ANTHONY HANSON

Film Opening Conventions

Production Logo’s

A production logo is used to promote the business behind the making of the movie. The production logos are usually shown at the start of a movie which may help to entice the audience if it is a popular movie making business such as a companies like:

Titles

At the beginning of almost every single film there are a few titles. Titles can also be used to get the audience interested. They do this by using key names of individuals that may have helped produce this film such as, Steven Spielberg. Many films also include key actors names in there films to entice the audience and make them want to watch it for example a key popular actor such as John Travolta. Titles also help present the genre of the film such as if it was a horror film the titles are stereotypically going to be red and dark colours as these conventions help the audience establish the genre as red and dark lighting is usually associated with the horror genre.

Examples Of Opening Film Titles

Establishing Genre

Within the opening scenes of a film the audience should be able to establish what kind of type and genre the film is. The producers help the audience to do this by giving key conventions of the type of genre for example in an action movie there could be tense music to set the scene and maybe a big explosion or a blocked font for the title. Mis-en-scene is used in the opening scene to help the audience establish the type of film genre the film is going to be. For example the blocked capitals

and the costumes (mis-en-scene) help to establish that the film Band Of Brothers is a war based film.

Establishing Key Characters.

In the opening scene of The Transporter Jason Statham’s name comes up in the titles to show the name of the key actors. He also helps the audience to establish the genre by firstly, holding a gun and having a smart uniform. The audience will all suspect or already know that this film is going to be an action based film mainly because of the props, costumes, titles and the actors involved in the film. This all helps to establish the key character as the main character is involved from the very opening scenes of the film.

Establishing Locations

The location of the film in the opening scenes also gives the audience an understanding of what the film is about. For example the setting of Alien Vs Predator: Requim in the opening scene is on a far away planet with nothing humane in the scene. It is all aliens and futuristic technology. These are all conventions used to help give the audience an understanding of what to expect in the film for example in this film they will expect science fiction, action and partly horror.

Themes

The themes are a big part in the opening scenes. It is crucial that the producers help get across what the film is going to be about and what to expect and at least hint at what the main storyline is going to be. If the theme is not made clear in the opening scene then the audience may lose interest quickly and may not be able to follow the storyline later on in the film. For example in the film Black Hawk Down the producers make it clear in the opening scene what to expect and what the film is going to be

about through the use of text and titles.

Sound

In opening scenes of films there is usually sound. Non-diagetic and diagetic sound. Non-diagetic is the most common as it helps set the scene for the audience and conveys the type of genre and what to expect in the film. For example slow and tense music will be used in a horror. However, some opening films use diagetic music to help set the scene were the actors can hear the sound. This is usually used in film genres such as comedy where the actor may be dancing too a funny type of music to help the audience establish the genre. For example in Cheaper By The Dozen’s opening scene where all the actors can hear the radio playing and are all cheery in the kitchen.

Enigma

Producers use enigma during the opening scene of a film to help create questions and tension right from the very start to entice the audience. Enigma keeps the audience interested in the film and wanting to find out the questions that are going through there heads. Therefore it keeps the audience intrigued and wanting to watch the rest of the film. It is a key factor in keeping the audience hooked from the start. A good example of enigma being created would be at the start of the film Woman In Black where the 3 little innocent girls jump from the window ledge. This leaves the audience in shock and creates enigma and many questions the audience may ask such as; ‘why did they jump from the window?’

Link to movie opening scene of Woman In Black: http://www.moviefanatic.com/videos/the-woman-in-black-opening-scene/