Analysing the opening sequence to three thriller films

1. Opening sequence analysis

2. What is an opening sequence
An opening sequence is the first part of the film
that we see, here the producers need to get the
audience hooked into the plot. Usually small
plot points are fed to the audience here, they
are designed to give a urge to continue
watching. Obviously this varies from genre to
genre, but for thriller films the opening needs to
excite you and reel you into the film.

3. Other Definitions
“the presentation of the 'opening credits' (as an introduction to
the audience about the film and including selected important
members of the production) is known as the opening credits
sequence; sometimes it is superimposed on the action, but
often exists as static letters on a solid background; since the
closing or end credits usually list the entire cast and production
crew, the opening credits sequence is usually positioned to set
the mood of the film, and sometimes even lacks any credits
except the film's title; aka front credits or beginning titles” -
filmsite.org (http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms14.html)

4. Key conventions
Most opening sequences are similar and they follow a
similar pattern with similar conventions that could
include:
● Credits for cast, directors and producers
● Establishing shots
● Narrations
● Action scene
● Production logos
● Times or dates for context
● Wall of text

5. Opening sequence analysis
To get to the meat of opening sequences it
would be far more useful to actually analyse
some instead of just reading definitions. I will
look at 3 thriller films to start with and they will
be:
● Shutter Island
● The Hunger Games
● Kingsman: The Secret Service

6. Shutter Island
The genre in Shutter Island is established from the get-go and that
tends to be the main goal of an opening sequence, to establish
exactly what the main goals of the film are. The scene is very
atmospheric, the colouring is greyed to give it a dark feel and it
establishes the genre as horror immediately. The opening begins
with some production logos and then the title appears in a very clear
font, the first part of the sequence is mainly dialogue, but as soon as
we catch a glimpse of the island, the soundtrack kicks in scares you
out of your mind, the soundtrack builds up to them entering the
facility and abruptly ends as they enter. I think that this is a very
effective opening to introduce you to the film and the narrative all at
once, the genre is established well as well because the island looks
isolated and the brief back and forth between the characters confirms
this.

7. Hunger games
The opening to the Hunger Games is a little bit more visual in
its interpretation, it shows us the impoverished with quite
conventional lighting, camera shots and settings: rundown
buildings, dark grey lighting etc. The film starts with the typical
logos, but this one starts with a wall of ext to serve as back
story and the first few seconds of the film are also related to the
back story, the scene roles in and we see the protagonist –
Katniss – hunting which sets the tone and the setting for the
rest of the film. Most openings will show the title of the film
within the first 6 minutes of the film, but the hunger games
drops this convention for a much better flow for the narrative,
but that makes it difficult to judge exactly when the opening
actually ends. I think that it is an effective opening sequence
because a lot of the themes are set from the get-go and a lot of
them are mentioned but they are not fully explained which leads
us to want to watch the film in its entirety to find answers to
those questions

8. Kingsman: The Secret Service
Ahh, Kingsman the over the top action thriller. The opening in
this one is completely mental and differs massively to the other
openings discussed. The sequence begins with the typical
institution logos and cast credits, but it serves only to lull you
into thinking that the next few seconds won't be insane. The
start is promising, giving us the classic context by using dates
and places, but it quickly devolves into chaos as a helicopter
with two agents dangling from the ropes enter a castle and
begin shooting the place up in a flurry of gunfire and explosions,
the same logos we saw before show up again, but this time,
quite hilariously, as the debris from the explosions. It's quite well
done and gets you fired up to watch this action comedy flick,
the music is well placed as well, it makes you feel very excited
and amazed in a way. But it doesn't last, after an explosion
claims the life of one of the agents, the lighting and music turns
sober as one of the agents explains the death to the grieving
wife and child. After this we are brought to the beauty of snowy
mountains and the golden text of the title is brought to our eyes.