2. The purpose of a film opening is to entice the audience into carrying
on watching the film
A film opening should also establish the characters, setting, and
genre, and what it is going to be about
Directors can choose to do this in many ways
For example
3. Main conventions
Titles/opening credits/production- The titles
are a vital part of the film opening, they
show the film and company’s logo/name,
making it recognisable on a global scale.
As well as credits identifying the actors and
cast in the film, alongside the name of the
film.
Main Characters- The opening scene usually
introduces the main characters of the film,
providing the audience with valid
knowledge on the main subjects involved
with the film.
4. Not all films use the conventional opening
Some directors prefer to have a unconventional opening to portray a
sense of mystery or to give the film a ‘artistic’ edge.
Examples of a unconventional film opening would;
Lack of credits
Lack of establishing shot
Main characters would not be included
5. Most film openings either begin with:
An animated title sequence
A flashback
A pan of an establishing shot
A forward-flash
A complication of photographs
A close-up/tracking shot of a prop
Narration
6. Animation is used in film opening to portray the beginning of the
film in a creative way
It also helps visual show the difference between the film itself and
the opening sequence.
For example ‘Juno’ uses a combination of animated titles with effects,
like slow-motion
7. Flash-back’s are used to give background information that is
relevant to the storyline of the film, to help the audience understand
the storyline. They can also be used to introduce the main character
before it’s been shown in the film.
A good example of this is
‘500 days of summer’
Flash-foward’s are an effective way of showing how a film
concludes, they can also be set in the present day when the rest of
the film is in the past.
An example of this is ‘Titanic ‘
8. Blue valentine is a good example of compilation of photographs in as
film opening. This is romantic movie and the photographs portray to
the audience the theme of the film and the relationship between the
couple.
9.
A narration is a very effective way of engaging the audience audibly
and visual, aswell as telling the audience a background story.
For example Blade 2 is a good film using this
10.
Most films start with the studio/production logo as they are
advertising the company that has helped them with the funding and
media distribution of the film.
Some of the logos change to help match the movie, such as ‘The
Simpsons Movie’ with 20th century fox, with one of the characters
singing the theme tune and appearing in the logo, adding the
comical value of the movie.
