Research on Film Openings

What is a Film Opening?
A film opening should tell the audience the genre of the film, setting/location. In addition to this, it may tell some of the storyline to keep the viewer watching and to also give an idea of the narrative. The most important part of the film opening is that it's good so it can then build an element of suspense and it should also include different techniques - which includes camera angles, non-diegetic/diegetic music and also fast/slow paced editing.

Genre must be conveyed in a film opening because it's very important. This is because the audience need recognition and understanding.

there are 4 main types of film openings:

Blank screen

The blank screen film opening is a very simplistic film opening. The film titles will appear during this time. Usually the blank screen is black with white writing on it, this creates high contrast which will make the writing easy to read. This type of film opening is generally used if the institution doesn't have enough money to produce any of the other three types. A blank screen opening is a way to present the necessary conventions of a film opening in a clear simplistic way.

Moving image

The moving image film opening includes some form of moving image with the opening titles on top. There isnt usually any dialogue, however a soundtrack is generally used. A moving image opening gives the viewer a hint towards the narrative of the film, or it gives the film a starting point.

Animation

The animation film opening is usually a moving cartoon, however, sometimes it can be a series of still cartoons. To create an animated film opening, it requires a reasonably large budget as a lot of digital technology is required. Animated film openings are used a lot in action/superhero films with a comic effect.

Still images

Still image film openings are quite a low budget opening. It includes a still image in the background with a the films opening titles on top. The pictures give the viewer clues about the genre and narrative of the film. A still image film opening is a slightly more elaborate version of a blank screen opening.










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