How film openings attract audiences and audience theories used in them

Film openings have to give away as little of the story-line as possible, whilst still drawing in the audience and making them want to know what happens in the rest of the film.





In the opening of 'Reservoir Dogs' you can straight away tell that it is a gangster, crime movie judging by the mise used, especially in the costume choice. This would stereotypically be a seen as aimed at a male audience as it involves masculine themes such as smoking. This may also involve the hypodermic needle theory as the characters smoking are seen as cool.





The opening of 'The Chronicles of Narnia' portray it to be a gender neutral film. It shows themes of violence and war. But because the film is based on a book, the audience will most likely already know that there is a theme of magic and fantasy throughout, bringing this back to a gender neutral, family film. The fact that the main characters have been separated from their parents makes you feel sorry for them, and this bond carries out through the rest of the film.

Creating film opening using jelly babies

We created a film opening story board using jelly babies to help us understand the ordering of the titles. We decided to make an action film opening using the generic conventions such as a chase scene, damsel in distress and a gun hold up.

 Chase scene.

 Damsel in distress.

Gun hold up.

Saving the damsel in distress.

Different Genres and Their Generic Conventions.

Action

• Car chases
• Violence
• Special Effects
• Explosions
• Male Audience
• Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory

Romantic Comedy

• Female Audience
• Relationship Based Storyline
• Love Triangle
• Happy Ending
• Stereotypes

Horror

• Blood
• Death
• Violence
• Weapons
• Gore
• Teen - Adult Audience

Thriller

• Psychological
• Paranormal
• Supernatural
• Unusual to have a happy ending
• Implications rather than Visuals

Comedy

• Slapstick
• Stereotypes
• Crude/Innuendo

Drama

• Plot Twists
• Older Female Audience
• Hyperbolic
• Life Events
• Period Dramas

Film Opening Timelines

Above is a timeline for the opening of the film 'Shaun of the Dead'

This was the easiest way I found of making a timeline, to write out what happens in order and then to put this information onto a timeline. As shown below.

The video clip for 'Amityville Horror 2: The Possession' wasn't able to be embeded.

Analysis of Student films

Genre: Thriller
Editing: They have used continuous editing with the use of a cut-way to show the other characters and give the audience and idea of the reasoning behind the characters actions. The transitions also gave the clip a smooth feel that helped it flow together as a piece.
Sound: The use of non-diegetic sound in this piece is very effective as it fits with the theme.
Camera angles: The variety of camera angles used keeps the piece interesting as well as providing the audience with a wider perspective on the scene.
Mise: The colours considered for clothing and background provide a mysterious feel to the piece without being too obvious.  The use of props were relevant and well considered.
Titles: the titles fit well into the clip and didn't draw attention away from the film opening itself.
Characters: the actors chosen to play the characters seemed to fit well with the parts. We are only introduced properly to the main character which leaves an element of mystery, although the plot could have been kept a little more of a surprise because you are told a lot of the storyline from the first few minutes.




Genre: Thriller/Horror
Editing: The continuity of the editing was nice, although they could have been more observant with small aspects of the clip for example: the windscreen wipers and the girls hand when she is on the doorstep. The transitions worked well with the theme.
Sound: I liked the fact that none of the characters spoke during the opening sequence as it gave a sense of mystery. The chosen diegetic sound also felt relevant to the piece.
Camera Angles: The variety of camera angles was good but I felt that some of the shots weren't placed in the best possible place and could of shown the content better.
Mise: The costumes worked well with the theme and props were considered, although it wasn't very clear why that baseball bat was used.
Titles: The title font didn't fit with the theme and wasn't appropriate for the film genre. There was no variation in the placement of the titles and they weren't incorporated smoothly into the opening sequence.
Characters: Its isn't particularly clear to the audience who the characters are and what part they play within the story.



Genre: Thriller
Editing: The editing was effective and the continuity was good. The transitions and effects used we relevant and worked well with the chosen genre. The montage made it seem a little like a trailer rather than a film opening.
Sound: The sounds were relevant to the fim but I feel like the diegetic speaking throughout was a little overused. The non-diegetic sounds of white noise were very effective.
Camera Angles: The different camera angles used were very effective and kept the film opening interesting for the audience and kept them engaged.
Mise: The white coat worn by the main female character connotes innocence and worked very well against the constant dark background.
Titles: The title fit in very well with the theme and genre of the film and didn't draw anyone of the audiences attention away from what was happening within the scene.
Characters: It is obvious to the audience straight away who the characters are within the film and the actors chosen fit very well to the part of their character.

Film Opening Analysis

The Devils Rejects
Genre:

• Horror

Narrative:

• Fugitive
• Serial Killers

Characters:

• Main family
• Police Officers

Atmosphere:

• Juxtaposition
• Relaxed
• Comical

Themes:

• Hiding from the law
• Homicide

Setting:

• Southern America

Sound:

• Country music

Titles:

• Integrated
• Clip pauses as name appears

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Genre:

• Action

Narrative:

• Battle
• Humans vs Robots

Characters:

• Tribe
• Robots

Atmosphere:

• Tense
• Destructive

Themes:

• Fighting
• Explosions
• Battle

Setting:

• Mountains
• Modern city

Sound:

• Tense
• Suspension

Titles:

• Integrated

Film Opening Analysis

'My Best Friends Wedding'
Genre:

• 'Chick-Flick'
• Rom-com
• Cheesy

Narrative:

• Wedding
• Irony
• Doesn't go to plan

Character:

• 4 girls
• Bride and Bridesmaids

Atmosphere:

• Not modern
• Hollywood

Themes:

• Romance
• Girly

Setting:

• Stage performance
• Wedding preparation

Sound:

• Repetitive
• Retro
• 60's

Titles:

• Worked around the girls dancing
• Calligraphy (Wedding invitation feel)
• Not integrated (placed in front of the shot)

'Catch Me If You Can'
Genre:

• Action
• Mystery

Narrative:

• Set in New York
• Airport
• Hospital
• Tom Hanks chases Leonardo DeCaprio

Character:

• 2 main characters who are pointed out

Atmosphere:

• Chase and excitement

Themes:

• Chase
• Identity
• Disguise

Setting:

• Retro
• America - Yellow Cabs

Sound:

• Retro
• Upbeat
• Chase

Titles:

• Institutions at start
• Integrated
• Director at end

'Lord of War'
Genre:

• Action
• War
• Political

Narrative:

• Following the life of a character

Characters:

• Soldiers

Atmosphere:

• Formal
• Official

Themes:

• War
• Bullets
• Death
• Destruction

Setting:

• Factory
• Ammoury
• War

Sound:

• Relaxed
• Happy
• Juxtaposition
• Song about Vietnam war

Titles:

• Integrated

'Panic Room'
Genre:

• Action
• Thriller

Narrative

• Serious
• Business

Character

• Female main character

Atmosphere

• Low
• Professional
• Formal

Themes

• Business
• Action

Setting

• City
• New York

Sound

• Violins
• Tense
• Suspense

Titles

• Integrated
• Metal appearance
• Made using helium balloons