Holi: an example of a great opening shot

Hello! I’m Gui, founder of MediaTag.io. This is one of my posts detailing a film or creative work that inspired me.

Holi is a great video I discovered years ago on Vimeo, and it certainly made an impression on me, as I still take great pleasure watching it.

While it is less than 2 minutes, it is impressive from beginning to end. Beautiful shots and beautiful music are assembled to tell a simple but immersive experience. All without words.

While I could go on about the many aspects that I find appealing, I mostly want to talk about its opening shot. It is by itself worth studying.

On first look, it is nothing more than a forward movement in slow motion. But the composition choices are what makes it interesting, as they create questions, building a nice narrative. I try here to decompose its different beats. There are surely different ways to break it down, but let’s go with 6:

1 — The opening (of the opening)

That’s the first frame. Coloured dust on stone stairs.

While the stairs are not particularly interesting, having them covered in this dust is what could get your attention. It is a unusual combination.

The perspective lines are very obvious. Added to the forward and upward camera movement, they lead us to focus on the top right of the frame.

2 —There is more to it

And the top right of the frame is exactly where more happens. We see a lot more dust, this time in the air. It is falling from the top, making us curious to see more. And the camera is going there, even though slowly.

This creates a clear sense of mystery.

3 — We discover a character and see actions

Two simultaneous events happen in this beat. First, we realise there is a character in the scene. While we can only see a dress, we understand this person is sitting on those stairs.

Second, the smoke we saw in the previous beat comes from what appears to be small debris. We will understand in a few seconds what those are, but at this stage, this shot still strengthen the mystery by juxtaposing this character and those debris.

And on top of the visceral sensation this builds up, the slow motion creates a very hypnotising setting.

4 — The character gets more defined

While her face isn’t yet visible, we can now clearly see her arms. They are simply resting on her knees. There is no hint of fear or anxiety on her. This again contrasts with the background debris, whose trails are filling the frame, displaying more energy and action as we go.

5 — We see her face

By seeing the calm look on her face, we get the confirmation she is not in danger. On the contrary, she is very peaceful. She is most likely enjoying the moment.

The debris reveal colours. It is now clear they are the same colours as what has fallen on the steps.

There is no more doubt: It’s a street party.

6 — She is fully in frame

By seeing her well composed inside the frame, we get a full view of the scene. This concludes the mini-story this shot created to invite us into the rest of the narration.

We can cut to the next shot. As an audience member of this short video, you now know you will be in for a ride.

Conclusion

A shot like this might not be simple to achieve, but it is a great example of how to tell a small story with a few beats. Those don’t have to be said by actors or be written in plot points. The camera has its own language and as a filmmaker it is always interesting to observe the ways other storytellers use it.

Also, I’ve made the different shots in this post public on MediaTag. You can click them to set the video at their exact time, so you can see those shots in motion.

But there still is a remaining question I have. Was this shot staged or was it captured on the go? Its quality leans me toward the former, but its rawness to the latter. If you have the answer, I’d love to hear you.

Would you like to analyse and understand films in a similar way? I built MediaTag.io to do just that. You can see in this screenshot below how it would look when tagging specific moments of a video. You can do that with online videos like Vimeo and Youtube, and even upload your own video files. Try MediaTag.io for free.