During the first two minutes of a film, there are usually certain things that the openings will include. They are: credits, company logo, the cast/ characters are revealed and we can often get a tone or certain feel about what the genre of the film will be. It is important for the film directors to be able to portray this, so that the viewers are attracted and will have a rough idea about the type of film that they will be watching.
A good example of this is the opening to The Holiday, which I have given a link to below. Although this is a big mainstream film, I felt that the director was able to get everything across that’s needed to be seen.
During the opening two minutes of this clip, the scene shows everything by sticking to the criteria. It includes music, which personally I think sets the tone; its nice soft music to begin with, implying it’s happy and gradually gets faster at certain points, which adds to the drama. It also includes a voiceover, which in this outlines what the focus of the movie will be about. It gives credits and title of the movie and also introduces the main characters.
Here is another example I have found of a good opening to a film. The film is called ‘Before Sunset.’ This however, isn’t a mainstream film, but an independent film opening I have found. I think that it is very good, considering there wouldn’t have been as much money involved in the movie, compared to if it was a big mainstream production. The opening is simple, but good. It shows some of the settings, the characters and also has music playing.
Here I have found another movie that demonstrates the conventions of a film opening well. I like this opening in particular, as it gets straight into the acting scenes, instead of having a slower opening, with music playing over the top, whilst introducing the characters. However although it starts straight into the acting, it still shows the typical conventions as it introduces the characters and it includes the company’s logo.
Here again, is another movie, which sticks to the criteria of a film opening. This again however, is another big mainstream movie, which would have had a lot of money put into it. In this film opening, it includes the company logo, music that sets the tone; it starts light and soft and it introduces the main characters.
Alternatively, there are some films that have not stuck to the typical conventions of a film opening. There are some films that get straight into the action, and don’t introduce the main characters how you would expect. For example, Mission Impossible gets straight into the action, similarly to James Bond films, which both are opened by getting straight into the acting, so that the viewer is immediately engaged in the film and so that they know what to expect from it. I think that not sticking to the typical conventions can sometimes work and could be a good way of interacting with the audience. However, by using the typical conventions, it still gets all the main focuses across the viewer.
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