at Game of Thrones’ costume designs. Many of them are very clearly influenced by medieval styles of apparel and armor, illustrating genre. Characters in that series such as Jon Snow and Ned Stark wear thick fur cloaks, which I quite like as it makes them look rugged and I think I would want this aesthetic for my character as well. For me, the most important thing about the character’s costume is that it looks like something that would only be worn in olden times instead of the modern day, and that it communicates the “battle-warrior” aesthetic. Game of Thrones fits both of these criteria as it is a pretty war-heavy show, and the medieval inspiration is very noticeable in every single aspect of its production. And because my fantasy film will also take inspiration from medieval-style designs, I will definitely take inspiration from it.
Game of Thrones also has several individual dragons integrated into the story, brought to life in a realistic way using CGI. What I most like about the way dragons are portrayed in Game of Thrones is the pure size of these creatures that makes them seem powerful, intimidating, and larger than life on a grand scale. Having the dragons be so incredibly huge really emphasizes the sheer strength and might that they possess, causing the human characters to come across as weak and small in comparison, truly presenting the challenge and threat that a dragon could be. Because the dragon in my story is built up to be such an intimidating and daunting opposing force, having it be similarly big would definitely capture its strength and dominance over the protagonist.
The final point of inspiration for my film opening is Lord of the Rings. Going into this project, I wasn’t fully sure how I was going to design a serviceable backdrop for the film opening. Of course it is set in a medieval village, and the basic aesthetic that I am aiming for is that of a classic small, simple, rural village like you might find in the English countryside, surrounded by nature, only with a vintage medieval aesthetic. But there were certain aspects of that kind of location that I just didn’t know how to design. For example, I didn’t know what the houses should look like or the what kind of infrastructure a medieval town would have, let alone how to draw that location in ruins and wreckage. Luckily, I was able to find a perfect reference that perfectly captured the exact same image that I wanted achieve. Lord of the Rings features the very setting that I had envisioned in one of its primary locations, called Edoras. It is a great example of Old English-inspired set design with wooden and stone structures. I will also be using this as major inspiration for my own set design.
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