Film Opening Research

What is a Film Opening?

A film opening is the first few sequences of a film that introduce the film title, the main cast and crew and give the audience an idea of what the film is about, leaving them asking questions to themselves and intriguing them so much that they want to watch more

The History of Film Opening’s

Since the early 1980s, the opening credits 9if present at al), appeared in the opening sequence of a film, mainly identifying the major actors and crew, Historically, however, opening credits have been the only source of crew credits and, largely, the cast, although over time the tendency to repeat the cast, and perhaps add a few roles.

In a film, the title and opening credits may be preceded by a or teaser (opening sequence) such as a brief scene prior to the main acts which helps to set the stage and feel for film.

Over time, opening credits have been presented over the opening sequences of a film which can/have varied in length. Others have a whole separate title sequence. The opening credits for the 1993 film The Fugitive continued over several opening scenes, and did not finish until fifteen minutes into the film. Also, the opening credits for the 1968 film Once Upon a Time in the West lasted for fourteen minutes

What would you expect to see in a Film Opening.

A film opening should immediately portray the genre of the film and its location/setting.

It gives us an insight into the story line/one of the storylines to make the audience engaged and make them keep watching.

Film openings usually involve many techniques including fast past editing and catchy non-diegetic music.

One of the most important things about a film opening is the opening leaving the audience with a feeling of suspense.

What makes a good film opening?

A successful film opening is when the opening grabs your attention right from the get go and the

opening frame. It Is a good opening if it leaves you sat on the edge of your seat in suspense or if

it knocks your out of your seat due to how powerful it is. For a film opening to achieve its

purpose, it needs to memorable, even if the rest of the film fails to measure up.

3 Film Openings of different genres

Catch Me If You Can, Twilight Saga- Breaking Dawn Part 2, Shaun Of The Dead

Catch Me If You Can- The Opening title sequence for this crime/comedy drama film is made up of a series of animations that tell a story. The credits are merged within the animation so it fits in the with scene. The title of the film is also animated in to be part of the scene. The use of the abstract animation makes the audience intrigued. Also the use of bright colours also grabs the audiences attention. In every shot of the sequence it shows the same man disguising himself showing his rapid journey which relates to the film title and gives the audience a hint of what the film is about.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2- The Opening Title Sequence for the film is extremely different to the abstract Catch Me If You Can film opening. This opening is extremely elegant and contemporary which corresponds the romantic/fantasy drama style of film. It consists of a series of dark landscape shots with the credits appearing in the centre of each shot. It also has extreme close up’s of natural living things turning cold and dying which portrays the story line of the film. The colour red is used a lot to represent blood which again portrays the story line ‘vampires’ and alternatively the theme of love.

Shaun Of The Dead- The Opening Title Sequence for this comedy horror zombie film goes straight into the action with a number of shots portraying normality with a comical/ zombie like twist- The people answering their phones in sink, the group of boys walking and ‘Shaun’s’ stumbling yawn all convey the comedy horror style as soon as the film begins, hinting the films story line. The film title is edited to look almost as if it is actually on the floor of the shot. The credits appear at the bottom during the shots being more discrete than the credits in the Twilight film. The shots are made to be more intriguing and centre of focus to keep people watching.

What do you expect to see in a Horror Film Opening?

Horror films can be about all different things, ghosts/demons, zombies, monsters etc. This means that the theme/story line of the specific horror film will be different to other horror films due to the difference purpose and story line. Typically, Zombie films tend to begin with normality, showing every day life before the out break. However, their tends to be a hint in the opening sequence portraying something bad is going to happen. Moreover, paranormal/ghost films again tell the story of how the strange incidents began. They tend to again show normality allowing the audience to see the progression of the paranormal disturbances. With the credits displayed over the action.

Horror Film Opening’s. Dawn Of The Dead- the opening sequence for this Zombie

horror immediately portrays the theme of death through the credits being in a blood like font. In this instance, the film title is at the begging of the sequence. The credits occur throughout a variety of shots showing the audience that something has gone wrong. Most of the shots are ‘news reports’ giving the audience a clear idea of what the film is going to be about. The shots give clues about what is going on. Straight from the start, it is action packed showing masses of anarchy. There are also shots of ‘zombie’ like things however you can’t see them clearly, this is to make the audience question what they are. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seats wanting to watch more. The shots are edited at a very quick pace which also adds to making it look disoriented which intrigues the viewer.

Saw- The opening sequence for this Slasher horror film starts off with the main credits of the production company etc. and then the film title and immediately goes straight into the action of the film. The use of the minimum amount of credits at the beginning adds to the suspense of the film opening, making the whole focus on the scene. As the opening gets straight into the action, it imminently makes the audience wonder what is going on and why the men are there. It makes them ask questions which draws them in making them want to carry on watching to answer their questions and to see what is going to happen next.