Types of film openings

The openings of films are very important to the whole film. When used well, they can be very effective, and influential fir the whole film. However there isn't one set way that a film should open, as films generally find a new way to present the opening scene and opening credits.

One variation of film openings is through the use of a montage. This consists of showing lots of short clips of something, usually mysterious in the case of thriller films, giving the sense of uncertainty amongst the audience. This would then normally have the opening credits over the top. An example of this would be the film Se7en. The opening credits to this film show the person who they are looking for, at work preparing for a murder, however at the start the audience don't know what they are watching. This is very effective as the audience will understand what they were watching after they have seen what happens at the end of the film. However it doesn't always have to show something mysterious, as this varies as well. An example of this is in World War Z. This films opening credits show the equilibrium in Todorov's narrative theory, before the zombie apocalypse breaks out. Both of these opening credits are effective, in very different ways.

A second variation of film openings and the credits is through the use of an animation title sequence. This is where the opening credits are shown in a sequences where there are normally no actors/actresses, and instead are replaced by animated figures. Example of this include James Bond Casino Royal, Robin Hood and the Hunger Games Mocking Jay. All three of these openings include animated figures, to display the credits. Directors also do like to put in different icons from the film and previous films ,if they are in a series, in these animated sequences such the card suits in the James Bond sequence and the mocking jay icon in the Hunger Games. This should then be put with the right type of music, as all the examples have done, and will be highly effective, and make the audience enjoying the film before it has already properly started. In my opinion getting the music of is one of the most important components of the opening, and I will ensure that when I do my opening, I will select the correct piece of music. This however is normally very difficult and expensive to do, and I don't have the expertise or budget to do something like this. It is also not something that is commonly done in thriller films anyway, therefore won't be doing an animated title sequence in my film opening. The montage and the animated opening scenes would classify as a stylised opening scene as they are of a specific style that tailored to the type of film.

Another way that a film could open would be with the credits over the top of the beginning of the film. This does the basic job of of showing the credits and will introduce characters, location etc. whilst doing so. Example of this include Silence of the lambs, The Shining and Lord of war. This will show the film in the equilibrium stage and before anything has happened to change the story line of the film. This is a form that can again be effective, however isn't used commonly in modern films, unless used for effect, as other methods are preferred, as they are more appealing now that animated and montage title sequences are available as they do look better and can engage the audience more than having names appear in the middle of a screen. This would be seen as a narrative opening credits.It is also very common to see font over a blank screen, or a still image. This isn't a narrative opening scene, as there is nothing going on in the background, however still displays the credits in a similar way.

At the start of a film, the director normally decides to start the film in chronological order, however an unconventional, and very effective, form of film openings would be to use a non-linear or non-chronological opening. This is where the film starts either in the middle or end of the story and will go back a show how it got to this place. Examples include Deadpool. Deadpool shows the main character in action, and then goes back to show how he got to this situation. This is a method that can be used very effectively, if it is following a story line that could be told in a non-chronological order.

These are just a few variations of how openings and opening credits can be shown, along with many other examples. directors are always coming up with new and unique ways in which they can show the opening credits. for example the heavy and fast paced editing of the Mission Impossible films, the comical opening credits of Deadpool, they do this in order to fit the genre of the film, and make the audience aware of the type of film they are going to see. Some films also decide not to have any opening credits in their films. This will normally be when the film goes straight into an action scene. An example of this would be The Dark Knight, where the film goes straight into a bank robbery. This is effective as it fits with what is going on in the scene, and the audience won't want to have opening credits over an intense scene such as this.

These example of different variations of successful film openings enforce that there is no right or wrong way to show the opening credits. It does depend on the genre of the film, on what type of opening should be used.