Conventions of a film opening

A film opening exists not only in order to entice the audience into continuing to watch the film, but to establish things such as genres, types of characters and location. To achieve this, many films stick by using the same few conventions in their openings.

What are the conventions of a film opening?

The main typical aspects which are cooperated into EVERY film opening are:

Music, this sets the mood and tone of the entire film, it also works along with the pace of editing, determining whether it is a fast/slow paced atmosphere. Location (which is Mise en scene) is another component for obvious reasons, it simply introduces the setting directly sets the plot, it is often the opening shot, and also where the rest of the film will take place. Lastly, introducing the main characters relatively near the start is significant, this lets the audience know which characters are actually the main ones, and in the case when they are big stars, it entices the audience further. (An example of this is in every 007 James Bond movie, it starts with the main character Bond shooting the screen). However, some films do not show the main characters straight away, either to create suspense whilst they wait for characters to appear, or surprise them when they do.

The taking of Pelham 123

The components of this film opening...

• The first shot of this film is a wide shot (birds eye view) of New York City - This instantly sets the location for the audience. 
• Moving graphic animations present the credits onto the screen - the shape and movement associate with the plot of the movie because they resemble a train. This also holds the audience into paying attention to the credits, as it makes it more entertaining to endure.

Sound also contributes to making a first impression to the audience...

• From the beginning, there is a gloomy low bass music playing - this sets an uneasy atmosphere. Then, it then switches to a fast paced upbeat track along with a fast motion long shot of New York which again sets the location, but this time in a more specific way. The fast motion editing sets an overall fast, chaotic pace for the movie.