Jocelyn's Media Studies Blog: Research - Film Opening Research for Film Opening

Me and my group have not decided what genre we want our film opening to be, but I wanted to do research on film openings in general before deciding which genre we wanted to do. Here is the information I have found:

The opening of a film is crucial for setting the tone and scene for the rest of the movie. The opening sequence is meant to introduce the characters and themes of the movie. They are meant to grab the audience's attention, provide context to the film, and hint at the central conflict of the movie. There are 3 ways to start an open sequence of a movie: flashback, flashforward, and in medias res (in the middle of things).

A flashback is scenes from the past that interrupt the chronological sequence of events. This provides background information, deepened character development, or explains motivations and relationships. Flashbacks are used to reveal crucial information to the audience that impacts the current storyline. A flashforward is the opposite of a flashback; it jumps forward in time in the storyline. It shows events that will happen in the storyline, creating suspense for the audience, foreshadowing events, or providing insight to the eventual outcomes of the characters or plot. In Medias Res is a Latin phrase "meaning in the middle of things". In Medias Res, the story starts from the middle of the action and not from the beginning. Starting the movie in the middle of action creates immediate urgency and draws interest. With this technique, background information is revealed through flashbacks, dialogue, or exposition.

The conventions of a film openings are they are usually around 2 to 5 minutes (my film opening will be 2 minutes long), introduce the key characters (protagonists, antagonists, sidekick, etc.), introduce plot or beginning of the storyline, and establishes scene. Film openings also include key credits (producing company, actors, and director), equilibrium (balanced energy; no major climatic events have occurred yet), a key event to the story occurs, and non-diegetic sounds (music/soundtrack) are present. The key credits are included in a title sequence, along with the film's title. The establishment of the scene is usually done with an establishing shot to show the setting of the movie.

Different genres need specific opening scenes to pander to the storyline of the film. Fantasy films often have voice overs with a prologue montage for world-building, also for any kind of movie that relies on the POV of the main character or if the main character has a particular voice. Cold opens are commonly found in horror movies, crime thrillers, and action movies. A cold open is a scene that happens before the credits that immediately drops the audience into a story or action to grab their attention. A cold open is used in horror, crime thrillers, and action movies to grab the audience's attention and establish the genre of the film; it can also be used to introduce an antagonistic force or the villain of the movie.

The video below is the first 2 minutes of the movie "Fight Club" made in 1999. This movie begins with a focus being on a gun in someone's mouth with narration as a voice over, indicating that this man is the main character. The voice over reveals more of the story to the audience and gives slight insight to the characters. The cold open of the movie grabs the audience's attention immediately and leaves them with many questions that can only be answered through a flashback. The narrator speaks directly to the audience as if he is telling a story.