Film’s “First and Final Frames”

Cinema is moving, dynamic, and it’s ultimately about great storytelling, and the best of film finds a way to mirror elements of the story. That’s what makes a project like The Start of an Ending by Miguel Faus, and First and Final Frames by Jacob T. Swinney, such an incredible experience.

Faus’ short film is “a side-by-side comparison of the First and Final Frames of 75 great films”, and whether you’ve seen the films or not, it’s a beautiful tribute to the power of great film.

“It’s a very visual homage to cinema and film language,” Faus suggested in his email to me. “By comparing the frames, we realize that while some are very similar, others are very different. Some show progress, others decline, and some are just visually stunning, but all of them teach us a lot about these particular films and about cinema in general.”

While Faus notes the names of the movies in his film, what I found interesting about Swinney’s first short film comparison was that he didn’t give you the names of each film unless you checked the description, which made it a kind of enigmatic quiz for film nerds like myself.

Both Faus and Swinney also use some incredible music for their pieces, but I was particularly impressed with Faus’ use of “Le onde” by Ludovico Einaudi, which perfectly suited the comparisons.

Watch Faus’ The Start of an Ending below and scroll down for Swinney’s First and Final Frames, which features Thomas Newman’s “Any Other Name”.

First and Final Frames